British GT Report

Round five Snetterton - Historic Win for Bio Fuelled Aston

By Adam towler / Tuesday, 5 June 2007 / Loading comments

The bio Aston leads away at the start

The drama began even before the race got underway as the pitlane closed while five of the competitors were still in the garages. The Viper of Mike Gardiner (17), the Ferrari of Stephane Daoudi (23), the Porsche of Lee Atkins (4) and the GTC Porsche of Graeme Mundy (54) all lined up at the end of the pitlane and would be starting the race from there. The Viper of Bradley Ellis (6) had got out onto the track in time but a puncture on the out lap forced the Team RPM driver back into the pits where he joined the other four cars at the end of the pitlane. The other car absent from the grid was the Beechdean Ferrari of Andrew Howard as the gearbox issue that had caused them problems earlier returned and the team would be forced to miss the race.

As the pace car came into the pitlane it was the pole sitting Aston Martin of Paul Drayson that led the pack away with the Mosler of Craig Cole getting onto the rear bumper of the Aston with Phil Burton’s Ferrari 430 in the mix as well. As the cars entered Riches for the first time there was contact in the pack and Burton’s Ferrari and the Team Modena Lamborghini of Adam Jones were delayed as the rest of the field continued.

The Eclipse Mosler was quick early on

Drayson was now under pressure from Cole in the Mosler and it wasn’t long before the seven-litre American supercar moved into the lead of the heavily fuelled Aston. Behind the battling leaders Tom Alexander was in third place just ahead of the Tech 9 Porsche of Matt Harris which had started back in 11th. Further down the field the CiM Ferrari of Stephane Daoudi was making rapid progress after starting in the pitlane and by lap three was up to 9th and catching the Team RPM Viper of Henry Fletcher.

Further back, a battle for the lead of GTC was shaping up as the Porsche of Graeme Mundy, which had also started in the pitlane, was catching the Team Aero Morgan of Steve Hyde at a rapid rate of knots.

Bradley Ellis brought the Team RPM Viper into the pits again with an ECU problem which the team quickly fixed and sent him on his way but with two unscheduled stops, the day certainly wasn’t going their way.

A poor weekend for the Vipers...

Meanwhile Cole was pulling away from Drayson and by lap 11 held a commanding 11 second lead, opening up the gap by 0.5 seconds per lap. Meanwhile the Ascari of David Jones was moving through the field and passed the Porsche of Matt Harris on lap four and then overtook Tom Alexander a lap later to move into third position. Drayson was able to maintain an eight second gap over Jones, who was now coming under pressure from the other Aston Martin of Guy Harrington, who had also made rapid progress from 13th on the grid. Harrington got on the rear bumper of the Ascari and for five laps tried to fins a way around but he had to wait until lap 13 before he could move ahead and set off after his Barwell Motorsport teammate.

In the meantime Daoudi in the CiM Ferrari and Jones in the Team Modena Lamborghini had caught up with the leading group, both cars demoting David Jones back to 6th place on lap 15 as Daoudi secured 4th position and Adam Jones in 5th on the Lamborghini’s debut.

The Lambo showed superb pace on its debut

Daoudi was now about to challenge Harrington for 3rd, but the French driver had to be careful as Adam Jones was waiting to pounce if the Ferrari slid wide. It took a lot of effort but Daoudi finally moved ahead of Harrington on lap 22 and was quickly followed by Jones in the Lambo.

Nick Foster brought the RPM Porsche 997 into the pitlane and retired because the car was stuck in 2nd gear. He was followed into retirement a few laps later by the Team 4Car Porsche of Lee Atkins, with front end damage from contact somewhere out on circuit.

While Cole maintained a 20 second lead over the number 1 Aston, Drayson was coming under increasing pressure from Daoudi but was defending his position well. So much so, the French driver was forced into a mistake which Jones took advantage of and the Lamborghini moved into a podium position. He then swept past Drayson at Sear, with the Ferrari following suit before the end of the lap.

The Mustang made a less successful debut

Adam Jones now had a clear track ahead and stretched the Lamborghini, setting the fastest lap of the race, and setting a new lap record in the process, on lap 30, clearly showing the potential of this new car to British GT to all of the other competitors. Such was his pace, Jones was eating into the Mosler’s lead and by lap 39 was just 15 seconds adrift.

Phil Burton’s VRS Motor Finance Ferrari was once again in the wars. Having suffered body work damage in the first corner encounter, the Ferrari came down the pit straight with smoke pouring from the rear wheel where bodywork was rubbing on the Avon tyre. Burton pitted to fix the problem and took the opportunity to hand over the car to Adam Wilcox. He struggled along until lap 50 when the car retired from the race.

On lap 41 the whole race changed as the safety car was deployed to recover some debris on the track. Paul Drayson was one of the first drivers to take advantage of this development and dived into the pits to hand over to Jonny Cocker.

Close racing GT3 style...

He was followed by most of the leading drivers, but disaster struck for the CiM Ferrari, ending their race. Stephane Daoudi pulled into the pit box and climbed out to allow the car to be refueled. Suddenly there was a flash of flame from the engine bay but with the fire marshals on hand this was quickly extinguished as the Ferrari disappeared in a cloud of dry powder, but it also signaled the end of the race after a superb charge from the back of the field.

The race went green again on lap 44 with Guy Harrington leading from David Jones, but both drivers had not yet made their stops. Elliot Cole was now at the wheel of the Eclipse Mosler and was effectively in the lead of the race, with Jonny Cocker now in 4th but gaining a second a lap. Harrington and Jones pitted a couple of laps later, rejoining in 5th and 3rd respectively, split by the Tech 9 Porsche, which now had Oliver Bryant in the driving seat.

Bryant’s drive also came to an end after he pitted with an oil leak, but it also ended the race of Matt Griffin in the number eight Team RPM Porsche, sliding off the track into the gravel at Riches on the oil dropped on the circuit. Then the leading Mosler also slid off the circuit at Riches ending a magnificent drive by the team. Cole recovered the car, rejoining in 4th place but a few laps later the Mosler was nose deep in the tyres at Corum after an incident involving the Viper of James Saggers.

The Drayson/Cocker Aston was unstopable...

As the race entered the final stages Jonny Cocker was now in the lead of the race, with Godfrey Jones in the Team Eurotech- Preci Spark Ascari five second behind in 2nd and Ben de Zille Butler in number three Aston in 3rd a further five seconds adrift - and this despite a drive through penalty imposed for Guy Harrington overtaking under the safety car.

The Lamborghini Gallardo, with Rob Wilson now at the wheel, was in 4th place but a lap behind the leading trio, with Paul Fenton on course for the best finish of the year for the Moore Racing Viper. However Michael Bentwood, who was right behind Jonny Cocker but a lap down from the leader, was catching Fenton at three to four seconds a lap. Bentwood finally caught and passed the Viper on Lap 84 to move into 5th.

...and took a historic win

There was also drama in the GTC class battle. Jamie Smyth driving the RSS Performance Porsche was catching the Team Aero Morgan of Keith Ahlers, but would have to go some to pass the leading Morgan before the end of the race. Smyth, who was 27 second adrift on lap 84, was taking huge chunks out of Ahlers lead and he had reduced this to less than eight seconds by the end of the race. Richard Hollebon in the Richmond Racing Ginetta was lying in 3rd place ahead of Jim Bickley in the David Dove Racing Ferrari, but the little Ginetta’s race ended on the grass at The Esses, gifting the final podium position to the Ferrari. Hollebon and Marsh were classified 4th for five championship points, but nothing could disguise the disappointment on the faces of the team.

At the front Jonny Cocker took the chequered flag to secure a historic win for a bio fuelled race car - the Aston becoming the first bio fuelled car to win a major championship race in the UK. Paul Drayson and Jonny Cocker also became the fifth different driver pairing to win in the five rounds of the 2007 Avon Tyres British GT Championship, underlining the competitiveness of this year’s series.

Drayson and Cocker now lead the title race too

The Eurotech - Preci Spark Ascari of Godfrey Jones finished second, with Ben de Zille Butler claiming the third podium on the trot for himself and Guy Harrington in their first season of British GT.

Jonny Cocker and Paul Drayson (34) now lead the British GT Championship by 3 points from Guy Harrington and Ben de Zille Butler (31). David and Godfrey Jones are now tied on 26 points with Tom Alexander and Michael Bentwood.

Rounds 6 & 7 of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship will take place on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit on July 14th and 15th.