LNT TVR storms to podium

First GT race of 2005 sees TVR team triumphant

LNT TVR - Donington Park, 3 April 2005

LNT TVR, Donington Park, 3 April 2005

An early race charge by Patrick Pearce secured second place for the Stratford-upon-Avon racer and his LNT TVR team in the first round of the British GT Championship at Donington Park yesterday, 3 April. And as well as looking good, consensus among race-goers was that the TVR was the best-sounding machine in the race -- specially tricky to achieve as all cars had been forced to wear silencers.

Pearce and team-mate Warren Hughes arrived at the Leicestershire track fresh from a star performance in the Sebring 12 Hour race in Florida two weeks earlier. The pair duly qualified fifth in the huge British GT field but Pearce – driving the opening stint in the two-hour long race – looked destined for the podium from the moment the lights went out.

Although he dropped a place to sixth at the first corner, Patrick soon got back into the top five and then began a fierce battle with the Porsche of David Jones. The latter’s defensive driving twice left Pearce on the grass on lap four, but he was undeterred and ultimately powered ahead down the Craner Curves. Driving superbly on a surface made treacherous by spilt oil, Patrick then chased down the Ferrari 360 of Chris Niarchos and moved into third with a supremely brave move into the Old Hairpin on lap 12.

Next in his sights was Ben Collins’ second-placed Porsche GT3, Pearce lapping over a second per lap quicker than his vastly experienced quarry. Some very close side-by-side racing through Schwantz Curve and Coppice on lap 20 put Pearce into second place, a position he consolidated before handing over the TVR T400R to Hughes 35 laps later. Patrick’s fearless charge through the field had been the highlight of the frenetic opening stint, and proved beyond doubt that he deserves his place in LNT’s illustrious driver line-up.

“That seemed to go according to plan,” said Pearce as he watched Hughes bring the TVR home in the second place that Patrick had secured for the team. “I made a bit of a mess of the start and Jones got by me. It was a bit of a tussle to get past him – he was ‘blocking’ to use a mild word.

“After that some oil went down and everyone seemed to be using the wrong line. I was pulling them all in really quickly and easily. I pushed a bit harder on the tyres towards the end, but I really wanted to give Warren a good car for his stint.

“We’ve got a lot of races to do this year – with our Le Mans Endurance Series programme as well – and this is a great start. We were right on the pace from the start of testing on Thursday and it couldn’t have gone any better.”

Next on Patrick and Team LNT’s schedule is the first LMES round at Spa-Francorchamps in two weeks’ time. The last time Pearce raced at the Belgian track he suffered a large accident in a Dallara sports-prototype, but he’s unfazed by this memory and is relishing his return to Spa.

“I can’t wait to get back there and get on the podium again,” he said.

Other marques

However, Andrew Kirkaldy and Nathan Kinch were untouchable, claiming a resounding victory in the two-hour race around the 1.9573 mile national circuit. Starting from pole in the Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari 360 Modena, Kirkaldy pulled out an unassailable lead, allowing the team to change drivers without losing the lead. Nathan Kinch crossed the line 41 seconds ahead of the nr 43 LNT TVR 400 of Patrick Pearce and Warren Hughes, having completed 101 laps in the allotted time. The second Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari of Chris Niarchos and Tim Mullen was third.

With pole position and two cars in the top three, Scuderia Ecosse has made a near-perfect start to the season. "The car went perfectly all weekend, so we have nothing to complain about. We decided not to change the tyres when I handed the car over to Nathan [Kinch]. We were intending to put on new tyres, but the car felt so reasonable, and as many other cars didn't change, we stuck with the ones we had," Andrew Kirkaldy commented after the race.

His team-mate Tim Mullen, who came third in the second Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari, was equally delighted about the race: "When I took over from Chris Niarchos we put on new tyres and went out. We caught the Embassy car and the Jones brothers were about 25 seconds ahead. After we overtook them after about 15 mins I was able to pull away. I know second place was too far ahead so I was happy settling with third position. I am very happy, because it is a new car for me and Chris."

The Porsche of Jordan and Caine, which had qualified third, had an early pit-stop to tighten a wheel. Rejoining a lap down, the two drivers putting in a fine performance to pull the car up to fifth place, finishing a place behind the other Eurotech Porsche, driven by David and Godfrey Jones, which put in a consistent performance throughout. Cole and Hooker finished in sixth place in the Xero Competition Corvette C5-R.

An equally impressive drive came from the Eclipse Motorsport Mosler of Johnson and Balfe, which had to start a lap down from the pit lane after a clutch problem. The car fought back to 7th overall. "That was hard work !" Shaun Balfe said afterwards. "The Mosler is good, but not so good that we can start a lap down ! A clutch problem delayed us, but the car went well after that. Without the problems, we could easily have aimed for a top five."

With five different brands represented in the top seven, today's result was a fine reflection of the diversity in the grid for this year's Championship. The next round for these cars will take place at Magny-Cours, in France, where they will race alongside the FIA GT Championship cars in a 3-hour, 500 km race.

The GT3 race was equally thrilling, the class eventually being won by the Tech 9 Porsche GT3 Cup of Dimitris Deverikos and Piers Maserati. Second place went to the Team Tiger Marcos Mantis, shared by Chris Beighton and Jon Finnemore. There was a fierce battle towards the end, with the young pairing of Phil Quaife and Alex Mortimer finally winning out over the Hulford/Smyth duo in the Damax Ferrari, while Burton and Flux were fifth.

Full result

POS	CL	DRIVERS	CAR	GAP	BEST
1	GT2	Kinch/Kirkaldy	Ferrari 360 GTC	-	1:08.368
2	GT2	Hughes/Pearce	TVR T400R	41.854	1:09.779
3	GT2	Mullen/Niarchos	Ferrari 360 GTC	1 LAP	1:09.402
4	GT2	Jones/Jones	Porsche GT3	1 LAP	1:10.452
5	GT2	Jordan/Caine	Porsche RS	3 LAPS	1:10.119
6	GT2	Cole/Hooker	Corvette C5R	3 LAPS	1:11.184
7	GT2	Johnson/Balfe	Mosler MT900R	4 LAPS	1:09.733
8	GT2	Collins/Cunningham	Porsche RSR	5 LAPS	1:09.645
9	GT3	Masarati/Deverikos	Porsche GT3 Cup	5 LAPS	1:12.582
10	GT3	Beighton/Finnemore	Marcus Mantis	6 LAPS	1:12.909
11	GT3	Mortimer/Quaife	Porsche GT3 Cup	6 LAPS	1:12.963
12	GT3	Hulford/Smyth	Ferrari 360	6 LAPS	1:13.573
13	GT3	Burton/Flux	Ferrari 360 C	6 LAPS	1:13.417
14	GT3	Lester/Simonsen	Ferrari 360	7 LAPS	1:13.142
15	GT3	Britnell/Stockton	Porsche GT3	8 LAPS	1:12.761