Wilhire 9hr - race rpt one teams account
Discussion
One of the longest races on British soil took place last weekend at the Snetterton racetrack in Norfolk. Qualifying saw each driver having to complete a minimum of 3 laps with some flying laps being put in early on. This race saw the addition of ex British GT driver and co-team principal Charlotte Osborn to the driver line up of the TopCats Racing Marcos Mantis.
A starting place of 5th and a steady opening stint by Martin Parsons saw the car move up to 4th overall and 2nd in class. Driver changes and fuel stops began after 65 minutes of racing, The leading pair of Andy and Julian Rouse were closely followed the Allen, Kempton and Greensall trio. With Andrew ‘Dangerous’ Davies taking over after the first fuel stop the Marcos retained it’s 4th spot.
The 2nd driver change for the team saw Charlotte Osborn get her first opportunity of the race. Less then 15 minutes after leaving the pits the car was back in with a steering problem, the team lost 4 laps while the steering problem was resolved this dropped the car down the order to 8th. With time ticking away and valuable championship points at stake the Marcos was sent back out with the instruction to push. The car was the fastest car on track posting a time
less than 0.2 of a second off the fastest lap set by the lighter and more powerful ex DTM works Mercedes at the hands of Andy Rouse.
As the race progressed the Calum Lockie BMW pulled out an unassailable lead of 5laps leaving the Marcos of TopCats racing in a overall 2nd and 1st in class. The day was a success for most of the teams who took part and that there were so few retirements was testament to the EERC/Britcar formula. This had been racing of epic proportions complete with all the highs and lows that a season of F1 or British GT’s can only dream about. For those who came along to spectate it was a thrilling spectacle for those taking part it was the high light of the season.
As a concluding note to this fantastic weekend well done to factory TVR driver Michael Caine racing in a BMW this weekend, I hope you waved nicely to Charlotte as she passed you on track
for more info on the series see www.eerc.com
A starting place of 5th and a steady opening stint by Martin Parsons saw the car move up to 4th overall and 2nd in class. Driver changes and fuel stops began after 65 minutes of racing, The leading pair of Andy and Julian Rouse were closely followed the Allen, Kempton and Greensall trio. With Andrew ‘Dangerous’ Davies taking over after the first fuel stop the Marcos retained it’s 4th spot.
The 2nd driver change for the team saw Charlotte Osborn get her first opportunity of the race. Less then 15 minutes after leaving the pits the car was back in with a steering problem, the team lost 4 laps while the steering problem was resolved this dropped the car down the order to 8th. With time ticking away and valuable championship points at stake the Marcos was sent back out with the instruction to push. The car was the fastest car on track posting a time
less than 0.2 of a second off the fastest lap set by the lighter and more powerful ex DTM works Mercedes at the hands of Andy Rouse.
As the race progressed the Calum Lockie BMW pulled out an unassailable lead of 5laps leaving the Marcos of TopCats racing in a overall 2nd and 1st in class. The day was a success for most of the teams who took part and that there were so few retirements was testament to the EERC/Britcar formula. This had been racing of epic proportions complete with all the highs and lows that a season of F1 or British GT’s can only dream about. For those who came along to spectate it was a thrilling spectacle for those taking part it was the high light of the season.
As a concluding note to this fantastic weekend well done to factory TVR driver Michael Caine racing in a BMW this weekend, I hope you waved nicely to Charlotte as she passed you on track
for more info on the series see www.eerc.com
GrahamG said:
I hear from others that were there that Charlotte was very quick indeed - Good to see her back out there
For most of her first stint she was the fastest car on track lapping between 1.2 and 1.9 seconds a lap quicker than the next fastest car. Her 3rd session was right at the end of the race when the idea was to bring the car home. The fastest lap was well within her grasp
It was decided that due to our position in the race it would be unwise to attempt the fastest lap. Throwing it off after eight hours would have been a shooting offence! I had to (on a number of occasions) remind Lotty of her lap times and ease off a bit!
Would like to take this opportunity to thank all that came along and assisted on the day and we all look forward to the 24hr race at silverstone next year.
Would like to take this opportunity to thank all that came along and assisted on the day and we all look forward to the 24hr race at silverstone next year.
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