Lockie wins first Britcar of 2006

Silverstone sees Ferrari beat Sumpter's Porsche

Lockie at Silverstone

Calum Lockie and Bo McCormick scored a famous victory in demanding conditions at Silverstone last Saturday (25 March) during the opening race of the Britcar season.

Racing McCormick's Ferrari 360, they stormed through to win as heavy rain and oil left the International circuit treacherously slippery. "I just love those conditions," said Lockie after a flat-out attack over 80 minutes that took them into the lead with 15 minutes to run.

Qualifying was held in dry conditions and McCormick went out first to qualify. When a safety car period was needed, he pitted and handed the 360 over to Lockie. "I thought we'd struggle against the Porsche GT3s in the dry, but initially we got overall pole," reported Lockie. By the end of the session, they were second in class and third overall on the grid. "We were really pleased with that," said Lockie.

By the time of the race, the rain had set in. McCormick started and, despite a quick spin on the incredibly slippery track, kept the car together well and made the brave decision to pit after half an hour and hand over to Lockie.

Having been the first of the front-running cars to make its driver change, the 360 resumed well down the order. "It was very, very slippery out there with oil all round the circuit," explained Lockie. However, he was immediately lapping quicker than anyone else and a safety car period worked in their favour as it allowed them to pull back more time.

"I was really enjoying myself and the car was working very well; the suspension, brakes and tyres were fantastic. A second safety car helped a bit more and with half an hour to go we were 45 seconds down on the leading Porsche of Mark Sumpter."

Having discussed the gap with Melindi Scott via the radio system, Calum knew that he could catch the Porsche if he kept pushing to the maximum. "I was absolutely on it and was pulling back four or five seconds a lap!" With 15 minutes to go, Calum swept past the Porsche and was then able to ease back his pace and still win by over half a minute after a remarkable drive.

"That was so much fun and a great start to the season. I was just able to slip into the groove and I was very comfortable in the car," said an elated Lockie.

"Thanks are due to Bo McCormick, Melindi on the radio, Paul Hargreaves and his crew of Geoff and Richard and Dunlop for fantastic tyres – the best in the world! Thanks also to Grand Prix Racewear, Racing Technologies for superb suspension, all the marshals for standing out in the rain and to the team at EERC for organising the event."