This weekend the fast open circuit at Thruxton played host to the Privilege
Insurance British GT Championship and as ever there was much drama and
spectacle.
The drama on race day started in the GT testing session in the morning. Rob
Barff was driving the TVR Tuscan R at 150mph when the Speed Six engine went pop
in a big way. This was the engine that had seen the Tuscan R to second place at
the Suzuka 100km race last weekend. It completed six hours there without missing
a beat but by Sunday it decided it had had enough. With just over three hours to
go until the race it was a tough call to replace it in time. The team slaved
away in what was an impressive display of teamwork as the old engine was hauled
out of the car and the new one prepared and dropped in. As the rest of the field
headed off on the green flag lap, the car was just struggling into life. The
race started and the car fired up, but with a few laps already completed the car
was not allowed to join the race - a frustrating finish to a frantic morning's
work.
On the track however, familiar battles were being played out. At the front
The Lister Storm, Chrysler Viper and TVR Cerbera hurtled into the first bend
together with the two GTO Porsches following. Hot on their heels was the other
TVR Tuscan R driven by Richard Stanton.
Dave Warnock had a nightmare as with the first lap almost completed he dived
into the chicane and span, throwing away his lead. Rob Wilson led the field in
the Viper with Warnock rejoining the field at the very back. Coming round on the
second lap Richard Stanton was side by side with Ed Turner's Porsche. He moved
up the inside of the Porsche at the Complex and looked like he was about to
carry off the daring manouvre. Right on the limit of adhesion though the Tuscan
R then drifted around and went into a spin, leaving Stanton way down the field
having been in third place.
Rob Wilson and Bobby Verdon-Roe pulled away at the front of the race leaving
the GTO Porsches at the head of the remaining pack. Wilson gradually pulled away
from the TVR too with handling problems further delaying the TVR as the race
went on.
Despite being at the back of the field, Dave Warnock knew his race wasn't
over though. At Donington a similar scenario had ended with a race win and
Warnock knew that the following fifty-five minutes could provide enough time,
opportunity and incident to give him the chance for a podium place still.
For much of the race, the GTO Porsches provided immense entertainment as
Kelvin Burt (53), Ed Horner (54) and Mark Sumpter (63) swapped positions
numerous times. For lap after lap they hurtled around the track nose to tail and
side by side in a viscious contest. Other victims of the battle included the Zest
Performance Ferrari 360 which was nudged out by Porsche 54 sending it into a
spectacular spin.
Mark Sumpter was eventually taken out of the equation with a flat tyre
delaying him as he limped back to the pits. This also allowed the striking
yellow Tuscan R of Stanton and Steve Hyde to regain 3rd place after an
impressive drive back up through the field.
By the time the pit stop window opened at twenty minutes it was once again
obvious that the Lister Storm might once again be able to climb its way right
back up to the top. Mike Jordan took over and continued the assault on the lead,
reducing the gap from over twenty seconds down to fourteen, passing the
struggling TVR Cerbera in the process.
Michael Caine was driving the Cerbera now which was suffering from poor
handling at the front. With Thruxton being such a fast circuit, it's a
frightening prospect when your car doesn't handle optimally. Caine's worst fears
were realised with a puncture then resulting in the Cerbera leaving the track at 120mph and making mincemeat
of the tyre wall. He was extracted from the severely damaged car with no
injuries more serious than severe bruising from his harnesses. A testament to
the strength of these cars!
Meanwhile Mike Jordan was working to the familiar script of playing catch up
to the Viper. Tim Harvey was in the Viper and now suffering from very hot tyres.
The high speeds really take their toll at Thruxton and as the clock ticked down,
Jordan was eating into the gap by as much as three seconds a lap at one point.
He was scheduled to catch the Viper in the last few laps at the rate he was
going. As the thousands of spectators waited for that nail-biting finish, Harvey
slipped off into the pit lane with a puncture handing Jordan the race on a
plate. Once again the Lister team proved what an incredibly resilient and fast
car the Storm is and there's little doubt now that they are set to take the GT
title this season.
The GTO race was won with a quiet and uneventful drive from Kelvin Burt and
Marino Franchitti. Having left the other Porsches to battle it out for second
place, they'd driven off into the open space behind the GT cars and drove a
faultless race to take GTO victory, 3rd overall and the GTO championship. It's
been an impressive year for the champions, with the cars behaving almost
faultlessly and with some stunning drives from the pair. Let's hope they're back
next year for what should be a closer battle with the TVR's which are now of
equal pace.
Other drives of note were Stanton/Hyde who made up for the second lap spin to
take third place in GTO and Colin Blower and Edd Sharpe who finally came on the
pace with their Ultima GTR to take third place in GT. After a season of
frustration with the engine being down on power, they succeeded in sorting their
problems and getting on the pace. Again, this is a car which if seen on track
next year will bring more of a battle in to the GT category which has been a
three horse race this year.
[results]93[/results], [points]britishgt[/points]
