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The Grid.co.uk the national & club motor racing website - est1998 |
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The Grid.co.uk the national & club motor racing website - est1998 |
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Provisional
final championship placings
pics - Jakob Ebrey Photography |
mail your news to editorthegrid@yahoo.co.uk JONES BROTHERS CLAIM BRITISH GT CHAMPIONSHIP VICTORY
The Jones brothers, 56 and from Newtown Linford in Leicestershire, clinched the crown by a single point thanks to their victory yesterday in round 13 and their third-place finish today at the wheel of their Team Preci-Spark Ascari KZ1R, which is prepared by Midlands-based Team Pyro. They scored three race wins during the season and a further six podium finishes. Said Godfrey Jones: "I have been dreaming about this. I have dreamt good things and bad, it's nice to have it over and that it's gone the way we wanted it. We knew what we had to do... the one way that we could lose it was to not finish the race. The team has done a great job with the car and it's worked out very well." "I think Godfrey drove superbly in the first half of the race," said David. "He kept it on the pace and I just had to bring it home third, which I did." Today's outright race winner was the Invitation Class Barwell Motorsport Ginetta of Phil Quaife and Leo Machitski, which stole victory from the Allan Simonsen/Hector Lester Rosso Verde Ferrari two laps from the end after it had led all the way from the pole, Simonsen lowering his own circuit lap record as he went. Lester finished just eight-tenths behind to take maximum points and secure championship second. The GT4 class was won for the 11th time this season by the Team WFR Ginetta of Nigel Moore and (new class champion) Jody Firth.
Avon Tyres British GT
Championship
Not classified
Fastest laps
Provisional results
round 14
Fastest laps
FIRTH CROWNED KING OF BRITISH GT4
Firth and Moore have been the class of the GT4 field ever since their wins in the opening rounds of the championship, at Oulton Park in April, and would have shared the championship title were it not for Jody racing solo at Knockhill in June while his talented 17-year-old co-driver was on duty at Le Mans. Firth is quick to praise Moore and the team behind him: "The car has been near-faultless all season. The team has been superb and I owe a great deal of my success this year to them. I have to say a big thank you to Jonathan France, who heads Team WFR. Without his direction and backing, and faith in me, this would never have happened. The whole team has been brilliant. Nigel is a very talented driver. Ginetta have realised that and hence he's under contract there. He's the best G50 driver in the world and that's an amazing feat at the age of 17. He is such a strong driver, knows these cars extremely well, and his feedback has led to the results we've had this year. "Really this has been my first proper full season of racing. It's been good and I've thoroughly enjoyed it, I really have. So much so that I'd love to do more of it. I particularly enjoyed the race at Spa against Gary Simms. I think really Gary had the beating of me that day but grit and determination enabled me to defeat him. "People might say that there hasn't been much opposition this year, but I think the competition level's been great. Some really good drivers have come to take us on: people like Hunter Abbott and Nathan Freke. The competition has been strong and I think that Nigel and I have proved that it didn't matter who came along this year... we had the beating of pretty much anybody." There remains the question of who will claim GT3 honours and hence the overall Avon Tyres British GT Championship title. David and Godfrey Jones won today's race outright - their third victory of the season - to move five points clear of their only remaining title rival, Hector Lester.
MTECH TEAM VICTORIOUS AT SILVERSTONE
Cameron started the Ferrari from pole and led the opening stages from the Invitation Class Barwell Motorsport Ginetta G50Z of Piers Johnson. Cameron was able to hold off Johnson's challenge, but could not repel David Jones when the Team Pyro Preci-Spark Ascari arrived on his tail.
Jones took the lead after around 20 minutes and Craig Wilkins soon moved
the ABG Motorsport Dodge Viper past Cameron as well to run second. The
order remained the same, with Jones opening up a 12-second lead over
Wilkins, until the pit stops. Aaron Scott, in the ABG Viper, seemed the Ascari's main threat for second and he chipped away at the gap. He was around five seconds behind when he was handed the place courtesy of a suspected gearbox failure for the Preci-Spark entry. Jones's retirement allowed the Barwell Beechdean Aston Martin DBRS9 into third in the second half of the race. When Johnson spun the team's G50Z at Priory, the Andrew Howard/Jamie Smyth Aston became Barwell's leading runner. Howard had charged from seventh to fourth during his stint and Smyth carried on the good work. As the Aston used its tyres, however, former GT champion Alex Mortimer started closing in, at the wheel of the RPM Motorsport Ford GT that won last month's round at Donington Park. Philip Walker started the car and was seventh when he became the first driver to make his compulsory stop. Mortimer immediately became one of the fastest drivers on the track after climbing aboard. He eventually passed the Aston with 20 minutes to go, but only just held off a charging Adam Wilcox in the VRS Equipment Finance Ferrari 430 started by Phil Burton to take the final podium place. Smyth brought Beechdean's Aston home fifth, well clear of the recovering G50Z in which Oliver Bryant set the race's fastest lap. Championship contender Hector Lester suffered a frustrating day in the Rosso Verde-UCB Ferrari 430 he shares with Allan Simonsen. Problems in qualifying forced Lester to start from the back and he then clashed with the Chad Racing example of Paul Warren while disputing seventh in the opening skirmishes. The Chad machine soon retired with gearbox damage from the crash, while Lester continued for several laps with the front of the Ferrari askew. Repairs were effected when Lester pitted to hand over to Simonsen. The Dane was, as usual, one of the quickest on track when he eventually came out, but was too far back and had to settle for seventh overall and sixth in GT3. Jody Firth all but sealed the GT4 title with another class victory, finishing eighth overall. Nigel Moore started the Team WFR Ginetta G50 and narrowly held off the similar Speedworks car of Christian Dick. Firth was then able to pull away from Dick's co-driver, Richard Sykes, to secure another win. Only co-driver Moore can mathematically stop Firth winning the title and, with the pair sharing the WFR car for the season, that seems unlikely. The GT3 crown, however, remains wide open as the Avon Tyres British GT Championship heads for the Brands Hatch finale next month. The Ascari's problems left it classified seventh in GT3, leaving the Jones twins just one point ahead of Lester in the standings. ABG's second also means Wilkins and Scott are only another seven points further back. The day, though, belonged to MTECH, Griffin and Cameron. "We had everything crossed during the last half hour," said Cameron. "We were telling Matt to slow down. It's been a fantastic weekend and we've finally done it."
Avon Tyres British GT
Championship
Not classified
Fastest laps
WET DONINGTON VICTORY FOR FORD GT
A solid fifth-place finish ahead of their chief title rival saw championship leaders David and Godfrey Jones extend their points advantage slightly with three rounds remaining. The first endurance round of the 2009 series was always going to cause problems for some of the teams and their exotic machinery, but in the end it was the weather which had the biggest effect on shaping the race. A violent downpour minutes before the off meant the event had to get underway behind the safety car. The pole position MTECH Ferrari of Duncan Cameron led the way for the first 18 laps, until 17-year-old Dan Brown in the Momo Mosler - battling against a broken windscreen wiper in increasingly poor visibility - took up the running after a steady charge up from the fourth row of the grid. Then the heavens opened again and the safety car came back into play for three laps. On the second of them, the RPM Ford GT dived for the pits for its refuelling stop and driver change, Walker handing over to Mortimer after running a solid sixth. Crucially the Ford was able to get back on track without losing a lap. Brown's Mosler was one of the last of the frontrunners to pit; it did so from the lead on lap 36, and from that point on Mortimer took over in front and never looked in much real danger of losing the victory. "We had always planned an early stop," said Philip Walker, "and we were close to the window when the safety car came out and that made the decision for us. It was just as the most torrential rain came down, so it was perfect timing." Added Mortimer: "The car was great and it was inspired timing by the team. Philip drove a great first stint, which is what put us in a position to profit." The closing stages were not comfortable for Mortimer, however, as he had bearing down on him the MTECH Ferrari, now with Matt Griffin at the wheel. The Irishman had joined the race sixth after the stops and drove superbly to pick off the cars ahead, snatching third from the clutches of the Craig Wilkins/Aaron Scott Viper with seven laps to go and second from the Paul Warren/Jose Balbiani Chad Ferrari two laps later. The gap to the leader proved too great to breach, however. "Duncan had an absolutely fantastic stint," said Griffin, "but we had a very tight window in which we could pit and unfortunately for us that meant we couldn't pit under the safety car. I think I was about 60 seconds behind Mortimer and by the end it was down to eight." Griffin's performance earned him the Sunoco Driver of the Weekend Award. Third place came back to Wilkins and Scott four laps from the end when the Chad Ferrari struck a problem; Balbiani nursed the car home fourth, about 20 seconds ahead of the Jones brothers' Preci-Spark Ascari. Alan Simonsen and Hector Lester finished in sixth, a lap in arrears, with the only other classified GT3 finisher the Mosler, which covered only 58 of the 81 laps because of engine problems. The VRS Ferrari of Adam Wilcox and Phil Burton was the only machine not classified: its engine expired after 16 laps. There was another fine GT4 class win for Jody Firth and Nigel Moore - their eighth of the season - in the Team WFR Ginetta G50. Championship newcomer Century Motorsport led the way initially, courtesy 17-year-old Ben Hetherington, with Nathan Freke finishing the drive with a fastest lap-setting performance spoiled only by having to serve a drive-through penalty for a pit stop rules infringement. The ABG Motorsport-prepared KTM X-BOW enjoyed a trouble-free run to eighth overall in the hands of Marcus Clutton and Phil Keen.
Avon Tyres British GT Championship 1
GT3 RPM Ford GT, Alex Mortimer/Philip Walker 2h 1m 09.414s / 78.51mph
Not classified
Fastest laps
JONES BROTHERS EXTEND THEIR CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD
Race 1 The brothers' Preci-Spark Ascari held station during the first half of the race behind the Momo Mosler, which Daniel Brown catapulted into the lead away from pole position. On the eve of his 18th birthday, Brown showed maturity well beyond his years as he resisted challenge after challenge from David Jones. Brown's lead at the pit stops was of the order of five seconds, but his team-mate for the weekend, Rollcentre boss Martin Short, found his hopes of maintaining that advantage disappearing along with the Mosler's engine coolant. "The water temperature rose significantly in the pit stop," said Brown, "and then the car lost a large amount of water as it left the pits. The engine was running far too hot, causing a significant loss of power, and that really hurt us. Martin had to back right off." Within seven laps the Ascari, now in Godfrey Jones's hands, swept past for the lead through the Esses, Godfrey spurred on by the Preci-Spark team in the pits, who warned him that the MTECH Ferrari 430 was closing in fast. Duncan Cameron had put in a superb opening stint in the car, battling with Piers Johnson in the Barwell Ginetta G50Z for third, and now Cameron's driving partner, ex-BRM F1 driver Mike Wilds, was performing similar wonders to threaten for the lead. Wilds slipped past Short for second on the 40th of the 50 laps, but alas got it all wrong through Sear next time around and spun off. Godfrey was to get no relief, however, as the Ginetta was now coming up fast, Olly Bryant at the helm. "The Ginetta was catching quite quickly," said Jones. "If there had been an extra lap it would have been even harder work. We had to push hard right to the end..." The Ascari made it to the line three-tenths clear of the Invitation Class Ginetta, with Short nursing home the Mosler for third overall and second in GT3. The Hector Lester/Allan Simonsen Rosso Verde Ferrari made it to third in GT3 on the final lap, when the VRS Ferrari of Phil Burton/Adam Wilcox started to run out of fuel and lost ground. The VRS car managed to splutter across the line for fourth in class, still some way clear of the RPM Ford GT of Philip Walker/Michael Bentwood. With the ABG Viper and Chad Ferrari both retiring with mechanical woes, the only other classified GT3 finishers were Andrew Howard/Jamie Smyth in the Beechdean Aston, which lost time in the pits with a clutch issue, and the Cameron/Wilds Ferrari. The GT4 class was dominated by the Team WFR Ginetta of Jody Firth and Nigel Moore. Firth was given a good run for his money in the opening laps by Ian Stinton before pulling into a clear and unassailable lead which Moore stroked out to more than half a minute over Stinton's driving partner, Hunter Abbott, by the end.
Race 2 The Lester/Simonsen Rosso Verde Ferrari 430 led from pole position to chequered flag, Simonsen laying the groundwork for the win by bolting into the lead at the start and building an advantage during his stint at the wheel of around 27 seconds, enough of a lead to give Lester every hope of hanging on in front during his time at the wheel. The Invitation Class Barwell Ginetta G50Z of Olly Bryant and Piers Johnson was their most likely rival for victory, and Johnson tried his hardest in the latter stages to close the gap to the Ferrari. At the flag Lester's advantage was however still 3.9s. Said Lester, who was awarded the Sunoco Driver of the Weekend trophy: "Allan gave me a great lead; the car was well wrung-out but consistent. The secret was not to look in my mirrors but to focus forwards." Alas for Lester, he was found in post-race scrutineering not to be wearing the required safety clothing, something for which he had been warned earlier in the meeting. Stewards took the option to exclude the Rosso Verde Ferrari from the results, which action Lester is appealing. Thus the on-road victor is the Barwell Ginetta, with championship leaders Godfrey and David Jones taking second overall and maximum points in the GT3 class. Godfrey started the race in the Preci-Spark Ascari and played a conservative game to save the car's tyres before handing over relatively early to brother David. "It was bloody hard work," said David, who battled through from sixth in the closing stages. "I think we had the right strategy; ours was the fastest car out there for most of the race, we just needed a few more laps really." The Jones brothers arrived at Snetterton with a one-point championship lead and leave with seven points in hand over third-placed Brown. Dan Brown celebrated his 18th birthday with another podium finish, claiming second in GT3 in the Momo Mosler, co-driven by Rollcentre boss Martin Short. Mike Wilds and Duncan Cameron were next up in the MTECH Ferrari. Jody Firth celebrated his seventh GT4 class win of the season, co-driven in the Team WFR Ginetta by Nigel Moore. Said GT4 points leader Jody: "Nigel gave me a good car, he'd looked after the tyres and brakes well, the guys kept me well informed of my lead and once it had grown over 20s it was a case of easing off a little and making sure I got the car to the end." The Stark Racing Ginetta of Ian Stinton and Hunter Abbott claimed second in class once again.
Avon Tyres British GT Championship
Provisional results round 10
KNOCKHILL WINS FOR ASCARI & VIPER; JONES BROS TAKE SERIES LEAD
Race 1 This time there were no mistakes from the Leicestershire-based duo, David blasting into the lead from the lights and hanging on in front all the way to his pit stop despite fearsome pressure from the Rollcentre Momo Mosler of Dan Brown. Seventeen-year-old Brown tried everything in his power to muscle the Mosler past the Ascari, but wily old Jones had an answer for all the youngster's tricks. "It was tough," said David, "because the Mosler was right on my backside most of the time. There were areas where I could get away and I didn't have to defend, and then other laps when I had to defend hard. It seemed to come in waves. It all worked out in the end..." Jones pitted from the lead on the 38th of the 66 laps, with Brown taking over in front for three laps and pitting at the last possible moment for his hand-over to Gregor Fisken, the Scottish-born driver making his Knockhill racing debut. Fisken exited the pits just as a charging Godfrey Jones crested the rise of the main straight, and the Ascari dived past to resume the lead. "I got really on it on my first lap out," said Godfrey. "I saw Fisken pulling out of the pits, but there was no way that I wasn't going down the inside. That worked out fine and then was able to get on with it." It wasn't all plain sailing for the Ascari from then on, however. A brief safety car period 15 laps from the end, called so that marshals could collect tyre debris from the track, allowed the pack to bunch up behind the leader. Jones timed his restart to perfection, however, and was able to show a clean pair of heels to his pursuers. It was Fisken who lost out most after the safety car was withdrawn. A couple of laps afterwards the Mosler was jumped by the VRS Ferrari, in the hands of Adam Wilcox after an impressive first stint by Phil Burton, and Gregor was then bumped back to fifth by the Hector Lester/Stéphane Daoudi Ferrari and the Wilkins/Scott Viper. Daoudi was delighted with a podium finish on his maiden British GT outing, the Frenchman standing in for Rosso Verde's regular fast man Allan Simonsen, away at Le Mans. "It was a special welcome to British GT for me," said Stéphane. "It was a big, big fight, very interesting. The car was oversteering a bit but the safety car helped us a lot and I made a good restart, and set the fastest lap." The Chris Hyman/José Balbiani Ferrari was classified seventh, behind the Philip Walker/Michael Bentwood Ford GT, despite pulling out of the race eight laps from home with mechanical problems. The only other finisher was the GT4 Ginetta of a lonely Jody Firth, driving solo as his regular partner Nigel Moore was another driver tackling Le Mans. Firth inherited the class lead after six laps when Ian Stinton's Ginetta lost drive and he continued metronomically to the flag. "It's great for the championship," said Firth.
Race 2 They inherited the win after several rivals were handed penalties for pit stop infringements and the MTECH Ferrari of Cameron and Griffin fell from the lead with drivetrain problems four laps from the flag. "Our start was good," said Scott, "the car was good in the rain, we had a great pit stop from the lads and then Craig did a blinding job as the others fell apart around us. Really the others gave us the win today, and it is gratefully accepted." Griffin's Ferrari led for the first 30 laps in the rain, losing the advantage to Godfrey Jones's Ascari only in the final laps of Matt's stint at the wheel as the track dried. But the Jones brothers' clutchless Ascari unavoidably broke the pit lane speed limit during its stop, and then transgressed again during the resulting penalty drive-through, which handed the lead back to the MTECH Ferrari, now with Cameron at the wheel. Alas for Cameron his moment of glory disappeared in a puff of smoke along the start/finish straight on the 54th of the 58 laps. The ABG mechanics and the Viper's drivers had barely put a wheel wrong all race, Scott skilfully surviving an early spin and Wilkins driving a solid second stint to be in the right place at the right time when the race came to them. The Viper crossed the line 3.3s ahead of the Wilcox/Burton VRS Ferrari, with the Chad Ferrari collecting third and its first podium of the season courtesy Hyman and visiting Argentinian ace Balbiani. The Jones brothers recovered to fourth, scoring sufficient points to take the championship lead, with the Daoudi/Lester Ferrari fifth ahead of the Bentwood/Walker Ford GT. Cameron and Griffin were classified sixth ahead of the Momo Mosler of erstwhile points leader Brown and Fisken, which lost four laps in a gravel trap after Fisken erred at Carlube corner.
The GT4 class was won for the first time by Stinton's Stark Racing
Ginetta, Ian partnered for the weekend by Paul Marsh. They battled hard
with Firth early on, until Firth's Team WFR car lost its brakes at
Scotsman corner and ploughed into the gravel.
Avon Tyres British GT
Championship
Not classified
Fastest laps
Provisional results
round 8
Fastest laps
GINETTA G50Z DOES THE DOUBLE AS BROWN REGAINS SERIES LEAD T
Race 1 The Zytek-engined Ginetta was making only its second appearance in the championship, and was being driven by Osborne for the first time, but that did not stop Joe from planting it on the pole, nor from leading the race from the start and for the duration of his stint at the wheel. "We always knew the start would be critical," said Joe. "My first three laps were real 'qualifying laps' to pull a good gap of about four or five seconds over Dan Brown's Mosler, and then I settled into a pace I could drive at consistently." Brown in the Rollcentre/Momo car did well to keep in touch with Osborne, and indeed to narrow his lead to under 1s as the pit stops approached. Alas Dan threw away any chance of victory with a spin at the hairpin just after inheriting the lead when Osborne pitted to hand over to Bryant. Olly regained the track with a huge advantage over the new second-place car, the Beechdean Aston Martin of Andrew Howard and Jamie Smyth.
Second-stinter Smyth didn't hang on to second for long, passed firstly
by the VRS Ferrari of Phil Burton/Adam Wilcox and then by the Rosso
Verde 430, with Simonsen at the wheel and gunning for a blazing finish
after solid work from the start from Lester. "It was an extremely hard race because of the heat," said Simonsen, "but everyone was struggling with it, not just us. A few people dropped out, which helped our situation, and then I was able to pick off a few towards the end." Up ahead, Bryant was being given pit signals to speed up lest he also fall into Simonsen's clutches. "When the gap started coming down I had to up my pace a bit," said Olly, "but I had to be very careful not to slide off the track in the process. The car was good but we still need to do a lot of work to it to make it a bit kinder on its tyres." With the G50Z not yet homologated and running as an Invitation Class entry, it was Lester and Simonsen who emerged on top in championship terms, despite finishing four seconds adrift at the chequered flag. Wilcox and Burton were delighted with third overall and GT3 class second. Burton made a blinding start to pick up three places on the opening lap, and handed over to Wilcox with the Ferrari a solid fifth. "Adam did a fantastic job to lead the class until three minutes from the end," said Burton, "and the team did a great job in preparing a reliable car. After all the bad luck we've had this is a great boost." Howard and Smyth continued their season-long progress up the leaderboard with fourth place overall and the final slot on the GT3 podium, with Brown and his new driving partner Gregor Fisken next up, ahead of the Chris Hyman/Paul Warren Chad Ferrari and the RPM Ford GT of Philip Walker and Michael Bentwood, which finished a lap down after an unscheduled pit stop following a collision at Brook with the GT4 Ginetta of Gary Simms. Erstwhile championship leaders Craig Wilkins and Aaron Scott went out after 21 laps when their Viper broke a driveshaft. Other mechanical casualties were the Duncan Cameron/Matt Griffin MTECH Ferrari and the Jones brothers' Preci-Spark Ascari. GT4 category points leaders Nigel Moore and Jody Firth scored their fourth class race win from five starts with an untroubled drive in their Team WFR Ginetta. Their closest rivals, Simms and Hunter Abbott, were in trouble right from the start, Gary losing time with a fourth-lap spin which dropped him to the tail of the field. As Moore romped away into the class lead ahead of Ian Stinton's Stark Racing Ginetta, Simms did his best to make up the deficit until the 21st lap collision which holed his car's radiator and ended his race. Moore took over to win by a lap from the Stinton/Mike Thomas car, a confidence boost ahead of the 17-year-old's looming Le Mans debut. "Jody made an excellent start to the race," said Moore, "He pulled a decent gap and all I had to do really was to stay out there and finish. The team did really well, the car was excellent."
Race 2
But the Brown/Fisken Mosler wasn't the first car over the line - that
honour went once again to the Invitation Class Ginetta of Olly Bryant
and Joe Osborne, which Osborne hustled past both the Mosler and the
Ascari in the closing laps of the race. Simonsen it was who started from the pole in the Rosso Verde Ferrari, but any plans he might have had to run away and hide were scuppered by Adam Wilcox in the VRS Ferrari, who muscled his way past and into the lead at the Deene hairpin on the opening lap. Shortly after, the pack was bunched up behind the Safety Car for six laps as the smouldering remains of the Ferrari of luckless MTECH pairing Duncan Cameron and Matt Griffin were removed from the track, the 430 having caught ablaze. At the restart Simonsen wasted no time in dispatching Wilcox but, by the time he pitted on lap 21 to hand over to Lester, his lead was only around 12 seconds, not enough for the Ulsterman to have much hope of maintaining the lead. The Rollcentre team played a cannier game, Fisken the first to pit, as soon as the opportunity arose, to hand over to Brown, who was able to climb steadily through the field as those ahead made their stops. Lester lost the lead to the Ascari on lap 24, David Jones having taken over from brother Godfrey, and on the same lap Hector was pushed back to fourth by Brown and Phil Burton, who had taken over from Wilcox. There was a mighty tussle for the lead thereafter between Jones and Brown, the Mosler clearly having the edge in certain sections of the track. Ten laps from the end Osborne and the Barwell Ginetta joined the party, the three cars circulating as if on a short piece of elastic until, with five laps to go, Osborne dived down the Mosler's inside at the hairpin to snatch second place. Two laps later some deft out-braking saw Joe snatch the lead from the Ascari into Brook. "It was a lunge into the last corner from a couple of lengths back," said Osborne, who went on to take the chequered flag by a 0.6s margin. "It was a fairly easy move in the end in what had been a very hard race with a lot of overtaking." Osborne collected the Sunoco Driver of the Weekend award for his sterling efforts. The drama was not yet over for, on the final lap, Brown also managed to find his way past the Ascari to snatch GT3 class honours for the third time this season. Brown's driving partner for the weekend, Gregor Fisken, paid this tribute: "Dan made up a lot of time when he got out on track. I don't think the podium was ever in much doubt, but we are very pleased to take the win. He drove magnificently, picked his moment perfectly where the Ascari braked a bit late, and managed to get through. Today's win was mostly Dan's, I was just pleased to be along for the ride." The ABG Motorsport Viper of Aaron Scott and Craig Wilkins collected the final GT3 podium spot, some consolation for the erstwhile championship leaders following their Saturday retirement. Wilcox/Burton took fourth ahead of the Jamie Smyth/Andrew Howard Beechdean Aston. GT4 class honours went this time to Hunter Abbott and Gary Simms, whose Ginetta led almost from the outset. "I got a good start," said Hunter, "but I left the door open in the hairpin and Nigel Moore nipped past. Then, about four laps later, he made a slight mistake into Turn 3, drifted wide and I went up the inside and past him and never looked back. I handed over to Gary with about three seconds in hand and he did a good job to bring home the win." The Abbott/Simms G50 crossed the line five-and-a-half seconds clear of the championship-leading Nigel Moore/Jody Firth Ginetta, with the car of Mike Thomas and Ian Stinton collecting third in class.
Avon Tyres British GT
Championship
Not classified
Fastest laps
Provisional results
round 6
Not classified
Fastest laps FIRST BRITISH GT VICTORY FOR WILKINS AND SCOTT
Their victory promotes Wilkins and Scott to the overall lead of the championship; after four rounds the West Midlanders hold a slender one-point advantage over their pursuers. It was a masterly performance in tricky conditions from the Viper men, Scott battling the Rollcentre Mosler of Martin Short for second place in the foggy early laps as Simonsen's Rosso Verde Ferrari sped away from the pole to lead. Danish driver Simonsen held a 12-second advantage when he pitted to hand over to Ulsterman Lester - it might have been a greater advantage had the race not spent its first four laps under the Safety Car due to the poor visibility. A slow out lap and an unhelpful tap from a back-marker delayed Gregor Fisken, Short's Mosler driving partner, enough for the ABG Viper, now in Wilkins' hands, to slip past and into second pace, behind Lester. The Ferrari's advantage after 13 laps was 11 seconds but Wilkins nibbled into it each lap, posting fastest lap on his 20th tour as he latched on to Lester's tail. The decisive move of the race came on the run through Eau Rouge: "I had a bit of a run on him through La Source," said Craig. "There was a bit of contact but I made it past. It was a bit of a last-minute thing. It's very special to get our first win at last. We have worked very hard for two seasons to get here. All credit to Aaron: he's a true professional; he knows how to drive a car at a pace and bring it back with good tyres and brakes. I got into a lovely car." Craig was awarded the accolade of Sunoco Driver of the Weekend for his sterling efforts. "It's been great working with Craig and it's great to get this win," added Scott. "Really we should have had some victories last year. This is the culmination of a lot of hard work by the team, and I'd like to say very well done to all of them." The Scott/Wilkins Viper crossed the line three-and-a-half seconds ahead of the Ferrari, with Saturday's race victors, Short/Fisken and their Mosler, a solid third ahead of the Beechdean Motorsport Aston Martin of Andrew Howard and Jamie Smyth, which recorded its best result of the season. The 22 GT Racing Aston of Adrian Willmott and Tom Alexander, whose pace was hobbled by mechanical problems on Saturday, went well to claim fifth ahead of the Chris Hyman/Paul Warren Ferrari. The Momo-backed Mosler of rounds one and two victors Stuart Hall and Daniel Brown retired after only four laps, Hall pulling off after a spin. Alas the Ascari of David and Godfrey Jones failed even to make the start after an engine problem was discovered moments before the off. The battle for honours in the GT4 class was as dramatic and exciting as it has ever been, a two-way Ginetta fight after the early demise against the barriers of the Mike Thomas/Ian Stinton car. Nigel Moore led Spa race one winner Hunter Abbott in the early laps before pitting to hand over to Jody Firth, who found it impossible to maintain the pace during his stint due to over-used tyres. Gary Simms duly took over in front, but only until called back to the pits for a stop/go penalty after missing the pit window time limit. Simms drove spectacularly after serving the penalty to close down Firth's 10-second lead and pass him for the class lead once again. Jody, however, had the last laugh: "It was a great battle over the last two or three laps, I think we must have swapped the lead four or five times. It was brilliant. I only just managed to make the lead stick. On the last lap I had a good run through Blanchimont, throwing caution to the wind, and managed to pull a gap on him. That little extra bit of bravery helped." Moore and Firth, GT victors in three out of four rounds, now enjoy a 12-point title race advantage. The championship is sponsored by Avon Tyres and is further supported by motorsport insurance specialist AON, by Sunoco Racing Fuels and by Anglo American Oil Company.
Avon Tyres British GT
Championship
Not classified
Fastest laps
SHORT & FISKEN MOSLER TRIUMPHS AT SPA
Fifty-year-old Rollcentre Racing boss Short and his 44-year-old driving partner inherited the lead on the 13th of the 24 laps when Hall's leading Mosler was called back to the pits for a stop-and-go penalty for a technical infringement of the pit stop procedures. But the Short/Fisken victory was anything but a lucky affair. Fisken, an old hand at Spa but new to British GT and the Mosler, held second place behind the fiercely driven Preci-Spark Ascari of David Jones for much of his opening stint, and once he was at the wheel Short pulled off a brilliant pass, diving inside the Ascari (Godfrey Jones now at the wheel) into the Bus Stop chicane. "There's no way we would have won had Stuart not been given the penalty," admitted Short. "He was puling away from me - I have a comfortable 50-year-old pace and Stuart has a 24-year-old's proper Le Mans driver pace. Gregor did a great job, kept us in contention, and then it was down to me to pass the Ascari. We were nose-to-tail and at the Bus Stop I put myself right where he couldn't see me, right up his backside, and just before the braking area dived to the inside expecting him to close the door, but he didn't. I think it was the easiest overtaking manoeuvre of my career." Added Fisken: "Martin took that car and drove the wheels off it. I had a great time... the performance of these cars is so equal, it's a very well-matched series." The Short/Fisken Mosler finished six seconds clear of the Jones brothers' Ascari at the flag, with the Aaron Scott/Craig Wilkins Viper close behind for third after a solid performance by both drivers. The Hall/Brown Mosler had an up-and-down race from the outset: 17-year-old Daniel lost ground in the opening laps, slipping to fourth behind the Ascari, its sister Mosler and the Invitation Class Ginetta G50Z, which was enjoying a superb British GT debut in the hands of Andrew Smith. Brown bounced back to second before his pit stop to hand over to Hall, and Stuart duly took over in the lead when the Ascari pitted. Alas the drivers' good work was undone in the pits, their change-over deemed by race officials to have taken a second less than the minimum permitted time. Hall rejoined fourth after taking the penalty but slipped to fifth four laps from the end when Allan Simonsen's Rosso Verde Ferrari charged past. The Dane had taken over the car from Hector Lester in 10th place, and established a new lap record on his dash through the field. A fuel pressure problem hampered Smith's pace during his final laps in the Barwell Ginetta, and cost the car a further 30 seconds in the pits when it proved hard to restart. Oliver Bryant took over at the wheel to finish an excellent sixth. Duncan Cameron's new Ferrari 430 Scuderia came through a troublesome debut meeting to claim sixth in GT3, aided by the efforts of the MTECH team's guest driver for the weekend, 63-year-old ex-BRM Formula 1 driver Mike Wilds. The Beechdean Aston Martin of Andrew Howard/Jamie Smyth, the Chris Hyman/Paul Warren Ferrari 430 and the Adrian Willmott/Tom Alexander Aston completed the GT3 finishers, with the perennially unlucky Adam Wilcox/Phil Burton Ferrari halted early by a driveshaft issue. The three-way Ginetta battle for GT4 class honours was a boisterous affair, with the Stark Racing entry of Ian Stinton/Mike Thomas holding sway for four laps ahead of the championship-leading car of Jody Firth/Nigel Moore. Firth was then delayed by the gravel trap at Les Combes for a lap and Gary Simms was able to wrest the lead from Stinton. Sims and the Rob Austin Racing Ginetta pitted with a handsome class lead and Hunter Abbott took over at the wheel to race on to win the class by nearly a minute. Both drivers were Spa debutants. "The first couple of laps were pretty hectic," said Gary. "There was a bit of pushing and shoving, but I came out of that on top and took the lead, and then it was a question of getting my head down and trying to take it easy on the tyres." Added Abbott: "I took the car over in great condition. My stint was easy, I just had to keep it on the black stuff. I kept the reins in and short-shifted my way to victory." There's now a four-way tie for the GT3 championship lead involving the Jones brothers and Hall/Brown, while Firth and Moore, who recovered to class third today, maintain their GT4 overall points advantage. The next round is tomorrow (Sunday). The championship is sponsored by Avon Tyres and is further supported by motorsport insurance specialist AON, by Sunoco Racing Fuels and by Anglo American Oil Company. Avon Tyres
British GT Championship Fastest lap Simonsen, 2m 30.162s / 104.34mph HALL AND BROWN CLAIM THEIR SECOND BRITISH GT WIN
On Saturday the new Rollcentre Racing pairing, one of the youngest ever seen in the series, led all the way. Today they had to play second fiddle to the Allan Simonsen/Hector Lester Ferrari for the first half of the one-hour race. Dane Simonsen was the early leader, the Rosso Verde team driver overhauling pole man Hall at the start and hanging on in front all the way to the mid-race pit stops. "I had no brakes at the first corner," said Hall. "We had no time to bed in the new pads during the pre-race warm-up, so stopping proved a big problem." Hall chased Simonsen for all he was worth thereafter, keeping the Ferrari's advantage down to less than a second before pitting to hand over to his younger team-mate. Brown completed his first lap at the wheel of the Mosler 2.8 seconds behind the Ferrari, now in the hands of veteran Ulsterman Hector Lester, and was just sizing him up for a passing manoeuvre when Lester spun away his lead at Old Hall Corner. His only real rival for victory out of the way, Brown romped home to a 21-second win. "I was a bit surprised when Hector went off," said Daniel, "because I hadn't put him under any pressure at that point. But I was also concerned because it might have meant a safety car period and that would have cut my lead." Brown need not have worried: Lester regained the track with ease, but his grip on a good finish was loosened in the closing laps, first by David Jones, who snatched away second in his Ascari, and then by the Craig Wilkins Viper. Lester had to settle for fourth at the flag. The GT4 class lead was seized at the start by the Ginetta G50 of Team WFR duo Nigel Moore and Jody Firth. Moore started the race and built a handy lead over the Ginetta of Hunter Abbott, with Firth maintaining the pace during his stint to claim the duo's second successive class win. The Lawrence Tomlinson/Richard Sykes Ginetta took second in GT4, with Sykes awarded the Sunoco Driver of the Weekend award for his efforts at the wheel. The Easter weekend brought impressive maiden race outings for the KTM X-BOW, driven by Phil Keen and Marcus Clutton, which claimed unopposed victories in the new Super Sport class and enjoyed good battles with several of the GT4 runners. Avon Tyres British
GT Championship 1 GT3 Mosler
MT900, Daniel Brown/Stuart Hall 1h 01m 12.834s / 92.35mph Fastest laps
DREAM BRITISH GT DEBUT FOR HALL & BROWN MOSLER
Brown, in his maiden British GT outing, displayed nerves of steel and skill to spare in the opening laps as he built a useful lead over his closest pursuer, veteran David Jones in the Preci-Spark Ascari. "The team told me to push as hard as I could in the early laps, and that's what I did," said Daniel. "But I was a bit surprised to find myself as far ahead as I did. Perhaps being a bit younger than the rest I was a bit braver on cold tyres." Brown handed over to Hall at half-distance with a lead of nine seconds, which Hall extended during his stint to 12 seconds before easing off towards the end and crossing the line 7.6s clear of the David/Godfrey Jones Ascari. "It was a 'Sunday afternoon' drive for me," said Stuart. "Daniel did a good job early on and handed the car over in good shape." The Jones brothers' car was a worthy second-place finisher, crossing the line more than half a minute clear of the Rosso Verde Ferrari of Hector Lester and Allan Simonsen. Simonsen was engaged in a huge battle in the closing laps with the Craig Wilkins/Aaron Scott ABG Viper, settled only a lap before the end when Scott struck trouble: "We lost fuel pressure and then the car just stopped," said Aaron. The Aston Martins of the Beechdean/Barwell team might have finished higher but for mystery misfires which hampered their pace. The DBRS9 of Belgian duo Eddy Renard and Vincent Vosse lost fourth to the Duncan Cameron/Matt Griffin Ferrari four laps from the end, with the Andrew Howard/Jamie Smyth Aston taking seventh. GT4 class honours looked set to go to the Ginetta G50 of Speedworks Motorsport pairing Richard Sykes and Lawrence Tomlinson. Sykes led handsomely up to the pit stop but Tomlinson went off road and into retirement, handing class victory to the Ginetta of Rob Austin Racing duo Gary Simms and Hunter Abbott. Abbott, who last year exited the Oulton race in a dramatic, fiery crash, crossed the line 10 seconds ahead of the second-place GT4 finishers, Jody Firth/Nigel Moore, in another Ginetta. Avon Tyres British GT Championship 1 GT3 Mosler MT900, Daniel
Brown/Stuart Hall 1h 0m 50.788s / 92.91mph Not classified Fastest laps
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The
Avon Tyres British GT Championship claimed another motor-sporting first
on Sunday at Brands Hatch when twin brothers David and Godfrey Jones
took championship victory in the final round; it's not only the first
British GT championship win shared by siblings but is believed also to
be a UK first for twins.
Jody
Firth is GT4 Class Champion of the 2009 Avon Tyres British GT
Championship. The 28-year-old from Wakefield secured the title in fine
style with a class win - his 10th of the season - at Brands Hatch in the
penultimate round of the series. Firth and his co-driver Nigel Moore led
the class all the way at Brands in their Team WFR Ginetta G50, finishing
nine laps ahead of their rivals Ian Stinton and Gary Simms.
Duncan
Cameron and Matt Griffin took their, and MTECH's, first Avon Tyres
British GT victory at Silverstone on Sunday(16 Aug). The pair led for
much of the two hours and ultimately won the race by half a minute,
giving the 2009-spec Ferrari 430 its first success in the series.
Alex
Mortimer and Philip Walker claimed the first win of the Avon Tyres
British GT Championship season for the RPM Motorsport team this
afternoon (Sun) at Donington Park, timing their pit stop to perfection
to steal a march on their rivals in a wet two-hour endurance round of
the championship.
David
and Godfrey Jones emerged the big winners from the Avon Tyres British GT
Championship's weekend at Snetterton, the Leicestershire brothers
emerging on top in Saturday's ninth round of the series in their Preci-Spark
Ascari, and then collecting maximum points in GT3 in round 10, beaten to
the chequered flag narrowly by the Invitation Class Ginetta G50Z of Olly
Bryant and Piers Johnson.
The
Avon Tyres British GT Championship has a new leading driver pairing this
weekend after two superbly exciting races at Knockhill in Scotland. The
new men on top are racing twin brothers David and Godfrey Jones, who
scored the Team Preci-Spark Ascari's first legitimate British GT race
victory on Saturday, and who collected further points in today's (Sun)
eighth round. The ABG Viper pairing of Aaron Scott and Craig Wilkins
were the race victors of today's gripping event.
wo
dramatic rounds of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship at Rockingham
this weekend brought not only a new race victor to the series in the
shape of the Barwell Motorsport Ginetta G50Z but also another new
championship leader, 17-year-old Mosler driver Dan Brown returning to
the top of the points table after a GT3 class-winning performance on
Sunday afternoon.
Craig
Wilkins and Aaron Scott claimed a long overdue maiden win in the Avon
Tyres British GT Championship today (Sun) at Spa-Francorchamps in
Belgium, their ABG Motorsport Viper snatching victory two laps from the
chequered flag to deny the Ferrari of race-long leaders Allan Simonsen
and Hector Lester.
Just
as in both the Oulton Park races, it was a Mosler which took the
chequered flag first at Spa-Francorchamps this afternoon (Sat) in round
three of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship. But on this occasion it
wasn't youngsters Daniel Brown and Stuart Hall at the wheel of the
winning car but old stagers Martin Short and Gregor Fisken.
The
young lions of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship, 17-year-old
Daniel Brown and his 24-year-old team-mate Stuart Hall, made it two out
of two at Oulton Park this afternoon (Mon), their Momo Mosler following
up its Saturday win with another resounding race victory in round two.
Seventeen-year-old
Daniel Brown and his 24-year-old team-mate Stuart Hall enjoyed a dream
start to their Avon Tyres British GT Championship partnership at Oulton
Park this afternoon (Sat), their Momo-backed Rollcentre Mosler leading
the championship's opening round all the way from pole position to
chequered flag.