The Grid.co.uk the national & club motor racing website - est1998
|
The Grid.co.uk the national & club motor racing website - est1998 |
|
| Home |
 Features |
Calendar |
News
Archive |
11/56 MotorSport | |
|
Reports |
Gallery |
Links |
Classified |
|
For further
information on the 2007 Avon Tyres British GT Championship visit
www.britishgt.com
|
Continued from News
mail your links to editorthegrid@yahoo.co.uk Double victory seals British GT Championship crown for Ellis & Mortimer Bradley Ellis (Croydon) and Alex Mortimer (Stoneleigh) approached the final rounds of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship some eight points behind in the title fight but the youngest pairing on the grid refused to sit back and accept defeat. A dominant performance saw the Team RPM duo take their second double victory of the year and the coveted championship crown in the process, at Rockingham near Corby, on Sunday 30 September. The champagne flowed freely in the Team RPM pit after what has been a challenging season en route to the spoils in the pairing’s first year in GT3. As the final race weekend dawned, lying third in the standings, Ellis and Mortimer faced the hefty task of making up for a disastrous round 12 at Croft and the eight-point deficit to championship leaders Guy Harrington and Ben de Zille Butler, with 20 points up for grabs. The nail biting weekend kicked off with a close first qualifying session where Mortimer yo-yoed for pole position with Jason Templeman. Mortimer topped the timesheets on more than one occasion and eventually took third 0.517 seconds behind pole-sitter Templeman in the Lamborghini. Ellis’ session started with a little less optimism when he had to pit after just a few laps to take on more fuel, thereby missing the optimum timeframe to set a flying lap, finally settling for seventh. A solid start by Mortimer for round 13 on Saturday afternoon secured second place by turn one, slotting in behind Templeman with Matt Harris in the Tech 9 Porsche in third. Mortimer stayed within five tenths of the Lamborghini throughout the opening laps, with Harris remaining in close contention, but Mortimer made a move on Templeman down the inside of Tarzan Corner on lap six to take the lead. Out in front, Mortimer built over a one second margin before the safety car came out on lap eight, closing up the field. When racing resumed on lap 10, Mortimer nailed the restart to pull out a two-second lead by lap 13, with the Lamborghini staying in contention. Mortimer made for the pits on lap 21 to hand over to Ellis but the lack of a speed lane restrictor on the Viper meant that the Team RPM duo lost out to the Tech 9 Porsche and Tom Ferrier rejoined the race in the lead just ahead of Ellis. With 22 minutes to go, Ellis was just over one-second behind Ferrier as the leaders began to scythe their way through the back markers. By lap 26, Ellis began to close on the Porsche under breaking for Tarzan and continued to pressurise for the following six laps. As the leading pair crossed the line to start lap 34, Ellis looked threatening into turn one and expertly positioned his Viper to take the lead up the inside of Ferrier at Deene Corner. Ellis edged away from the Porsche to pull out a comfortable three second lead before taking the chequered flag on lap 41 to seal the Team RPM duo’s third win of the season and ten valuable points. The Aston Martin of Paul Drayson and Jonny Cocker finished fourth, pushing them to the top of the leader table, with Harrington and de Zille Butler failing to score any points. But Ellis and Mortimer’s outstanding efforts promoted them to second with just two points separating first and second place in the championship fight. With the withdrawal of the Lamborghini with gearbox problems, Ellis started the final round of the season on Sunday in sixth but, with Thomas Erdos slow away in the Ascari, Ellis dropped to seventh. Quickly recovering, Ellis took the Team RPM Porsche on lap two, to regain sixth behind Erdos. The safety car came out at the beginning of lap four but racing resumed on lap six with Ellis just five tenths from the Ascari’s rear bumper. Ellis continued to push Erdos and made his move at Deene Corner on lap 10 and by the time the cars crossed the line to start lap 11, Ellis had pulled some eight tenths clear. Next in the Croydon racer’s sights was the number seven RPM Viper over one second up the track, but Ellis caught and passed his teammate on lap 12, again at Deene, to secure fourth. The tension soured as the current championship-leading Aston of Cocker was now just two and a half seconds ahead of Ellis in third.In a meticulous drive, Ellis chipped away at the Aston’s advantage and the pair began to pass the backmarkers while closing on Adam Wilcox in the number 12 Ferrari. Ellis edged ever closer and by lap 19 the Aston’s margin was slashed to one second while Allan Simonsen was some 18 seconds ahead in the Ferrari before pitting on lap 24. Refusing to let up, Ellis maintained the gap to third before Wilcox, Cocker and Ellis all filed into the pits on lap 25. Slick stops by all three teams saw Phil Burton, Paul Drayson and Mortimer rejoin the race in order. Drama struck on lap 27 when Drayson missed Deene Corner and went off onto the oval circuit, promoting Mortimer to third and igniting the championship battle. With Drayson out of sight, Mortimer pressurised Burton and on lap 28 slipped past the Ferrari for second through Gracelands. By now, Hector Lester’s Ferrari had pulled out over a six second lead but Mortimer still had more to give and, with the absence of a car-to-pits radio, just kept on pushing. Sensing a double victory and the championship crown, Mortimer sliced the gap by over four seconds within three laps. The Viper started lap 34 just three tenths adrift and glued to the Ferrari’s bumper, finally sweeping into the lead through Gracelands. With ten minutes to go, Mortimer kept his cool to pull clear of Lester, who was taken on lap 38 by Nick Foster in the sister RPM Viper. As Mortimer came out of Brook, the Team RPM personnel were waiting on the pitwall to celebrate their maiden British GT Championship crown. Mortimer took the final chequered flag of the season two seconds clear and, with Foster following him home, Team RPM also celebrated their first one-two of the season.The RPM young guns sealed the Avon Tyres British GT3 crown with four wins, two second-place finishes and two thirds, finishing on 81 points and six points ahead of Drayson and Cocker. Their second double victory hailed their first wins since they did it the first time round at Brands Hatch in July. Ellis’ home event was the turning point of the season and launched the pair from fifth to lead the championship and in reach of the title. After the team’s tears had dried and the champagne sprayed, Ellis commented: “To seal the British GT3 crown in our maiden season after finishing third in the GTC class last year is sensational. The car was perfect and so were the team. “I can’t express enough thanks to everyone at Team RPM, Robin and Bridget Mortimer, all of the mechanics, my mum, dad and sister, Tiffany, not to mention my fantastic teammate, Alex. It wasn’t an easy weekend, but we knew what we had to do when we got here and we did it.” An elated Robin Mortimer, Team RPM principal, said: “A quite unbelievable weekend. When we came here we all feared that it might be too big a mountain to climb but, due to the dogged determination of all the team’s drivers and mechanics, we proved that the impossible is achievable. A huge amount of credit must go to the hard working mechanics, who travelled straight from Czechoslovakia to Rockingham after the penultimate round of the FIA European GT3 Championship. I feel hugely proud of being a small part in such a successful racing team and as a small reward for a perfect season’s racing we look forward to Brad joining us in Dubai, as a present from the team, for the final round of the FIA European GT3 Championship.”
Avon Tyres British GT Championship
Avon Tyres British GT Championship
DISASTEROUS CROFT DAMAGES ELLIS’ CHAMPIONSHIP CHANCES Croydon’s Bradley Ellis and teammate Alex Mortimer (Stoneleigh) approached rounds 11 and 12 of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship at Croft, North Yorkshire, second in the fierce title fight and one point adrift. The Team RPM duo now lie third, eight points behind the leaders, after a penalty saw their round 11 podium finish demoted to fourth and the Viper was taken out and failed to finish round 12. With 20 points up for grabs in the final two rounds at Rockingham, 29&30 September, Ellis and Mortimer have it all left to do. s the lights turned green for round 11, Mortimer made a good start from sixth to finish lap one in fourth, just over one second behind the sister Viper of Nigel Redwood. Mortimer pushed to within just over half a second of Redwood in the opening laps while David Jones in the Ascari was bearing down from fifth. Jones managed to slip past Mortimer on the run up to Hawthorn on lap six but the 22-year-old stayed in contention and got the margin down to six tenths in the following laps. Jones quickly reeled in and subsequently took Redwood 15 minutes into the race, allowing Mortimer to follow suit and take fourth the following lap. Pulling clear of his teammate, Mortimer was left chasing Jones, who was now nearly four seconds ahead in third by lap 13. Mortimer managed to reduce Jones’ advantage to three seconds before pitting just before the halfway mark. With the pitstop melee complete, Ellis emerged third, eight seconds behind Godfrey Jones now driving the second-placed Ascari, with the number three Aston Martin still in the lead. On a charge from fourth was the Christians in Motorsport Ferrari and Allan Simonsen soon began to pressure Ellis. The 20-year-old held his nerve to stave off Simonsen’s advances for a good few laps before the Ferrari took third at the final corner with 20 minutes remaining. But three laps later the Ascari went off the circuit, demoting Jones from second to fourth and Ellis to third in the process. As Simonsen took the Aston for the lead with less than 10 minutes to go, Ellis faced a massive 10 second gap to second-placed Ben de Zille Butler while Jones was on a recovering charge from fourth. Ellis didn’t let up his pace and, managing to keep the pressurising Ascari behind him in the remaining six laps, succeeded in slashing the margin to just over three seconds before taking the chequered flag. Despite Ellis’ efforts to take the final podium position, an 11 second penalty for defending his position on exiting the pits demoted the Team RPM duo to fourth. As Sunday’s race dawned, the Avon Tyres British GT Championship fight was perilously close with one point between leaders Paul Drayson and Jonny Cocker on 62 points, with Ellis and Mortimer sharing second place alongside Guy Harrington and Ben de Zille Butler. A lightening start from fourth for round 12 saw Ellis immediately set about Cocker at the first corner and the pair ran side-by-side through Hawthorne before Ellis took the position at the chicane. It took just the length of the back straight to line up Wilcox before taking the place at Tower, to finish lap one in second. Ellis comfortably pulled away from Wilcox while Simonsen was over six seconds ahead in the leading Ferrari before the safety car was brought out on lap six, closing up the field. Racing resumed when the safety car went in on lap nine and Ellis again pulled clear of Wilcox. With Simonsen pulling out a six second gap, Ellis stood over four seconds clear of Wilcox before pitting with 30 minutes to go. Once Mortimer was at the wheel, it was evident that the RPM duo had lost valuable time, mainly due to the Viper not being fitted with a speed lane restrictor. Lying fifth after the pitstop shuffles, Mortimer formed part of a four-car train fighting for third place and was chasing the much slower car of Phil Burton, who had taken over from Wilcox. Despite posting consistently quicker lap times, Mortimer had to wait until the 50 minute marker to make his move cleanly at the Hairpin on lap 32. Burton, however, did not relinquish the place easily. As the pair crossed the line to start lap 33, Mortimer stayed on the inside line for Clervaux while Wilcox swerved and, with wheels on the grass, tried to outbrake Mortimer. The Ferrari hit the rear of the Viper entering Clervaux, putting Mortimer in the gravel and out of the race. With a tyre completely off of the rim and extensive damage to the wishbones, dampers and driveshaft, it was impossible for the Viper to continue but Burton rejoined the fray. The unnecessary incident stopped Ellis and Mortimer from scoring any championship points and wiped the pair from their second place standing in the championship, dropping them to third. “It’s pretty difficult to put a positive slant on this weekend, because it’s been a disaster,” commented Ellis. “We’ve been quicker than the Aston Martins all weekend and, despite suffering from similar problems at this circuit, we came out on top in terms of driving performance. It’s a shame to have been taken out of Sunday’s race, especially by a non-championship fighting car. Now all we can do is our best at Rockingham and fight for the 20 points available.” Avon Tyres British GT Championship Provisional Results – Round 11, Croft - Amended 1 Hector Lester/Allan Simonsen Ferrari 430 GT3 1:00:36.685 2 Ben de Zille Butler/Guy Harrington Aston Martin DBRS9 +6.435 3 David Jones/Godfrey Jones Ascari KZ1R +10.656 4 Bradley Ellis/Alex Mortimer Viper Competition Coupe +20.560 5 Paul Drayson/Jonny Cocker Aston Martin DBRS9 +27.451 6 Paul O’Neill/Steve Clark Viper Competition Coupe +35.945 7 Nick Foster/Nigel Redwood Viper Competition Coupe +38.528 8 Matt Harris/Tom Ferrier Porsche 997 GT3 +40.088 9 Michael Bentwood/Tom Alexander Aston Martin DBRS9 +40.457 10 Michael Greenhalgh/Eric Zwart Ascari KZ1R +50.242
Provisional Results – Round 12, Croft 1 Hector Lester/Allan Simonsen Ferrari 430 GT3 1:00:29.315 2 Ben de Zille Butler/Guy Harrington Aston Martin DBRS9 +17.388 3 Paul Drayson/Jonny Cocker Aston Martin DBRS9 +21.235 4 Paul O’Neill/Steve Clark Viper Competition Coupe +27.040 5 David Jones/Godfrey Jones Ascari KZ1R +30.288 6 Matt Harris/Tom Ferrier Porsche 997 GT3 +36.976 7 Paul Gibson/Dan Gibson Ascari KZ1R +49.025 8 Adam Wilcox/Phil Burton Ferrari 430 GT3 +55.815 9 Neil Cunningham/Richard Hay Viper Competition Coupe +1:07.700 10 David Ashburn/Ronyane Omahony Porsche 997 GT3 +1:11.618
15 Bradley Ellis/Alex Mortimer Viper Competition Coupe +7 laps
ELLIS CLINCHES DOUBLE PODIUM AT THRUXTON
Croydon’s Bradley Ellis and teammate Alex Mortimer (Stoneleigh) scored two credible podium finishes at Thruxton circuit, Hampshire, in rounds nine and 10 of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship on 25&26 August. The pairing’s impressive continued form saw Ellis clinch his first GT3 pole position on Saturday, which converted into a second place finish, followed by third on Sunday. Their efforts, however, were not justly rewarded as the pair now lie second and sit two points adrift in the title fight with four rounds left to run. With the sun beating down, Ellis started the weekend in style by clinching his maiden British GT3 pole for round nine at the challenging Hampshire track on Saturday while Mortimer secured fourth on the grid ready for round 10 on Sunday. Ellis kept the pack tight and nailed it at the start to launch into the lead but was challenged by Barrie Whight in the Cadena Motorsport Aston Martin entering the Complex. It was, however, Nigel Redwood’s sister Team RPM Viper that finished lap one in second behind Ellis. The 20-year-old began to pull out a steady lead and by lap 11 was six seconds ahead of Redwood. In the still sweltering heat, Ellis executed a smooth stint and continued to extend his lead without incident or challenge before pitting at the 30-minute marker. A slick pitstop and Mortimer rejoined in the lead, with Guy Harrington in the number 3 Aston Martin in second and the number 1 Aston of Jonny Cocker in close pursuit in third. Cocker passed Harrington and began to reel in the Team RPM Viper. Mortimer could do little to stave off Cocker’s advances and the Aston Martin glanced past and into the lead through Goodwood on lap 33. Cocker took off at an astonishing pace, leaving Mortimer little choice but to consolidate his position and Cocker finished over 30 seconds clear. With the Barwell Aston taking 10 points for the win, the championship fight was blown wide open once again, with Ellis and Mortimer sharing the lead on 50 points with Paul Drayson and Jonny Cocker. Hot again for round 10 on Sunday and a good start saw Mortimer secure his starting position of fourth by the end of lap one, nine tenths off third-placed Adam Wilcox in the Ferrari. With Cocker’s Aston Martin and Allan Simonsen’s Ferrari out in front, Mortimer focussed his efforts on Wilcox and barely allowed for more than seven tenths of breathing space for the first 10 laps. Despite pressing Wilcox, Mortimer had the number 2 Aston of Michael Bentwood in his mirrors and the trio consistently stayed on a level pegging until the leaders began to catch and pass the backmarkers on lap 12. The gap continued to vary by mere tenths lap after lap and as they approached the pitstop window on lap 18 just five tenths separated Wilcox and Mortimer, with Bentwood four tenths behind in fifth. Mortimer and Wilcox simultaneously dived into the pits on lap 20 but Team RPM got Ellis out on track first due to the VRS Motor Finance Ferrari opting to change tyres. Once the pitstops were all complete, Ellis was promoted to third with Paul Drayson now leading in the Aston and its sister car in second, driven by Ben de Zille Butler. A drivers’ door latch failure, however, left Ellis with little chance of making an impression on the second-placed Aston, as he had to spend the first two laps trying to hold the door shut through the Complex. With the door safely secured, Ellis was finally able to push and despite such an eventful start to his stint he closed to within 3.5 seconds of de Zille Butler by lap 33, until backmarkers once again came into play. Halfway into his stint, Ellis began to struggle on his tyres. Suffering from severe vibrations, he was unable to post consistent lap times in the final 15-minutes and each flying lap, which matched the lap times of the leader, had to be followed by a series of much more reserved laps. Ellis sensibly decided to ease off and consolidate his position upon hearing the news that Redwood’s sister Team RPM Viper had picked up a puncture in the closing stages. Once back in the pit garage, it appeared that Ellis’ left front tyre had suffered severe blistering and was warn down to the wire. Despite scoring two podium finishes across the weekend, Ellis and Mortimer are now two points behind Drayson and Cocker in the Avon Tyres British GT Championship fight, promising a nail biting end to the season as Team RPM heads to Croft circuit, Yorkshire, for rounds 11&12. Ellis commented: “Although it’s been great to be on the podium twice this weekend and pick up some valuable championship points, we are disappointed to have lost the championship lead. It was a shame not to clinch our third win of the season yesterday and we just couldn’t finish any higher than third today. But we are far from out of the championship fight as we are just two points behind the leaders. It’s incredibly close and anything can, and generally will, happen so we’ll be going all out for victory and maximum points at Croft.”
Avon Tyres British GT Championship Provisional Results – Round Nine, Thruxton 1 Paul Drayson/Jonny Cocker Aston Martin DBRS9 1:00:49.234 2 Bradley Ellis/Alex Mortimer Viper Competition Coupe +33.641 3 Ben de Zille Butler/Guy Harrington Aston Martin DBRS9 +36.859 4 Nigel Redwood/Nick Foster Viper Competition Coupe +42.231 5 Hector Lester/Allan Simonsen Ferrari 430 +53.286 6 Paul Whight/Barrie Whight Aston Martin DBRS9 +55.456 7 David Jones/Godfrey Jones Ascari KZ1R +59.636 8 Phil Burton/Adam Wilcox Ferrari 430 +1:05.967 9 Oliver Bryant/Phil Keen Ascari KZ1R +1:08.521 10 Tom Alexander/Michael Bentwood Aston Martin DBRS9 +1 lap Avon Tyres British GT Championship Provisional Results – Round 10, Thruxton 1 Guy Harrington/Ben de Zille Butler Aston Martin DBRS9 1:00:33.336 2 Jonny Cocker/Paul Drayson Aston Martin DBRS9 +2.408 3 Alex Mortimer/Bradley Ellis Viper Competition Coupe +15.184 4 Paul Whight/Barrie Whight Aston Martin DBRS9 +41.591 5 Tim Harvey/Henry Fletcher Viper Competition Coupe +1:04.336 6 Godfrey Jones/David Jones Ascari KZ1R +1:08.602 7 Michael Bentwood/Tom Alexander Aston Martin DBRS9 +1:10.221 8 James Littlejohn/Richard Hay Viper Competition Coupe +1 lap 9 Nick Foster/Nigel Redwood Viper Competition Coupe +1 lap 10 Allan Simonsen/Hector Lester Ferrari 430 +1 lap
Second Victory for Lester-Mullen Partnership The Christians in Motorsport Ferrari of Hector Lester and Tim Mullen scored their second victory of the 2007 season, finishing well ahead of the VRS Motor Finance Ferrari of Adam Wilcox and Phil Burton and the Aston Martin DBRS9 of Paul Drayson and Jonny Cocker. As the lights went out it was Adam Jones, starting from the second row, who got away well, moving ahead of both Ferraris on the front row. Phil Burton found himself boxed in by the Lamborghinii and the Ferrari of Hector Lester and as the 27 car grid went through Copse for the first time it was Jones from Lester from Burton. The first retirement came at Becketts when the Damax Ascari of Stephen Keating pulled off having lost all drive. As the rest of the field came back into the stadium, Tom Alexander in the Barwell Aston Martin spun at Luffield and the Cadena Motorsport Aston of Barrie Whight also had a spin somewhere out of view. As the cars crossed the line the Team Modena Lamborghini Gallardo had already opened up a 1.7 second gap over the CiM Ferrari, which in turn was pulling away from the VRS Motor Finance Ferrari in third. Matt Harris in the Tech9 Porsche had made up two places on the opening lap and crossed the line one place behind the 4th placed Rollcentre Mosler of Kevin Riley. Riley had the Porsche snapping at his heels as they went through Copse and on the run into Becketts Harris made his move and breezed into 4th. Riley then seemed to have a problem as he dropped back to 20th before the end of the lap. Erik Zwart in the Team Berlanga Ascari was also making up ground from 11th on the grid and swept past Ben de Zille Butler in the Barwell Aston Martin catching the front splitter on the DBRS9 as he passed. However the Ascari ended up in the gravel a few corners later in an unseen incident, though Zwart managed to recover the car to the track, while de Zille Butler was forced into the pitlane and into retirement with damage to his oil cooler from a lap one incident. Meanwhile Phil Burton was falling into the clutches of Matt Harris, who in turn was being caught by the flying Bradley Ellis in the Team RPM Viper, up to 5th on lap 3 after starting in 14th. As Harris started to put 3rd placed Burton under pressure Ellis was content to watch and wait for his opportunity. On lap 6 Harris made his move at Woodcote, with Burton unable to stop the Porsche moving into 3rd place and at Copse Ellis repeated the move and the pole position holder found himself down in 5th at the end of the lap. Meanwhile David Jones in the Team Eurotech Preci Spark Ascari was served with a drive through penalty for overtaking under yellows. Having started at the back of the grid, Jones had worked his way up to 11th by lap 9 when he came in to serve his penalty and knew he had to do it all over again. By now Harris was catching the second placed Hector Lester and on lap 9 the Tech 9 Porsche took another Ferrari scalp followed by the Team RPM Viper of Bradley Ellis. By this time Adam Jones in the Team Modena Lamborghini had disappeared into the distance and was over twenty seconds ahead of the rest of the field. The Team Trimite Brookspeed Viper of Nigel Greensall was another car on the move through the field. After starting in 19th place Greensall was scything through the field and was lying in 6th place behind the Damax Ascari of Oliver Bryant as they crossed the line to start lap 11. The two cars entered Copse nose to tail but the Viper got the better exit and Greensall was now 5th and chasing down the Ferrari of Phil Burton. In the next two laps Greensall overtook Burton and Lester and was now closing in on the Viper of Bradley Ellis. Kevin Riley in the Rollcentre Mosler came in for an unscheduled stop and a sticking throttle was diagnosed when downshifting which had caused him to lose places. The team managed to solve the problem and Riley rejoined the race. At the rear of the field the Team Aero Morgan of Steve Hyde was 15th overall and well ahead of the rest of the GTC field after the team had changed the engine overnight, forcing them to start form the back of the grid. By lap 14 Hyde was nearly 10 seconds ahead of nearest rival Graeme Mundy in the RSS Performance Porsche, with Andrew Howard in the Beechdean Ferrari holding third a bit further down the road. Meanwhile back at the front Adam Jones was now 26 seconds ahead of Matt Harris, but Ellis, who was being caught by the Viper of Nigel Greensall, had had enough of following the Porsche and made a move to take second and on lap 16 he made it stick. It was now the turn of Harris to have the pressure from Greensall but the Tech 9 Porsche was able to maintain the pace and not hand the Viper any opportunity to get past. Phil Burton had caught up with Hector Lester and was applying a bit of pressure to the CiM Ferrari and on lap 21 Lester slid wide at Abbey and Burton took advantage of the mistake to move into 5th as the pitstops approached. Lap 23 finally saw Greensall get ahead of Harris at Copse as the Porsche seemed to be struggling. Hector Lester lost another place to Oliver Bryant in the Ascari and further back Paul Drayson was having a great battle with the Team RPM Viper of Henry Fletcher. On lap 25 the first of the pitstops took place when Peter Bamford came in to hand over to Matt Griffin in the Team RPM Porsche, while further back David Jones was coming through the field once again passing the Cadena Motorsport Aston Martin of Barrie Whight into Abbey. As the pits became busy with cars making their mandatory stops Adam Jones continued to circulate at the front of the field and by lap 30 held a massive 31 second lead over Bradley Ellis, who in turn was 7 seconds ahead of Nigel Greensall. The little Ginetta G20 of Nick Marsh was another retirement at this point, pulling off the track at Luffield and stopping in a safe place. On lap 37, as the top three cars continued to race, Phil Burton brought the VRS Motor Finance Ferrari in to hand over to Adam Wilcox. The team decided to stay on the same Avon tyres for the rest of the race and the Ferrari exited the pitlane in good time. It was then the turn of Hector Lester to make his stop to hand over to Tim Mullen. The CiM team decided to change one tyre, the left rear, which was to prove an astute move by the end of the race. Bradley Ellis in the second placed Team RPM Viper suddenly slowed with a puncture as he headed to the pits and he crawled back to his pit box to hand over to Alex Mortimer. The problem cost the team a massive amount of time and undid all the good work Ellis had done in the opening part of the race. Nigel Greensall, who had briefly held second, came in to hand over to Phiroze Bilimoria. On lap 43 Adam Jones came into the pits from the lead with a massive 55 second lead to hand over the car to Matt Owen. Owen regained the track still in the lead but a slow stop put the Lamborghini just 2.5 sceonds ahead of the Brookspeed Team Trimite Viper of Bilimoria and the Indian driver was able to move into the lead on lap 45 to lead his first ever British GT race. A stop go penalty was handed to car 54, the RSS Performance Porsche with Jamie Smyth at the wheel for speeding in the pitlane. However the Team Aero Morgan had a problem and spent a long time in the pits as the mechanics tried to find an electrical problem, dropping the Morgan down the order and out of contention for the GTC win. As the running order became clearer after the pitstops it was Bilimoria leading from Owen in the Lamborghini with Wilcox in the Ferrari ahead of Phil Keen in the Damax Ascari and Jonny Cocker in the Aston Martin. Tim Mullen was 6th in the CiM Ferrari ahead of Godfrey Jones in the Team Eurotech Ascari after a good pitstop and a great recovering drive from brother David after the stop go penalty. Wilcox was the driver to watch as he first overtook Owen in Lamborghini at Brooklands and then a lap later he swept past Bilimoria at the same spot to take the lead. However the fastest car on the track was the CiM Ferrari of Tim Mullen who overtook Cocker on lap 51. Phil Keen in the Damax Ascari was also moving up as Owen and Bilimoria dropped back down the order and on lap 55 it was Wilcox from Keen from Mullen from Cocker. Bilimoria brought the Brookspeed Viper into the pits with a problem, dropping the Indian out of contention as the mechanics tried to find the source of the problem. The Cadena Motorsport Aston of Gavan Kershaw also came into the pits with oil smoke coming from the engine bay and the Trackspeed Porsche of Jonny Lang also came into the pits with a problem. Back on the track and Mullen was catching Phil Keen and moved into second place at the end of lap 56, 17.7 seconds behind the leading Ferrari of Adam Wilcox. It was then the turn of Jonny Cocker to attack the Ascari and as the two cars crossed the line for the 61st time they were side by side into Copse Corner, with Cocker holding the inside line to take the final podium place away from Keen. Tom Ferrier in the Tech 9 Porsche and Godfrey Jones in the Team Eurotech Ascari were also on the move back towards the front of the field overtaking Matt Owen's struggling Lamborghini, with Ferrier not targeting the Ascari of Phil Keen as the race entered its final stages. At the front Mullen was taking huge chunks out of Wilcox's lead, the decision spend the extra time to change the rear tyre during the pitstop clearly giving Mullen a performance boost. By lap 72 the two Ferrari's were nose to tail and as they crossed the line Mullen moved to the inside into Copse but Wilcox defended. However Mullen wasn't going to be denied and at Brooklands the red Ferrari moved ahead and into the lead. Ferrier caught and passed Keen and was quickly followed by the Jones Ascari. However it was then Ferriers turn to come under pressure and into Copse Jones made his move and made the move stick to take 4th place as the race entered the final lap. At the flag it was Tim Mullen who scored the Christians in Motorsport teams second win of the year, 11 seconds ahead of Adam Wilcox in the VRS Motor Finance Ferrari. Jonny Cocker was a further 12 seconds down the road in the Barwell Aston Martin, but after the disappointments of two non finishes at Brands Hatch the team were pleased with the result. Godfrey Jones came across the line in 4th, 37 seconds behind Mullen, an excellent result after starting from the back of the grid. The Tech 9 Porsche 997 of Matt Harris and Tom Ferrier was 5th just ahead of double race winners Alex Mortimer and Bradley Ellis. The Damax Ascari of Oliver Bryant and Phil Keen was 7th and the final championship point was secured by Matt Owen and Adam Jones for Team Modena. Jamie Smyth brought the RSS Performance Porsche home at the head of the GTC class, the first win of the season for the team, which consolidates their championship lead. Phil Nuttal and Andrew Shelley were 83 seconds behind on their British GT debut for Trackspeed, with Andrew Howard and Aaron Scott two laps adrift to take the final podium finish. Keith Ahlers brought the Team Aero Morgan home to claim five useful championship points. Bradley Ellis and Alex Mortimer head to Thruxton with a two point advantage over Paul Drayson and Jonny Cocker in the race for the 2007 Avon Tyres British GT Championship title, with Godfrey and David Jones just one point behind the Barwell drivers. In fact just six points cover the top 11 drivers with six races remaining.
Ellis Maintains British GT Championship Lead at Silverstone Croydon GT racer Bradley Ellis still leads the Avon Tyres British GT Championship with teammate Alex Mortimer (Stoneleigh) despite a challenging two-hour round eight at Silverstone on Sunday 12 August. In a lightening performance, Ellis scythed through from 14th on the grid to run as high as second, taking eight places on the first lap, eventually finishing sixth and securing three valuable points to stand two points clear in the championship battle. Following their double win at Brands Hatch, qualifying 14th at the premier Northamptonshire track was disappointing. It was clear that the Team RPM Dodge Viper Competition Coupe’s set up was not complementing its tyres under qualifying conditions in the souring heat. Cooler by 10 degrees on Sunday, Ellis made an awesome start from row seven to pass a gaggle of cars going in to Copse and continued to charge past eight cars in total and finish lap one in sixth. By the end of lap two, the 20-year-old took fifth place from Kevin Riley in the Mosler and began to close on Matt Harris in the Porsche 997. With the gap to the Porsche down to just 0.4 seconds at the end of lap five, Ellis and Harris bore down on Phil Burton and both took the Ferrari across the line to start lap seven, promoting Ellis to fourth. Staying within half-a-second of Harris, Ellis maintained the pressure, sticking with the Porsche to gain on the third-placed Ferrari 430 of Hector Lester. Once again the pair passed their target in quick succession, with Ellis moving up to third on lap nine. Just over 15-minutes in and Ellis was still glued to Harris’ bumper, the pair just three tenths of a second adrift, but the Croydon ace stayed patient and picked off the Porsche for second on lap 15. With Adam Jones in the Lamborghini Gallardo 26.5 seconds up the track, Ellis tried to chip away at the massive margin before Jones stretched his lead once again. Ellis stayed unchallenged for much of his stint, until his penultimate lap before pitting, when he suffered a wheel-nut failure exiting Luffield. With the left-rear wheel hanging-on only by the safety stop and wobbling precariously, Ellis couldn’t make the pit lane and had to complete an entire lap before he was able to dive for the pits at the one-hour marker. The Team RPM mechanics did a great job to refuel, wrestle the damaged wheel loose and change all four wheels, before Mortimer took finally to the track. Many of the teams chose not to change tyres and when the pitstop shuffle was complete, Mortimer emerged 10th. Immediately matching Ellis’ pace, Mortimer made it up to eighth with 36 minutes to go. The 22-year-old pushed to reduce the seven second gap to seventh-placed Godfrey Jones in the Ascari until Tom Ferrier, now in the #9 Porsche, and Jones took Matthew Owen’s Lamborghini, leaving Mortimer to take Owen on lap 63. Mortimer set his sights on the now sixth-placed Jones, six seconds ahead. With just 15 minutes to go, the Team RPM Viper had slashed the gap to 2.5 seconds. Mortimer managed to take sixth with just six minutes remaining, where he stayed unchallenged until the chequered flag. “We’ve earned important championship points here at Silverstone and to finish sixth from 14th on the grid is nothing to be ashamed of,” commented Ellis. “Qualifying was a bit of a struggle but, in fact, we didn’t loose as much time as some of the other teams when you compare our qualifying and race pace. We actually had a much better set up for the race.” “I had a mega start and going from row seven to sixth place on the opening lap certainly helped our championship chances. I think we would have certainly scored a podium finish if we hadn’t suffered the wheel-nut failure, but we are still leading the championship. It’s really close at the top of the table and we are going to keep chipping away and try to increase our lead.” Robin Mortimer, Team RPM Principal, said: “It’s been a really strange weekend, with all team members struggling to get a qualifying lap in their Vipers. I think we were all frustrated after qualifying, but there did appear to be a trend, in as much as all of the front engined cars, including the Aston Martins, seemed to struggle. “In the race, both Al and Brad drove impeccable sessions and once again our race pace returned. I think the boys have done an incredible job to open up a bigger lead this weekend, after extremely difficult circumstances in qualifying. We have six races left and I think we now have a really good chance to land this title. As a final comment, I think we must commend the hard work of all the team mechanics, who have not seen their beds for the last four nights until 3am. The whole team is extremely optimistic for the rest of the year.” Avon Tyres British GT Championship Provisional Results – Round Eight, Silverstone
ELLIS SCORES FIRST BRITISH GT3 DOUBLE FOR DODGE ON HOME TURF Bradley Ellis and teammate Alex Mortimer clinched a double Avon Tyres British GT Championship win in rounds six and seven on 14 & 15 July, made all the more sweeter on Ellis’ home circuit of Brands Hatch, Kent. Astonishingly, the pair started the weekend lying fifth in the championship but walk away leading the series. In the process, the lights-to-flag win on Saturday earned the Team RPM pair a small place in motorsport history by clinching Dodge’s first British GT3 victory while producing six different winners in six races for the Avon Tyres British GT Championship. Their second win on Sunday confirmed them as the only team to win two races this season and delivered Ellis and Mortimer’s first ever double victory at one event. Elated with the results, Ellis commented: “This was almost the perfect weekend and I am over the moon to take our first GT3 wins at my home circuit. The only thing missing was the double pole position, but otherwise it couldn’t be any better. This goes some way to making amends for all of the bad luck we’ve had this season and it was fantastic to show what we are made of in front of all our sponsors. I must thank ATS, Fathom, GENT, Schroth and Cult for their continued support. Undoubtedly, this weekend leaves us in a more commanding position going into the two-hour round eight at Silverstone.” The Team RPM duo looked promising from qualifying when Mortimer put the Team RPM Viper on pole position. As usual, mere one hundredths of a second separated the pair’s pace and, although Ellis set the faster overall time on this occasion, the 20-year-old clinched sixth on the grid for Sunday’s race. An excellent start from pole for round six on Saturday afternoon saw Mortimer command the lead from Paddock Hill Bend with Paul Drayson’s Aston Martin in second. Comfortable out in front, Mortimer continued to pull away at a rate of 1.5 seconds per lap and boasted a seven second lead by lap six when the Safety Car was brought out, wiping out his advantage. Mortimer nailed the restart on lap 10 but understeer at Graham Hill Bend sent the 22-year-old wide allowing Drayson and Godfrey Jones to pressurise. But Mortimer emerged from Clearways with a four second lead while the Aston Martin and Ascari had disappeared, due to an incident between Hawthorn and Westfield. The advantage was again short lived as the Safety Car came out two laps later, but went in the same lap. Another good restart allowed Mortimer to increase the margin from Nigel Redwood’s Team RPM Porsche and continued to pull out nearly nine seconds before pitting with 27 minutes left to run. A swift pitstop and Ellis rejoined in the lead with Michael Bentwood’s Aston Martin bearing down in second, followed by the two Ferraris of Allan Simonsen and Adam Wilcox. Ellis put in lap after consistent lap to pull out a 3.5 second lead with 17 minutes to go. With four seconds covering the first four cars as the field approached the last 10 minutes, the crowd were in for a thrilling end to the race. Ellis refused to succumb to the pressure and was pulling away once again when the race was red flagged with eight minutes remaining. Despite a premature end to the race, Ellis had pulled out an increasing lead and was elated to take his maiden GT3 win on home ground. A strong start for round seven on Sunday and Ellis held sixth into Paddock and immediately set about fifth-placed Wilcox. Glued to the Ferrari’s bumper for the first six laps, Ellis made a smooth move down the inside of the Ferrari at Paddock Hill to take fifth on lap seven. Two seconds clear of the Ferrari by the end of the lap, Ellis began to reign in Michael Bentwood who was 4.5 seconds up the track in the Aston Martin. The second-placed Lamborghini Gallardo suffered a puncture promoting Ellis to fourth, while the gap to Bentwood continued to fall by tenths of a second each lap. As the pit window opened Ellis’ mighty efforts saw him just 2.3 seconds adrift of the Aston Martin and the Croydon racer made his pitstop at the 30 minute marker, giving teammate Mortimer the best opportunity to maximise their track position. Once the pitstops were completed, Mortimer emerged in third and set about the leaders lapping nearly a second quicker than Drayson and the second placed Ferrari of Hector Lester. By the end of lap 27 Mortimer had reduced Lester’s five second advantage to five tenths and took second place at Westfield with 15 minutes to go. On lap 29, Mortimer took the lead when an incident at Surtees saw Drayson retire at Hawthorn. With a double victory in sight, Mortimer continued to build a comfortable margin from Lester to take the chequered flag and the second win of the weekend, over eight seconds clear. After the second champagne podium celebrations at Brands Hatch, Team RPM Principal Robin Mortimer commented: “It just doesn’t get any better than this. Once again, both Al and Brad didn’t put a foot wrong and the strategy we devised at the start of the race worked perfectly. An enormous amount of credit must go to the hard working mechanics and data staff who work tirelessly to help achieve the results. I think this has reignited interest in the British GT Championship as it is no longer an Aston Martin benefit.” Avon Tyres British GT Championship Provisional Results – Round Six, Brands Hatch
Avon Tyres British GT Championship Provisional Results - Round Seven, Brands Hatch
ELLIS PREPARES FOR HOME BATTLE AT BRANDS HATCH
Ellis and teammate Alex Mortimer currently lie fifth in the Avon Tyres British GT Championship after a mixed season so far. The opening round saw the Dodge Competition Coupe struggling to find power and stability due to penalty restrictions of 100 kilos of ballast, an air flow restrictor and increased ride height. The problems, however, didn’t stop Ellis and Mortimer bagging their first podium of the season that same weekend, by finishing third in round two at Oulton Park. With some restrictions removed and the ballast dropped to 60 kilos, the dynamic duo went one better in round three at Donington Park, taking the second step of the podium. Despite their unquestionable potential, lady luck really hasn’t been smiling on the Team RPM pairing. In the last round, five, at Snetterton, Ellis and Mortimer could only muster 10th after a monumental effort. It was a miracle they finished at all, with a faulty ECU playing havoc with their chances throughout the two hour race. “We’ve had a tricky start to the season, but we are hoping everything will come good at Brands Hatch,” said Ellis. “I can’t wait to get back to my home track; it should be a great event. Although we haven’t tested the Viper at Brands Hatch, we are confident we can go well, as the sweeping corners really suit the car.” With their first 2007 victory so far eluding them, Ellis and Mortimer are hoping to correct that balance at Brands Hatch but are realistic about their chances. “Of course we will be looking to repeat last year’s GTC class victory at Brands Hatch, but first and foremost we will be concentrating on getting as many points as possible and aiming to get on the podium in both races. It will be my pleasure to welcome all my sponsors to Brands Hatch – ATS, Cult Energy, GENT, and Fathom, so I’m determined to give them all a great weekend.” Aside from the Avon Tyres British GT Championship, 20-year-old Ellis has tasted victory twice guest driving in the Dunlop Radical Enduro Championship. Partnered with Phil Bailey (Hinckley, Leicestershire), Ellis has helped secure five podium finishes, including two wins and three second places so far, which leaves them second in the championship battle and just three points adrift of the leaders after six rounds. Qualifying for rounds six and seven of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship takes place on Saturday 14 July at 13.15 and 13.45. Racing on Saturday starts at 16.05 with round six of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship at 16.50. The racing action starts again at 10.20 on Sunday 15 July, with the British GTs taking to the track for round seven at 13.55. All times remain provisional.
|
|
