Double Pole for Tech 9 at Croft
07 May 2005
Tech 9 secured pole position for both British GT Championship rounds
at Croft this weekend. With a lap-time of 1:25.619,
Dimitris Deverikos put his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup on pole position for the first
race at Croft, which takes place on Saturday afternoon.
"It's my first time at Croft and I'm happy to be on pole," Deverikos
said afterwards. "I've seen many videos from both inside and outside
the car. I've learned the circuit very quickly although I am still
learning the lines.
It's a good time and obviously pole is a very good position to start the race.
My times are close to those set by Piers [Maserati] which is good for the race.
If everything goes well, I'm optimistic that we can win."
Deverikos, who, with his team-mate Piers Masarati, won at Donington
Park, was followed by the Motorbase Performance Porsche 911 GT3
Cup driven by Chris Stockton,
who was second fastest, with a time of 1:25.877. Jon Finnemore of Team Tiger
qualified third, lapping in 1:26.151 in the Marcos Mantis.
Damax driver Miles Hulford claimed eighth place on the grid, while
Alex Mortimer, who finished third at Donington Park five weeks
ago, set the tenth fastest
time with a lap of 1:27.274. Mortimer's session came to an early halt after
a collision
with Team Parker's Martin Rich.
After Deverikos secured pole position in the first qualifying session,
team-mate Piers Masarati followed his example by putting the Tech
9 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
on pole for the second Croft race, scheduled for Sunday afternoon. Masarati
set a time of 1:24.775, with Allan Simonsen (United Christian Broadcasters)
qualifying
second in his Ferrari 360, only 0.020 seconds behind the Tech 9 Porsche.
Chris Beighton was third quickest, repeating the performance of his
team-mate Jon Finnemore from the first qualifying session.
"
It would have been nice to be on pole but we are happy with third position," Beighton
commented. "A lot can happen in the one-hour race. We are happy, because
as long as we qualify in the second or third row it gives you a good position
for the race. I just hope it's going to be a clean race. It's British GT, anything
can happen."
Oliver Bryant was fourth quickest in the Morgan Aero 8 GT, which he
will drive on his own this weekend, as Keith Ahlers is racing in
the 24-hour race at the
Nürburgring. The Team Aero driver said he was happy with his performance. "It
went well," Bryant said. "I've never been here before but yesterday
I had a good amount of time in the car to learn the circuit and today, I went
out there, got into a good rhythm and just kept picking away at it."
Bryant was followed by Ian Flux in the Ferrari 360 of JMH and the
Motorbase Performance Porsche 911 GT3 Cup of Andy Britnell.
Miles Hulford came ninth, setting a time of 1:27.168. "We've made a lot
of improvements since yesterday but we still need to find a little bit of time," Hulford
was quoted afterwards. "I think we can keep up with the race pace and be
quite competitive. I hope to finish the race and get some points. I would be
happy if we can do that."
Fellow youngsters Phil Quaife and Alex Mortimer again finished tenth
in the Quaife/RPM Porsche GT3 Cup, setting a time of 1:27.277.
SRO
See 2005 series calendar for British GT Championship
Related Story 05.05.2005 - Largest
Ever GT3 Grid Assembles for Croft Rounds
