One-Two Finish for Scuderia Ecosse in British GT Race Two at Knockhill

22 May 2005

The Scuderia Ecosse team secured a one-two finish at the twisty Knockhill circuit on Sunday afternoon. Nathan Kinch and Andrew Kirkaldy, in the nr 35 Ferrari 360 Modena, had a clean start-to-finish win. The track was still damp when the race started, following a shower shortly beforehand, but the rain stayed away and the track dried continuously through the race. Andrew Kirkaldy started the race from pole position and had a problem-free stint. After the pit stops Nathan Kinch kept it clean and drove home to claim a superb home victory for the Scotland-based team. "It was straightforward, to be honest," Kirkaldy said afterwards. "At the start, we had a wet circuit and dry tyres, so we worked hard to get some heat in the tyres in the opening laps. After that, it was just a case of getting a gap. Luckily for me, Tim had a spin and it just went on from there. It's great to come back here and win; this is worth just as many points as the three-hour race at Magny Cours. Three wins and a second place from four races is a good showing so far."

The nr 34 Ferrari 360 Modena of Tim Mullen and Chris Niarchos started the race from second position. Early on, Mullen ran wide coming out of Seat corner, which saw him dropping back to fifth position. After the pit stops, Niarchos managed to fight his way back through the field and finished the race in second place.

The Team Eurotech Porsche of Michael Caine and Mike Jordan crossed the line in third position. Michael Caine, who was fifth on the grid, had a great fight with the nr 43 LNT TVR T400R, driven by Warren Hughes.

At the start, Caine charged past Ben Collins in the nr 55 Embassy Porsche, and started to close on Hughes. Hughes used all the track to avoid being overtaken by Caine, and they touched coming up the pit straight. It would have been an interesting battle for third position, but, unfortunately, Warren Hughes had to retire due to the engine problems the team had suffered from all weekend. "I think if we could have passed Warren (Hughes) then we could have been able to push on and fight with the second Ferrari but these guys are setting the standard in British GT," Michael Caine explained. "We're OK with third; we are never really happy unless we're winning, but at the moment it is a big hill to climb.

Saturday's winners, Ben Collins and Neil Cunningham from Team Embassy, could not quite match the pace of today's front-runners, and finished the race in fourth position.

The nr 42 LNT of Jonny Kane and Andrew Thompson started the race at the back of the grid after missing both qualifying sessions due to an engine problem. Kane, starting the race in the TVR T400R, was climbing through the field, and was at one stage over a second faster than anybody else on the track. However, Kane had to retire while he was lying sixth, when the car's engine problems reoccurred. "It was the first time we used new parts for the engines and we had problems on both engines twice this weekend," Kane explained afterwards. "It's very strange, but we hope to have it sorted out for Thruxton next week."

In the GT3 class, Saturday's winners Team Tech 9 also won the second Knockhill round. Dimitris Deverikos and Piers Masarati were involved in some great fights throughout the race, even challenging some of the GT2 cars. "I'm very pleased with the result because we have scored well for the championship," Deverikos said in the press conference. "The UCB Ferrari had a technical problem and it worked in our favour."

With Julian Westwood in the Team Parker Porsche running close behind, Simonsen, in the nr 21 Ferrari he shares with Lester, made a move on Masarati into the hairpin on lap 22 but as both cars ran wide, Westwood was able to put his car into second, only for Simonsen to take the place back less than a lap later. Simonsen would eventually force his way past Masarati to take the GT3 lead just before the driver changes. However, the problems which have affected the UCB Ferrari since the opening round of the season were soon to return with Hector Lester forced to slow, allowing Deverikos able to take a comfortable class win from the impressive Trackspeed Porsche of David Ashburn and Fred Moss. Miles Hulford and Jamie Smyth finished third to secure their second podium finish of the 2005 season. "Half way through my stint the engine went flat down the straights, and I also had gear selection problems coming out of the corners," 16-year-old Hulford said. "I tried to hold David off, but he was able to get past me on the back straight. We're happy with third as we scored more points and beat our team-mates.

With his car getting slower by the lap, Lester eventually finished in sixth place. There was bad luck for the Team Parker pairing, as Martin Rich spun out on lap 39, their nr 30 Porsche having earlier damaged its suspension.

SRO

See 2005 series calendar for British GT Championship

Related Story 22.05.2005 - Embassy Racing Secures Its First-Ever Victory at Knockhill