Unpredictable Weather Adds to British GT Drama at Silverstone

15 August 2005

The Silverstone round of the British GT Championship produced one of the most exciting races of the season, with unpredictable weather keeping the results in doubt until the final seconds.

When the dust settled, Ben Collins and Neil Cunningham claimed victory in the nr 55 Embassy Porsche 996, just seconds ahead of the nr 35 Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari 360 pair of Andrew Kirkaldy and Nathan Kinch, with third going to Michael Bentwood and Anthony Reid, in the nr 10 RJN Motorsport Nissan 350 Z. Victory in GT3 went to Andy Britnell and Chris Stockton in the nr 23 Motorbase Quaife Porsche 996, while Steve Warburton and Sean Edwards were the leading Invitational entry in the nr 33 Motorbase Quaife Porsche 996.

A shower just before the start left the track greasy, and meant the first two laps were spent behind the safety car. When racing got under way several cars tangled at Copse, with a trail of oil being laid down to Maggotts. That brought the safety car back into play, and it stayed out for the next 20 minutes. Kirkaldy (Scuderia Ecosse) quickly pulled clear of Keen (nr 69 Eclipse Mosler), with Niarchos (nr 34 Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari) in third. However, when the rain started Keen began to reduce the gap, the Ferrari not handling well on the greasy track. Just as the first hour ended Kirkaldy pitted to hand over to Kinch, opting for full wets; this proved a decisive moment. Just minutes before, Niarchos had spun off at Abbey, losing two laps and dropping well down the order.

Collins had made good progress in the Embassy Racing Porsche, climbing to second but unable to catch the Mosler; it seemed that disaster had struck when he handed over to Cunningham, as they were hit with a drive-through penalty.

Keen stayed out as long as possible, handing over to Hyde with just over 30 minutes remaining; they opted for slicks, which proved costly as they were then well off the pace, Hyde spinning twice as they dropped to sixth at the flag.

With 20 minutes remaining, it seemed that Kinch was well clear in the lead - but as the track dried, Cunningham went quicker and quicker, finally getting past at Priory on the final lap, coming home under 3 seconds clear, with the RJN Nissan only 10 seconds further back. Embassy Racing's decision to go for inters had allowed them to claim their second win of the season, snatching the lead with only four corners remaining. "The team have done a brilliant job; we finished fifth in a 24-hour race just two weeks ago, and they've worked flat-out since then to get the car ready for this race, so to win this race is fantastic," said Collins.

The weather ensured that there were frequent lead changes in GT3, with the Tech 9 Porsche and nr 23 Motorbase Quaife Porsche heading the timesheets most of the time. But again, tyre choice was decisive; Tech 9 had opted for full wet tyres, which were quickest for about twenty minutes, but which then went off over the final stages. The Motorbase Porsche had remained on slicks, and hunted down the Tech 9 car, going past with only five laps left. The United Christian Broadcasters Ferrari also had their sights set on Tech 9, catching them on the final lap; out of Luffield for the final time, Simonsen dived for the inside as Masarati tried to defend, and Simonsen claimed second by just a thousandth of a second.

45 seconds ahead of the nr 23 Motorbase Quaife car at the finish was the nr 33 Motorbase Quaife Porsche 996 of Warburton and Edwards, racing as an Invitational entry because of an incompatibility with the statutory fuel. This was a great result for the pair, as their own car had destroyed its engine on Thursday, and this was a last-minute replacement.

The podium places were only decided over the final ten minutes, with tyre choice an hour earlier proving crucial. Scuderia Ecosse had some consolation for their choice of full wets, as second means they have clinched the Teams' Championship with four races remaining. The RJN Motorsport squad claimed a fine third with the newly torquoise Nissan 350 Z.

The lead in GT3 seemed to change almost continuously throughout the race, with the lead changing hands for the last time with only eight minutes of the two-hour race remaining. The nr 23 Motorbase Quaife Porsche led several times through the race, their choice of remaining on slicks paying off as the track dried. "This is a phenomenal result; it was so slippery out there on slicks, I just kept hoping it would dry up," said Stockton. Second place was decided literally on the line, with the United Christian Broadcasters Ferrari finishing just 0.001s ahead of the Tech 9 Porsche. The nr 33 Motorbase Quaife car, running in the Invitation Class with Stephen Warburton and Sean Edwards at the wheel, was the best of the GT3 cars throughout the weekend, finishing in a fine 7th place overall.

SRO

See 2005 series calendar for British GT Championship

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