British GT and FFSA GT Set to Race Together on the Streets of Pau

27 May 2006

After three races in the UK the competitors in the GT3 and GTC classes are heading for the warmer climate of the South of France, where they will compete in two 1-hour races on the streets of the picturesque city of Pau, in the foothills of the Pyrenees, 50-miles from the Spanish border.

The British GT teams will be joined on the 1.7-mile circuit by the competitors of the Coupe de France FFSA GT Series, with a combined grid of over 30 GT cars taking part in the joint event, to be known as the GT Masters. Two one-hour races will take place, the first on Sunday 4th June, and the second on Monday 5th. While the two series will be racing together, there will be separate podiums and celebrations.

The trio of GT3 Lotus Sport Cadena Exiges will be making the trip to Pau. "We're pleased with the start we made at Donington, with two of the cars finishing strongly which is good news," said Barrie Whight of Lotus Sport Cadena. "It's going to be a learning exercise for everyone, except for most of the French competitors, and it will be interesting to see how the car behaves on a street circuit. Everyone knows that Lotus' are renowned for their handling other than straight line pace and it will be interesting to see how we get on around somewhere like that, where the Exige should really be quick."

In GTC David Dove will be racing his Ferrari 360 with former British GT champion Calum Lockie. "I haven't driven on a street circuit before, so it's a bit of an unknown quantity," said David Dove, "but we'll have a look and see and tread carefully I suppose. I'm looking forward to the races, I just hope everyone doesn't get too excited and try to pass in stupid places."

Team RPM are entering two Porsche 996's in GTC at Pau and after a third place at Donington for Alex Mortimer and Bradley Ellis, team owner Robin Mortimer is pleased with the progress his drivers have made and is looking forward to the races on the tight and twisty streets at Pau. "I personally love street circuits, I've done a lot of racing on them," said Robin Mortimer. "Alex has also done a bit of street racing. It's a completely different discipline and I think the teams who have done it before are going to have a massive advantage because it really is a question of keeping your powder dry and firing your bullets at the right time. I think a lot of the guys might go out there, go a bit too hard in the early laps and damage their cars. We're taking a massive amount of spares, you've only got to make a tiny little mistake, which you would normally notice on a road course, and you're in the wall or you've hit something. It's just a completely different discipline, you've got to drive with a bit in reserve."

"Not really bothered about the weather," Mortimer continued. "We've got a really good handle on the car in the wet or the dry, so I don't really mind if it's hot or it's cold or if it's wet or dry. We were enormously impressed by the progress young Bradley Ellis made, that was only his third race in the car at Donington. To end up on the podium so soon, he is going to be really good, I was very pleased with that. "

Team Tiger's Chris Beighton and Jon Finnemore, who have taken 3 out of 3 victories in GTC this season, have decided not to travel to Pau, giving the other teams the opportunity to close the 14-point gap. The Lotus Sport Cadena drivers have the opportunity to take the lead in the GT3 championship with a total of 10 points on offer over the weekend for two wins.

On the streets of Pau, one team will certainly have the support of the whole town. Driving a Pouchelon Dodge Viper GT2, Laurent Cazenave and Eric Cayrolle, both from Pau, will be out to win their home round. However, they will have plenty of opposition. Among the French teams, they will include the Riverside Corvette Z06 in the expert hands of James Ruffier and Marc Sourd, the Racing Logistic Dodge Viper GT3, driven by Frédéric Makowiecki and Jean-Yves Adam, or the current leaders of the FFSA French GT Cup, the Porsche driven by Franck Colas and David Loger, closely followed by that of the Rodrigues family.

The GT2 class teams in the Avon Tyres British GT Championship are not travelling to Pau; they will race in France at the end of the season at the Grand Prix circuit at Magny Cours on October 22nd, with the French FFSA GT Championship.

MotionWorks / SRO

See 2006 series calendar for British GT Championship

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