Scuderia Ecosse Double British GT Win, Cirtek Power Through to Take Second
27
August 2006
Win number 9 for Tim Mullen and Chris Niarchos has given the Scottish
team a three point championship lead with three races remaining. A clash
between the Ferrari and the Team LNT Panoz caused the rear right wheel
to fail and Luke Hines was forced to come into the pits. A charge back
through the field by Hines resulted in 3rd overall and 3rd in GT2 behind
the flying Cirtek Porsche of Adam Jones and Peter Lloyd.
GT3 saw another win for Leo Machitsky and Jonathan Cocker, the Aston
Martin battling with the more powerful GT2 cars for most of the race.
The points have moved Machitsky to within half a point to the Lotus
pairing of Sam Blogg and George MacKintosh in the GT3 Championship,
however the Lotus pairing had their best race of the 2006 season finishing
2nd and clearing showing that the last round at Silverstone is going
to be a battle royale for class honours.
Tom Ferrier and Phil Glew took a dramatic win in the GTC class, just
ahead of Ryan Hooker and Phil Keen. However an eight second penalty
handed to Phil Keen for driving standards dropped the #3 Trackspeed
Porsche down the order and promoted Matt Allison and Jonny Lang to second
place and gave them a 5 point advantage over Hooker in the GTC championship
title race.
A goog start by pole position holder Ian Flux saw the Rollcentre Mosler
lead the Team LNT Panoz and the Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari into Paddock
Hill for the first time. The three GT2 cars were nose-to-tail through
Druids and Graham Hill as the two championship contenders battled to
get past the very wide and fast Mosler.
On lap 2 Tom Kimber-Smith got the run on Flux on the Grand Prix loop
and as the cars came back into view at Clearways the Panoz was in front
with the Ferrari of Tim Mullen back in third place. Kimber-Smith started
to pull away as the Ferrari struggled to find a way past the Rollcentre
car.
Finally on Lap 3 Mullen made his move at Westfield and he set off after
the Panoz. However Kimber-Smiths lead was curtailed as the safety car
came out after Matt Harris in the #4 Trackspeed Porsche was tipped into
a spin by another car and was collected by the Ascari of Richard Stanton.
On lap 7 the race was restarted with the two leading cars pulling ahead
of the rest of the field as the pitstop window approached. In GTC Chris
Beighton was storming through the field in the Team Tiger Marcos, hitting
the class lead on lap 9 after passing Phil Keen at Paddock Hill. Matt
Griffin borught the #17 RPM Porsche into the pits after running over
debris on the track, the car unable to rejoin the track.
Meanwhile Mullen was pressurising Kimber-Smith and the Panoz ran wide
at Westfield and the Ferrari pounced, taking the lead just as the safety
car was deployed for the second time. Just as the saftey car came out
the pitstop window opened and Leo Machitski came into the pits just
as it opened, handing over to Jonathan Cocker who leapfrogged up the
field as a result of Machitski's quick thinking.
A frantic few minutes ensued as most of the teams took advantage of
the saftey car to do their compulsory stops. Mullen handed over to Chris
Niarchos at the same time as Kimber-Smith handed over to Luke Hines,
but the LNT crew managed to get the drop on their rivals and Hines rejoined
ahead of Niarchos. Ian Flux stayed out and was leading as the safety
car pulled into the pitlane.
The Panoz / Ferrari battle continued as they fought they way back up
the grid from 6th and 7th under the safety car. On Lap 19 Flux pitted,
leaving the Panoz out in front just 0.2 seconds ahead of teh Ferrari
and the rapid Aston Martin of Jonathan Cocker not far behind in 3rd.
In 4th place the Cirtek Porsche of Adam Jones was flying up the order
after starting from a lowly 23rd.
On lap 21 Niarchos got alongside the Panoz at Surtees, but Hines didn't
see the Ferrari and turned in, clipping the rear end of teh Team LNT
car and causing a wheel failure. The Ferrari continued with minor wing
damage but the Panoz had to limp back to the pits for a new wheel.
A charge back through the field then developed, eventually getting back
up to 3rd place by the end of the race behind the Cirtek Porsche and
the winning Ferrari.
Sam
Blogg in the Lotus Sport Cadena Exige was also having the best race
of the season, forcing his way through the field and passing the GT3
Porsche of David Ashburn on his way to 6th overall and second in GT3.
The GTC battle was raging for the entire race and the Motorbase Performance
Porsche of Phil Glew and Tom Ferrier was in the thick of it. Tom Ferrier
found himself battling with Bradley Ellis in the Team RPM Porsche and
Ryan Hooker in the Trackspeed Porsche. On lap 33, contact between Ellis
and the DBRS9 of Paul Drayson dropped the RPM car out of contention,
with Ferrier challenging Hooker for the class lead as they entered the
final lap side-by-side across the line.
Out on the GP loop Ferrier made his move and came back into view ahead
of Hooker and took the chequered flag.
A dramatic end to a thrilling British GT race that saw Tim Mullen and
Chris Niarchos extend their lead over Tom Kimber-Smith and Luke Hines
with three races remaining.
Leo Machitski now heads for the final round at Silverstone just half
a point in the GT3 championship chase behind George MacKintosh and Sam
Blogg.
The stewards judged that Phil Keen was at fault for the earlier accident
that caused Matt Harris to spin into the wall, which also eliminated
the Ascari of Richard Stanton and was awarded an eight second penalty
which dropped himself and Ryan Hooker down to 11th overall and 5th in
class. It also gave Championship leaders Matt Allison and Jonny Lang
an extra point over their championship rival with one race remaining.
SRO
See 2006 series calendar for British
GT Championship
Related Story 26.08.2006 - Vicotry
and British GT Championship Lead for Mullen and Niarchos
