Ollie Hancock will make his British GT Championship comeback with FF Corse at Donington Park next weekend (September 13/14).The 27-year-old’s late call-up is due to season regular Adam Carroll’s European Le Mans Series commitments, meaning Hancock will share the Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 alongside experienced GT campaigner Gary Eastwood in Anthony Cheshire’s squad. Notwithstanding his last-minute appearance, the ex-works Lotus driver is confident that Eastwood’s second place at Leicestershire’s 2.498-mile circuit 12 months ago bodes well for a strong result.However, despite the guaranteed buzz of Donington’s two-hour championship showdown, Hancock will be focused on proving his credentials ahead of a planned permanent return next season.Ollie Hancock: “I’m really excited about Donington Park. I’ve known Anthony for many years and while we’ve always tried to work together, it hasn’t been possible until now. I’ve never raced the 458 before, but I’m used to driving different cars on a weekly basis so adapting shouldn’t be a problem. FF Corse is an extremely professional outfit that prepare their cars to a very high standard, so I’m sure I’ll have everything at my disposal to hit the ground running. It’s also the perfect time to return to British GT as I’m looking at a drive for 2015. Finally, I must thank Gary and Anthony for this fantastic opportunity.”Power steering motivates Tutumlu crash
A problem in the power steering of the Selleslagh Racing Team by Barzani Chevrolet Corvette C6/ZR1 meant for Tutumlu to lose control of his car and crashed into wall at Eau Rouge. Tomorrow Tutumlu and Barzani Racing Team will start on the pole position in the second Int´l GT Open race at Spa-Francorchamps.
Race one of the International GT Open at Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium) brought a premature end to Isaac Tutumlu and Barzani Racing Team. Tutumlu veered off the track at Eau Rouge, as a result of a power steering problem, but fortunately the driver was not physical harmed. In the morning Archie Hamilton, sharing the car racing under the Barzani Racing Team banner, set the pole position with a lap time of 2:20.272.
Hamilton made a good start in spite of the Briton was overtaken by Maxime Soulet at an early stage. After six laps problems Hamilton started to struggle keeping second place – his lap times was four seconds slower- and was passed by Daniel Zampieri as well. Selleslagh Racing Team decided to pit as soon as possible. Shortly after when Tutumlu was starting his stint, problems took a turn for the worse. At Eau Rouge Tutumlu could not manage to control his car and suffered an accident but escaped unhurt.
“It was a shame because we started on pole and didn´t get to score points. Archie was completing a good stint until problems began, lapping four seconds slower per lap. We pitted early and changed tires. We tried to do our best but it was impossible. Our car power steering were definitive after twelve laps”, the driver of Barzani Racing Team explained, stressing that “I tried to slam sideways into the barriers, because it was mandatory not damaging the car a lot. I think it is possible to repair it for tomorrow. I will start on the pole position, after setting a lap under 2:20 barrier, and no one in the Int´l GT Open history has been able to do it besides myself. My closest rival was almost one second slower”.
