FIA GT – Round 7 - Oschersleben, Germany
American sportswoman Liz Halliday and team-mate Justin Keen were on their way to a strong result in the seventh round of the FIA GT championship at Oschersleben, Germany when their pace was hampered by two penalties handed down by the stewards of the race.
British driver Keen made a good start from 12th on the grid and when he came into the pits at the end of his first one-hour stint, as planned by the Lister works team, was running a strong seventh overall. Twenty-six year old Halliday took over and rejoined the race. Unfortunately, the Lister team was soon notified of a drive-through penalty for Liz, but was not told what the infringement was, as is always the case. The Lister pit wall informed Liz of the penalty, who was both surprised and mystified by it!
Halliday said: “I had no idea what that penalty was for! I know that I did nothing wrong. When I came out of the pits after taking over from Justin, the tyres on the right hand side of the car might have been on the white line but they did not go over it - I am sure of that. When I was forced to go back into the pits for the drive-through penalty, the team and I didn’t know what we had done wrong, and I lost my concentration because I was trying to understand the situation. I drove through the pit lane and rejoined the race. The only thing I wanted was to get on with the race and recover the time I had lost.”
However, it was not to be. As Liz was re-starting her stint, the team was notified of another penalty for car number 14! This time, they were officially informed that the penalty was for crossing the white line at the exit of the pit lane, for the second time. Liz’s situation was worsened and now she had to observe a stop and go penalty!
Liz Halliday continued: “This time I was shocked and annoyed with the whole thing, although I knew I had made a mistake coming out of the pits after the drive-through penalty. I had lost my concentration because we didn’t know what we did wrong in the first place. When I came out, I realised I had gone over the line, but it was too late. It’s a real shame and I am really sorry about this. I had to go back to the pits again, this time losing even more time with a stop and go, before I could rejoin the track. I was very cautious when I exited the pit lane and rejoined the race.”
Unfortunately, with the amount of time spent in the pits, Liz’s hopes of a good result for the seventh round of the Championship were gone.
Liz added: “The two penalties were an absolute nightmare, as I lost a lot of time at the beginning of my stint and then found it hard to get back into the race. I did my best but it was not the same after that and I had a few moments. I continued my stint as planned and then handed the car over to Justin, who drove brilliantly to the chequered flag. Despite the circumstances, Justin helped us to score a strong finish, 11th overall and 9th in class. Without the first penalty, I am sure we could have scored a much better result for the team.”
Despite a tough race, Liz enjoyed her first race in Germany: “The Lister was really good all weekend, fast and reliable and I enjoyed driving around Oschersleben, which was a completely new circuit for me. The track was good, full-on, short and tight and was a very challenging circuit to race on. I would also like to thank Dunlop for supplying us great tyres for this race.”
Surrey-based Halliday cannot wait for the next round of the FIA GT Championship, on 18th September and which takes place on the new circuit at Istanbul, in Turkey. Liz said: “I’m looking forward to Turkey. I saw some footage of the Grand Prix last weekend and the circuit looks absolutely fantastic. It looks like a new Spa and it will be a real challenge to drive and race there. Especially turn 8, which looked unbelievable on TV!”
