The race weekend -  Team Report

The FIA GT Championship resumed last weekend in Germany – at Oschersleben, west of Berlin.  The Storm GT survived Spa in excellent condition;  the team just needed to repair the splitter and replace the starter motor – everything else remained the same.  This is a very short circuit, no room for overtaking and always traffic on track.

Justin and Liz were both coming to Oschersleben for the first time;  during Friday morning’s free practice, while exploring the limits of the track, both of them had spins resulting in flat spots on two sets of tyres – only two sets are allowed to be used for both free practices.  So one ‘not too bad’ set was put together for the second practice.  Even on these old tyres, Justin was quicker in the afternoon.

Qualifying on Saturday – the morning times were quickest.   On his first set of tyres, Justin set a time putting him 12th on the grid – but the times were close.  He was unable to make the most of his second set of tyres due to Ferrari’s spinning in front of him.  Liz then drove for the remainder of the morning session and all of the afternoon qualifying.

Race day - hot and sunny – the race would run the full three hours so standard race tactics with Justin driving the first  and third hours, Liz the second.  Hour one – trouble free and Justin moved up to 7th before coming to the pits on the hour to hand over to Liz. 

Hour two – Liz was now in tune with the track and drove an excellent but eventful stint;  unfortunately, the officials believed she crossed the white line on the pit exit and gave her a ‘drive through’ penalty.  They did not immediately inform the team of the reason for this penalty so Laurence could not tell her on the radio;  she inadvertently did the same thing on exiting the pits the second time so was given a 10 second stop and go;  this would not have happened if  the team had known the reason for the first penalty.  After that she was tapped from behind another car which caused her to spin and flat spot her tyres – but she continued without problem.   At the end of the second hour she handed the car back to Justin in 12th position.

Hour three – Justin drove faultlessly – his times were often fastest and very consistent;  for the majority of the final half hour he was fastest on track;  his times at the end of the hour as quick as the beginning.  The Dunlop tyres performed brilliantly - as good at the end of the hour as they were at the beginning.  The Storm GT had absolutely no problems during the whole race.

The Lister finished 9th and once again showed that, when it comes to racing, it can perform as well as the rest of the GT1 field.

The FIA GT Championship now moves further afield – the next race in three weeks time is at Istanbul;  a new circuit – it looks challenging and technically demanding and will definitely be an exciting experience.