Defending champions Trackspeed and series newcomers Scuderia Vittoria clinched a win apiece at Oulton Park as the 2011 Avon Tyres British GT Championship burst into life today with the traditional Easter Weekend meeting at the picturesque Cheshire circuit.
David Ashburn and Richard Westbrook claimed honours in the opening race of the season despite the best efforts of United Autosports duo Mike Guasch and Matt Bell after an hour of racing that saw the top two split by less than two seconds at the finish.
Charles Bateman and Michael Lyons had a more comfortable margin of victory in race two as they beat the Preci-Spark Mercedes AMG SLS GT3 of David and Godfrey Jones to the chequered flag by more than 20 seconds, but that only told half the story, with the Scuderia Vittoria Ferrari 458 Italia having started the second race of the weekend from the back of the field following a post-qualifying penalty.
GT4 honours meanwhile were shared between the ABG Motorsport KTM of Peter Belshaw and Marcus Clutton, the Century Motorsport Ginetta G50 of Jake Rattenbury and Josh Wakefield.
Round 1 reportWhen the lights went out to start the first race, the pole-sitting Scuderia Vittoria Ferrari 458 Italia of Michael Lyons held the lead into Old Hall ahead of David Ashburn’s Porsche 997 GT3 R, with the top two able to break away from the chasing pack - which was headed by the Preci-Spark Mercedes of David Jones.
As Jones battled hard to keep Michael Guasch’s Audi at bay, Lyons pulled out a lead of more than six seconds over champion Ashburn before the two drivers pitted for the mandatory driver change, where things went awry for the leader.
Having climbed into the Ferrari, Charles Bateman stalled three times as he tried to pull away from his pit box, which allowed Westbrook to rejoin in the lead. Bateman meanwhile slipped down to sixth place as the cars behind also pitted to make their stops.
Westbrook’s closest challenger was therefore Bell in the Audi, who had taken over from Guasch shortly after the American battled ahead of the Jones’ Mercedes on track. A series of quick laps saw Westbrook hold a lead of just under seven seconds before Bell responded with a series of quick laps of his own, with the Audi seemingly getting stronger as the race wore on.
Despite Bell’s best efforts as the pair worked their way through traffic, Westbrook held on to take the first win of 2011 by 1.528s and secure a maximum score for the #1 Porsche.
“The Audi had the edge at the finish and it wasn’t pretty through the final laps,” Westbrook said. “We’ve got work to do but David did a great job in his stint and we’re delighted to start the year with a win and some good points.”
Behind the top two came a huge battle for third place, which was initially headed by the Jones’ Mercedes in the hands of Godfrey Jones after the pit-stops. Jones was under pressure from the second Trackspeed Porsche of Tim Bridgman, who had taken over from Gregor Fisken and rejoined in fourth place. However, contact at Lodge between the pair on lap 28 caused a puncture which then put Bridgman off the road at Old Hall and into retirement.
Jones then found himself being hunted down by former BTCC racer Adam in the Beechdean Aston Martin. Despite an engine issue developing on the DBRS9, Adam managed to get into third and then had to see off the challenge of a charging Allan Simonsen in the Rosso Verde Ferrari 430 Scuderia to claim the final place on the podium.
It was to be a bittersweet result, however, as the Aston Martin engine let go in a cloud of smoke as the Scot crossed the line, putting the team out of the remainder of the weekend.
“The car was getting slower in a straight line and the noise from the engine was getting worse,” he said. “Then as I crossed the line, it just let go in a cloud of smoke. That’s disappointing for us, but at the same time, it’s great to start the year on the podium as there are circuits coming up that will be better suited to the car.”
Simonsen’s traditional charge in the Rosso Verde car came after Hector Lester held seventh through the opening stint of the race, with the Dane making up places to cross the line just four-tenths of a second away form the podium. The Jones’ Mercedes took fifth place ahead of the Scuderia Vittoria Ferrari, which saw its victory chances ended by the incident on pit road.
A strong seventh place went to the Mtech Ferrari 458 Italia of Duncan Cameron and Matt Griffin, which had started at the back of the field after being forced to miss qualifying with an electrical gremlin. Cameron worked his way through the field in a strong opening stint to hand the car over to Griffin just outside the top ten, with the Irish driver consistently one of the quickest drivers through the second half of the race as he battled up to seventh. A fine move around the outside of Glynn Geddie’s CRS Ferrari 430 Scuderia at Hislops with just minutes remaining was the highlight, with Geddie and father Jim settling for eighth as a result.
The Chad Racing Ferrari 430 Scuderia of Iain Dockerill and Steven Kane took ninth place while the similar Predator CCTV car of Phil Burton and Adam Wilcox rounded out the top ten.
Elsewhere amongst the GT3 cars, the debuting Speedworks Corvette Z06 took 11th while the Ginetta challenge was headed by Julien Draper and Freddie Hetherington in 13th, despite a stop-go penalty for being too quick during the driver change.
Aside from Bridgman’s retirement with his puncture, the #11 CRS Ferrari and the second of the United Autosports Audis also failed to make it to the finish.
GT4 honours went the way of the ABG Motorsport-run KTM X Bow of Peter Belshaw and Marcus Clutton, with the pair managing to lead for the majority of the race.
From class pole, Belshaw dropped behind the Scuderia Vittoria Ginetta of Dan Denis on the opening lap but the polesitter then reclaimed the lead prior to pitting to hand the distinctive car over to Clutton for the run to the flag. He successfully maintained his advantage over the Ginetta to the finish to take victory a comfortable victory.
“I lost the lead at the start but then I just followed behind the Ginetta and waited for my chance,” Belshaw said. “When I got back in front, I didn’t want to make a mistake so I just kept a good pace and then handed the car over to Marcus to bring it home. A good way to start the year.”
Series debutants Denis and David McDonald took second place while the third step of the podium was filled by the second KTM in the hands of Athanasios Ladas and Michael Mallock, which had started at the back after missing qualifying with a gearbox problem. The car had also suffered a braking issue in the morning warm-up which caused the session to be red-flagged early.
Josh Wakefield and Jake Rattenbury took fourth place in Century Motorsport’s Ginetta G50 while the Lotus Evora of Freddy Nordstrom and Leyton Clarke took fifth; the sister car retiring after just four laps when Ollie Jackson stopped at Warwick Bridge.
The GT Cup class Chevron GR8 enjoyed a trouble free run to finish twelfth overall in the hands of Jordan Witt and Anthony Reid, while the solo car in GT3B - the Ferrari 430 GT3 of John Dhillon and Aaron Scott - took the flag in 15th.
Round 2 reportThe second race started with the Trackspeed Porsche of Richard Westbrook on pole position and he held the lead into Old Hall for the first time ahead of Allan Simonsen’s Rosso Verde Ferrari 430 Scuderia and the new Ferrari 458 Italia of Mtech’s Matt Griffin.
However, the race was quickly behind the Safety Car to allow marshals to retrieve the GT4 KTM X Bow of Marcus Clutton from the outside of the circuit at Old Hall after an incident at the start, with the tyre barrier also requiring attention.
On the restart, Westbrook set about building a lead, breaking the lap record in the process, well aware of the fact that the Porsche would be required to spend an additional 15 seconds in the pits after its success in the opening race. However, before he had chance to build an advantage over Simonsen and Griffin behind, the Safety Car was back on track after the Ginettas of David McDonald and Stefan Hodgetts clashed at Druids.
The following caution period would run until the pit lane opened, with Tim Bridgman the first man to dive into the pits from near the back of the field after the #2 Trackspeed Porsche was forced to start from the pit lane following a steering rack change prior to the race.
On the following lap, the majority of the field pitted with Lyons emerging near the head of the field, team-mate Charles Bateman having pitted from ninth. Lyons soon got ahead of Hector Lester in the Rosso Verde Ferrari and then drove away from the field to take the chequered flag 21.633s clear of his closest challenger.
“Charles did a great job in his stint but the Safety Cars certainly played into our hands,” Lyons said. “The team really hit the mark on the pit stop but as I left the pits there was another Ferrari out of position. I managed to squeeze through, and as I rejoined, I knew we had a chance.
“I got ahead of Hector and then was able to drive off into the distance. It’s great to get a win after we had just one day of testing before this weekend. Me and Charles are quite even on pace and we’ve got to be among the favourites after this weekend.”
Behind Lyons, a heated battle emerged for second place with Lester doing his best to hold off the challenge of David Ashburn in the Trackspeed Porsche and David Jones in the Mercedes. Lester’s hopes of a podium finish came to an end when he suffered a spin at Lodge and dropped down the order while Jones then got ahead of Ashburn into second place. When Ashburn then picked up a stop-go penalty for the team completing its pit stop too quickly, a first podium finish for the Mercedes was assured.
“We didn’t think this would be the strongest circuit for the car,” David’s brother, Godfrey, said. “Oulton Park is a very tight and twisty circuit so to get a second and a fifth place finish is a good result. There are circuits that will suit the Mercedes more, so we’re very pleased.”
The final place on the podium would eventually go the way of United Autosports as Guasch and Bell clinched a second top-three finish of the weekend. It was a result that was far from easy to secure, however, after the team gambled on not pitting at the first opportunity when the second Safety Car was deployed, which meant the #23 car dropped from third to outside the top ten.
Despite that, American driver Guasch stormed his way through the field with a series of quick laps and he took the chequered flag in third place after a performance that was good enough to see him rewarded with the Sunoco Driver of the Day award.
“It was a deliberate decision to pit when we did, but it was probably a mistake,” he said. “I came out in 12th place so it was a real effort to make up places but I pushed hard and we were rewarded with third.”
Following his stop-go penalty, Ashburn dropped down to sixth place but made up one position when the Mtech Ferrari, now in the hands of Duncan Cameron, ground to a halt exiting the first chicane. Closing onto the rear of team-mate Gregor Fisken, Ashburn was able to get ahead when the #2 car took a trip across the grass with a fourth place finish good enough to ensure that Ashburn and team-mate Westbrook will top the standings heading into the second round of the season at Snetterton.
Fisken took the chequered flag in fifth place ahead of the CRS Racing Ferrari 430 Scuderias of Jim Geddie and Andrew Tate, while Lester crossed the line eighth following his earlier spin. Phil Burton’s Predator CCTV Racing Ferrari was ninth while 10th went to the Century Motorsport Ginetta G55 of Julien Draper; putting the first points on the board for the new car.
Despite losing two of the fancied runners early on, the battle for honours in the GT4 class went to the wire with Michael Mallock’s KTM leading the way through the opening half of the race. Like the GT3 Audis, the KTM elected to pit at the second opportunity behind the Safety Car which dropped the car out of contention, leaving Jake Rattenbury’s Ginetta and the Lotus of Freddy Nordstrom to fight for victory.
Rattenbury led until his car developed a gearbox issue, which allowed Nordstrom to pass for the lead and pull away to take the flag in first place, only for a post-race penalty to be handed out for the move being made under yellow flags for the stricken Mtech Ferrari.
It meant a first win Rattenbury and Century Motorsport team-mate Josh Wakefield, who now lead the GT4 standings after the opening weekend of the season. “I only had third and fourth gears and I could see him coming behind me,” Rattenbury said. “It was only a matter of time but then he made the move under yellow flags coming out of the chicane. Without the gearbox problem, it wouldn’t have been an issue as we were the quicker car but I’m over the moon with the result.”
Nordstrom’s penalty dropped him back into second place in class, with the sister car of Ollie Jackson and Jack Drinkall bouncing back from a retirement in race one to finish on the third step of the podium.
“Obviously it’s disappointing to lose the victory, but the positive is that we won on track and have made good progress all weekend,” Nordstrom said. “The Ginetta was slow out of the corner and I felt I was ahead before we got to the yellow flag but that’s racing. Second is still a good result after the opening race [where the Lotus finished fifth].”
Athanasios Ladas brought the surviving KTM to the finish in fourth place.
The GTC Chevron GR8 enjoyed another solid run to finish twelfth overall, having spent a long period of the race inside the top 10 overall, while the GT3B Ferrari of John Dhillon and Aaron Scott was 17th at the finish.
The British GT Championship is sponsored by UK tyre manufacturer Avon Tyres and is further supported by Sunoco Racing Fuels, Anglo American Oil Company and OAMPS.
Avon Tyres British GT ChampionshipProvisional results, Round 1Oulton Park 25/4/201136 laps/96.912 miles
GT31 Trackspeed Porsche David Ashburn/Richard Westbrook 1h 01m 12.046s / 95.01mph2 United Autosports Audi Mike Guasch (USA)/Matt Bell +1.528s3 Beechdean Aston Martin Andrew Howard/Jonny Adam +28.961s4 Rosso Verde Ferrari Hector Lester/Allan Simonsen (DEN) +29.362s5 Preci-Spark Mercedes David Jones/Godfrey Jones +41.753s6 Scuderia Vittoria Ferrari Michael Lyons/Charles Bateman +43.353s7 MTECH Ferrari Duncan Cameron/Matt Griffin (IRL) +1m 03.783s8 CRS Racing Ferrari Jim Geddie/Glynn Geddie +1m 06.043s9 Chad Racing Ferrari Iain Dockerill/Steven Kane +1m 28.404s10 Predator CCTV Ferrari Phil Burton/Adam Wilcox +1m 29.233s etc
Fastest lap: Simonsen 1m 38.635s / 98.25mph
GT Cup1 Chevron Racing Chevron Jordan Witt/Anthony Reid 35 laps
GT3B1 MTECH Ferrari John Dhillon/Aaaron Scott 35 laps
GT41 ABG Motorsport KTM Peter Belshaw/Marcus Clutton 34 laps2 Scuderia Vittoria Ginetta Dan Denis/David McDonald 34 laps3 ABG Motorsport KTM Athanasios Ladas (GRE)/Michael Mallock 34 laps4 Century Motorsport Ginetta Josh Wakefield/Jake Rattenbury 34 laps5 Lotus Sport UK Lotus Leyton Clarke/Freddy Nordstrom 34 laps
Provisional results, Round 2Oulton Park 25/4/201132 laps/86.14 miles
GT31 Scuderia Vittoria Ferrari Michael Lyons/Charles Bateman 1h 0m 18.610s / 85.70mph2 Preci-Spark Mercedes David Jones/Godfrey Jones +21.633s3 United Autosports Audi Mike Guasch (USA)/Matt Bell +30.411s4 Trackspeed Porsche David Ashburn/Richard Westbrook +36.125s5 Trackspeed Porsche Gregor Fisken/Tim Bridgman +45.222s6 CRS Racing Ferrari Jim Geddie/Glynn Geddie +50.527s7 CRS Racing Ferrari Andrew Tate/Alex Mortimer +1m 06.906s8 Rosso Verde Ferrari Hector Lester/Allan Simonsen (DEN) +1m 12.725s9 Predator CCTV Ferrari Phil Burton/Adam Wilcox +1m 19.535s10 Century Motorsport Ginetta Freddie Hetherington/Julien Draper +1m 23.238s
Fastest lap: Westbrook 1m 38.491s / 98.39mph
GT Cup1 Chevron Racing Chevron Jordan Witt/Anthony Reid 31 laps
GT3B1 MTECH Ferrari John Dhillon/Aaaron Scott 30 laps
GT41 Century Motorsport Ginetta Josh Wakefield/Jake Rattenbury 31 laps2 Lotus Sport UK Lotus Leyton Clarke/Freddy Nordstrom 31 laps3 Lotus Sport UK Lotus Ollie Jackson/Jack Drinkall 31 laps4 ABG Motorsport KTM Athanasios Ladas (GRE)/Michael Mallock 30 laps
Provisional championship standingsGT3 & overall1= Ashburn/Westbrook 37 points; 3= Lyons/Bateman & Guasch/Bell 33; 7= Jones/Jones 28; 9= Lester/Simonsen 16 etcGT3B1= Dhillon & Scott 25.GT41= Rattenbury/Wakefield 37; 3= Nordstrom/Clarke 28; 5= Ladas/Mallock etcGT Cup1= Witt & Reid 25.
TV schedule: 7 May, 0730 Channel 4 & 1926 Motors TV
Next round: 15 May, Snetterton
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