Oly Mortimer took his fifth and sixth wins of the 2011 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge season at Rockingham, Saturday July 16th, but the Scot was chased hard by Graeme Mundy in race two, just holding off his rival in the final laps. The two races were very different, Mortimer’s first win coming on a soaked track as the rain lashed down, while by the time race two started later in the afternoon the track was dry and lap times tumbled.QualifyingOn a wet rack it was Ozbek who set the early pace in Saturday morning’s qualifying session, three seconds quicker than the other runners on his first visit to Rockingham. After a stop for a tyre change Mortimer went quickest by mere hundredths, then went quicker again to continue his run of being quickest outright one each qualifying session this year.“I’ve only had an hour in the car before in the wet,” said Mortimer, “and that was on different tyres, so this was my first time on the Michelins and the grip was impressive. I learnt more in that session than in any other since I first jumped in the car. You had to go off line a bit to find grip, and it was a case of keeping it on the track – if we go off we don’t have the spares and that could be our championship over.”“It is only my third time back in a race car in the rain,” said Ozbek, “so maybe I don’t know much about rain and its dangers! I was surprised to be so quick early on, it is my first time here.”Mundy was third quickest, with Steven Liquorish and Peter Smallwood rounding out the top five.Race OneMortimer led the field away as the rain continued, but there was mayhem as the field reached Deene hairpin for the first time, Uzbek going wide and off, Liquorish then blinded in the spray and following suit. Both rejoined at the tail of the field, and the incident elevated Mundy to second with Smallwood third.Mortimer was easing away at the front, running in clear air as the other battled with spray, while Ozbek was on a recovery charge and set a new fastest lap as he recovered to third. His race was over on five, however, Ozbek sliding off at the Tarzan hairpin and beaching his GT3 in the gravel.The leader was opening out a commanding gap, Mundy in turn clear of Liquorish who had moved into third after a spin from Smallwood lost him places. Mortimer set a series of fastest laps on his way to the win, Mundy also setting a sequence of his best race laps, conditions improving as the rain eased, to take second, Liquorish claiming the final podium position.“It was one of those races where you couldn’t relax or you would make a mistake, it was just so slippery out there,” said Mortimer. “I kept the car pointing in the right direction and had no moments at all, it was a good race for us. I had to try some different lines looking for the grip, and did my fastest lap right at the end as I was getting better in the wet.”“It was one of those races where you are just happy to finish and bring the car back in one piece,” said Mundy. “We were quick in the dry testing yesterday, so we’re hoping for a dry race later today.”“I went wide and right at the second corner as I had Peter up my inside,” said Liquorish, “then Yucel went off, there was spray everywhere and next thing I was in a puddle and locked up. Luckily I was able to get back past Peter, I knew I hadn’t damaged the car and knew if I could get back on the track anything could happen.”Race TwoHis second good start of the day saw Mortimer again at the head of the field as they reached the Deene hairpin in race two, Uzbek pnce more pushing hard at the start, looking inside the leader at the hairpin before losing ground at Tarzan later in the lap. That saw Mundy in second at the end of lap one, and he was pushing hard, closing right up on Mortimer and looking for a way past.The lead pair were running close, as Ozbek fought his way back to third ahead of Liquorish. Smallwood went off on lap four, as the lead battle intensified, Mundy on the rear spoiler of Mortimer’s GT3.The gap between the lead pair grew to over a second in the middle part of the race, but in the final laps Mundy closed in again, with two laps to go taking advantage of a slight loss of momentum from Mortimer as he passed a backmarker to look round the outside at Tarzan. A lap later Mortimer was forced to defend into the first hairpin, holding Mundy to the outside for the next right hander and holding on to his lead.
On the final lap Mortimer stayed clear to win the run to the line, Mundy just over half a second behind. Ozbek took third ahead of Liquorish.“That was hard work,” said Mortimer, “Graeme was quick in the dry in testing, but his car was good in the twisty bits and I had the edge in the sweeping corners. I thought I had it in the bag, but I got held up by a backmarker and he got right back with me. A good day for us.”“I hope that race was as much fun to watch as it was to drive!” said Mundy. “I dropped back a bit at one point as the tyres went off, but they came back. I got hit by Yucel early on, he said he missed a gear, but it was a good race and Oly was defensive when I was right there, which was fair, and he never offered me a clear opportunity.““It was an eventful race,” said Ozbek, “I had to make ground after losing places on the first alp. I clashed with Mundy after missing a gear, then I outbraked myself when I got close to another car, I am pleased with the day – I want to finish higher than third in this series!”Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Race One: 1 Oly Mortimer (997 GT3 Cup) 15 Laps; 2 Graeme Mundy (997 GT3 Cup) +17.668s; 3 Steven Liquorish (997 GT3 Cup); 4 Peter Smallwood (997 GT3 Cup). Fastest Lap: Mortimer 1m42.544s (68.10mph).Race Two: 1 Mortimer 21 Laps; 2 Mundy +0.618s; 3 Yucel Ozbek (997 GT3 Cup); 4 Liquorish. Fastest Lap: Mundy 1m24.290s (82.85mph).Next Rounds: Oulton Park, Cheshire, August 13th 2011.
