GT Cup Round Seven
Silverstone International Circuit
A virtually full grid of thirty nine cars spread evenly across the four Groups made for a thrilling penultimate round of the GT cup at Silverstone with action throughout the grid and some epic intermarque battles.
Drivers were faced with a damp, busy and crowded qualifying session made even more tricky as the track was drying during the session and there was not enough time to change from ‘wets' onto ‘slicks'. Those drivers who gambled on slicks didn't quite get the conditions for their choice to pay off and suffered a lower grid position as a result. This lead to the exciting prospect of some faster drivers having to battle their way through the field.
Race One...
In Group One these conditions had favoured Michael Donovan (Porsche 997 GT3S #49) and he was surprised and delighted to take pole ahead of Mike Gardiner (Dodge Viper #57). However at the rolling start it all went wrong for Mike Gardiner when he jumped the start and incurred a ten second penalty for his efforts. This left Donovan with a comfortable lead and what looked like a secure second win of the season... but a problem with the water cooling in his Porsche sidelined him after nine laps leaving a rather fortunate Gardiner with a race win. Second in Group One was a newcomer to GT Cup, Chris Randall, in his very rapid beautifully prepared Lotus Europa #89, it was a great drive after he had started 12th after a poor qualifying session. All the same this was a brilliant debut for the Lotus Europa, a model that the organisers hope to see more of next season. In 3rd place was Howard Spooner, returning to GT Cup with his superb Morgan Aero 8. The threat from the potent Aston Martin DBRS9 of father and son team Paul and Barrie Whight sadly did not materialise following a spin by Barrie on lap one. Many creditable performances were put in but of particular note was Arwyn Williams who was getting well on top of his beautiful Ferrari 430 GT3.
In Group Two it was another newcomer to GT Cup, Jack Gerber, who brought his Ferrari 430 Challenge GT (#36) home first. Alex Martin was racing his Porsche 997 GT3 Cup car for the first time in GT Cup and was clearly having an exciting weekend having spun and extensively damaged his car in testing on Friday. A heroic effort by his team GT Marques saw his car repaired over night and despite having another heart stopping spin in the race he went on to a great drive back through the grid to take 2nd in Group. Jeff Leadley came 3rd in his Ferrari 430 Challenge GT giving a wonderful mix of Ferrari, and Porsche, proving the superb balance of performance in this Group between the two great marques.
Group Three was a Porsche ‘lock out' after Marco Pullen's Ferrari 360 snapped a drive shaft on lap four leaving the way clear for Jim Geddie to take a commanding win in his Porsche 996 GT3 Cup followed by the similar Porsche of Benjamin Harvey in a well deserved second place and then Gary Eastwood third.
Group Four brought us one of the surprises of the weekend... a debut win for Chris Bailan in his Lotus 211. Like the Lotus Europa this is a model that series organiser Bute Motorsport expect to see several more of in 2010. Will Goff's run of success had come to an end when he got a puncture in his Aston Martin GT4. But this put David Tomlin into 2nd position in his Ferrari 355 GTB and Robert Koenig into 3rd place in his immaculate Porsche 993 Cup car.
Race Two
This time Mike Gardiner (#57 Viper) was on pole position and made no mistakes at the rolling start and began to steadily pull away from the hard charging Donovan, Gardiner seemed to back off towards the end of the race which allowed Donovan to close up and get within striking distance of the Viper but he got tangled up in traffic and any hope of catching the Viper evaporated. Leon Price was having a one off drive in a Ferrari 430 GT3 (#88) and although having to get to grips with his new machine he came home a very respectable 3rd in Group ahead of the well proven combination of Howard Spooner and his Morgan Aero 8. Chris Randall and his Lotus Europa concerned at the high temperature his engine was running at decided discretion was the better part of valour and retired the car after twelve of the eighteen laps.
In Group two Jeff Leadley (Ferrari 430 Challenge GT #34) was right on the pace, coming 3rd overall and 1st in Class ahead of the ever improving Alex Martin (Porsche 997 GT3 Cup #87). Following his début success in race one and carrying maximum success ballast of 60kg Jack Gerber (Ferrari 430 Challenge GT) came in third.
In Group Three things improved dramatically for Marco Pullen (Ferrari 360 GTC #13)... With drive restored to both back wheels and no success ballast he won Group Three comfortably ahead of Jim Geddie (Porsche 996 GT3 Cup #78) who was carrying the maximum 60kg for his race one victory. Colin Broster (Ferrari 360 GTC) having chosen the wrong rubber in qualifying recovered well from the back of the grid to come in 3rd. Once again organisers Bute Motorsport were delighted with the balance of performance with wins going one a piece to Porsche and Ferrari.
In Group Four Will Goff (Aston Martin GT4 #59) was back on form, now with a fully functioning car and came 1st, but not before the little Lotus 211 of Chris Bailan had begun to cause him considerable concern during the last few laps. It was a great drive from Chris who was learning to live with the implications of success ballast in such a light car and who managed to get fastest time in Group during the race. 3rd in Group Three was Sara Bennett-Baggs in her first outing in her newly acquired BMW Z4, it was an exciting drive for her since the car only came available on the Thursday before the meeting and she was very short on time behind the wheel and her team sorting out the car!
On the last but one lap there was drama when a light nudge on Henry Firmin's Porsche 996 GT3 nose ruptured a hose and laid down fluid through Woodcote. By the time the oil flags came out several cars had ‘found' the slippery bit and spun dramatically.
The final round of GT Cup will be at Brands Hatch on October 24/25th.
