Britcar – A1GP Meeting – Race 2 Report (Sunday)
Another Good One – More Clearcut This Time

So Saturday’s race swung to and fro, after the chequered flag – and the Sunday morning news was that the final (final?) version of the result showed the cars as they crossed the line one lap before the flag fell, so that was victory for the Jay Wheals Marcos LM600. Topcats team owner Warren Gilbert hurried off to see the stewards – “I’ve got a win to fight for” – and returned to announce that he was going to “appeal the appeal, and the appeal”. It was all getting very confused, even James Tucker piping up in favour of Topcats. It reminded one of the finish of the World Cup cricket final in the West Indies.

A big crowd, rather than a huge one, was worth impressing, the Britcars following a rather tedious A1GP sprint race. Just a few more additions to tales sfar though – beginning with a correction: Kevin Clarke’s BMW may perform as if it is V8-powered, but there’s definitely a six cylinder under the bonnet, producing “440 bhp,” according to Ian Donaldson. The car’s retirement yesterday saw it line up 31st on Sunday’s grid, so Clarke (first) and Donaldson (who’d had clutch problems on Friday and in yesterday’s sole qualifying session) had a lot to do. So did the Jemco Marcos (have a lot to do and have clutch trouble), the team having worked until 23.00 last night to install a new clutch, to make sure the Mantis occupied 36th place on the grid. Alun Edwards was next up, having met the gravel at Paddock yesterday, while other fast cars lining up well down were the Richard Chamberlain 935 (right at the back), the V8 Star (14th) and Mike Donovan’s IN2 Porsche (32nd).

The other IN2 Porsche should have been third on the grid, but Darren Knutton had returned to Cheshire overnight, and fallen foul on his return journey – the final leg of which was in a taxi from Biggin Hill. He didn’t make it in time, so “we ain’t seen Knutton yet”, reckoned Steve Wood! ast detail before the off – the LM600 would be driven by Dave Longstaff today, but although he took up his place on the grid, he didn’t fancy trying to head this lot into Paddock, so he rumbled along the pitlane after the parade lap, and started last.

Race
Right – ready to race, and although this one was dominated by one lone driver (Chamberlain) and two strong pairings (Bennett / Vergers and Mercer / Fores), it was the less well balanced pairs that made this into a race to remember, with a great end to the race for third.

Pete Morris may have had a great scrap with Sean McInerney yesterday, but he was tipped into the Druids gravel “by a Ferrari” on lap 1, and out of the race. “That’s the first time that’s ever happened to me,” said the burly midlander. Mick Mercer had made the best start in the Corvette-engined Marcos – or should that have been George Haynes in the Falcon (“I had a great start, up to second place” – from seventh), but by Hawthorns second was taken by the 14th placed car on the grid, that of mighty Phil Bennett. John Gaw was mighty too, passing the Falcon before the end of the lap in the Nobby’s Nuts Porsche – and with Bennett passing Mercer by Clark Curve, the top six past the line looked absolutely nothing like the grid order.

Jon Harrison in the second Topcats Mantis spun and pitted with a deranged bonnet, but typically the place changes were clean. There was no shortage of overtaking, already.

Haynes in fourth was being chased by Scott’s Ferrari and McInerney’s Porsche, and then it was the best C1 car (the Seldons again) and Witt Gamski in his Ferrari.

Keep an eye out for the men from the back though: Clarke (above) had made up 16 places already, and had Chamberlain’s 935 right behind.

Next time round they were 12th and 10th respectively. Peter Seldon already looked as though he had C1 sewn up again, but Chris Wilson was involved in a great scrap with one of the Geoff Steel BMWs for third, behind Mark Smith’s Metcalf E30, and just ahead of the C2 leader (the Cunningham’s Seat again).

Lap 4 and we had some sort of settled pattern, Bennett 3.4 seconds ahead of Mercer, a gap back to Gaw and the Falcon, then Aaron Scott in the Cup Class leader – just ahead of the flying Chamberlain. Clarke was tenth and Donovan 12th.

Scott relinquished a position at Surtees, the Falcon at Druids, Gaw onto the GP loop – and Chamberlain was third. No, hang on, traffic delayed him and Gaw nipped by again, “but I had a vibration from the r/front, caused by a slow puncture.” Air leak or not, he wasn’t going to keep the Chimp Tune 935 behind for long, and then succumbed to the Falcon and Ferrari. Aaron Scott was quite outspoken about the Falcon’s lack of cornering speed, “but he was just a bit wound up when he got out of the car. He apologised to me later,” said George Haynes. “We had a good race.”

Lap 8 then and Bennett led Mercer by nine seconds, who led Chamberlain by just three. Next time by the 935 was second, and over the next five laps, the gap came down by two seconds a lap. Lap 14 and Bennett pitted, so Chamberlain had gone from last to first. Vergers in the V8 Star was delayed on his out lap (by yellows for Mike Wilds’ car being snatched from the Paddock gravel – no safety cars here, a theme of the meeting), and a lap later the gap between these two was 72 seconds. With a minute for Chamberlain’s stop, plus entering and leaving pit lane, this could be interesting – except that the 935 was piling it on, and the gap became 76 seconds four laps later.

Wilds later suggested that perhaps he was a bit ambitious in passing the #88, “which must have got out of shape”.

Another car currently down the order needed an eye keeping on it. Gerry Harrison had had a better stint than yesterday, Mike Jordan taking over the orange Porsche in 23rd place. “I drove every lap like a qualifying lap,” said the BTCC man – who was loving every second of a great charge in a GT car. We’ll come back to his progress.

Chamberlain pitted after 20 laps, and some excellent TV work showed the 936 stationary, as Vergers gobbled up those 76 seconds: the 935 was out and away though, the gap now from 935 at Druids to V8 Star at Paddock. Next time through it was less than that, then Chamberlain was slowing, the gap down to under five – then four after 23 laps, then the 935 pitted, through the back door behind the pits. Race over, of course: a puncture, and Chamberlain didn’t want to complete the lap. He wanted a win or nothing – and got nothing.

So we were back to the same two which had led from the end of lap 1: the V8 Star and the Corvette-engined Mantis, Bennett from Fores. The latter was in trouble with the splitter on #26, Mick Mercer having given it a pasting, and Richard Fores could hear it pattering under braking, and had understeer on left handers.

So P1 and P2 stayed like that to the flag: the pros in the V8 Star had indeed shown what Nigel Mustill’s car could do, and it was a deserved win, with the Topcats Mantis second - again (depending on the appeal from yesterday).

The race for third developed into an absolute cracker. See if you can follow all this….

Lap 24 (of 32) and David Back was third in the Nero Ferrari, with Michael McInerney fourth, Mike Donovan right behind him in his IN2 Porsche, then Ray in the Falcon – then the flying Jordan, fastest man on the track. He passed the Falcon as Donovan passed McInerney – and the Panoz-driver-in-the-LMS had a 15 second advantage over Jordan’s Porsche. That shrank by six seconds a lap, Jordan was through – and chasing Donovan (who was chasing Back). Lap 28 and the two gaps were both nine seconds – three laps left for these three. Starting their last lap, the two gaps were both 2.8 seconds.

“We were managing the gap, talking David through it over the radio,” said Aaron Scott afterwards. “I just hope we got the pit stop right!” Er….

The three had changed order by the time they came into sight, Jordan having passed Donovan at Stirlings – the orange Porsche side by side with the Ferrari at the line, the gap just 0.023 seconds. Donovan was seven-tenths behind. A fantastic finish.

“I’m really p’ed off with fourth – it’s the worst finishing position,” said the former British GT Champion, “just off the podium.”

But hang on – just as there were yesterday, there were penalties to apply for stops lasting less than a minute. The main ones to suffer, again, were Scott and Back, who apparently were timed at 59 seconds – so all that time management at the end was in vain, and they lost the Cup Class win, to the McInerneys in #21 (but didn't know it yet).

The Topcats Mantis also had a minute applied, but such was its advantage – over Mike Jordan, who did get third – that Mercer / Fores stayed second.

Third in class, eighth overall, was the Gamski / Smith Ferrari, ex-England cricketer David Smith – “I was good at cricket, but it wasn’t a passion: racing is a passion” – eventually getting away from the track to play in a charity match in Essex. He and Gamski threatened, unconvincingly, to start a fitness regime. They’ll be together for the season, thanks to backing from GFX Capital Markets (and Gamski’s MJC concern). Fourth and fifth were the recovering #24 Topcats Mantis and the Jemco version, Jemco’s The Davis Group backers having provided the trophies for the weekend.

Ninth overall, and Class One winners again, were the Seldens in their #3 BMW, starting driver Peter having stayed out while most others cars were pitting, because the pit lane was so busy – and the track relatively clear. Second was Mark Smith in the Metcalf BMW, with Chris Wilson third, having fought a persistent misfire - and a penalty afterwards? - so #56 took third.

Class Two was a touch of déjà vu too, the Cunninghams winning again in their Seat, that early battle having slowed them down among the BMWs, which were too quick on the straights, slower in the corners. Mark Cunningham was “elated to get into the 1:39s.” The Plotnek / Smith MG ZR was second, despite its down on power engine, the former indicating that he’d never driven so hard in his life. The clutch failed completely in pit lane after the race – but Plotnek was two seconds ahead of the MGA Motorsport Seat when it mattered.

So lots of good racing in front of Britcar’s biggest crowd ever. Last word to David Smith: “When you race in front of a crowd like that, it makes you brake as late as possible, so that you’re putting on as good a show as possible.” And the Britcars did just that. James Tucker was a happy man after an eventful and entertaining pair of Britcar races.
MC

Provisional Result
1 #19 Phil Bennett / Michael Vergers Mustill Opel V8 Star 32 laps
2 #26 Mick Mercer / Richard Fores Topcats Marcos Mantis – 1min 38 secs
3 #9 Gerry Harrison / Mike Jordan Eurotech Porsche 31 laps
4 #8 Mike Donovan IN2Racing Porsche –0.7
5 #20 George Haynes / Andy Ray ASM Falcon
6 #21 Michael McInerney / Sean McInerney Chad Porsche 1st GTC
7 #34 Aaron Scott / David Back Nero Motorsports Ferrari 360 2nd GTC
8 #22 Witt Gamski / David Smith MJC Ferrari 360 3rd GTC
9 #3 Peter Seldon / Matt Seldon Serverware Group BMW 1st C One
10 #24 Jon Harrison / Richard Gomes Topcats Marcos Mantis
11 #62 Mark Smith Metcalf BMW 2nd C One
12 #27 Kevin Hancock / Leigh Smart Jemco Mantis
13 #36 David Foster / Andy Ruhan Nero Motorsports Ferrari 360
14 #56 Steve Bell / Simon Leith Geoff Steel BMW
15 #52 Chris Wilson BMW
16 #76 Mark Cunningham / Peter Cunningham Seat Leon Cupra R 1st C Two

18 #90 Gary Smith / Stuart Plotnek Mickel Racing MG ZR 2nd C Two

20 #69 Mark Clynes / Nick Beaumont MGA Motorsport Seat Leon Cupra R 3rd C Two