British GT Championship – Silverstone – Preview
Real Class
© Mark Howson The last two rounds of the 2007 British GT Championship at Brands Hatch were remarkable for the way in which they transformed the fight for the title. A flawless performance from the #6 RPM Viper pairing of Bradley Ellis and Alex Mortimer ended the domination of the first part of the season by Barwell Motorsport, with Paul Drayson and Jonny Cocker losing huge amounts of ground over the weekend. Suddenly, things are less predictable. At Silverstone this weekend, the series switches to the two-hour race format for the second and final time this season, with the International Circuit playing host to the action. As ever with BGT, some additions and some absences have taken place since the previous round, but there is no denying that the core of the 28 car field comprises real class. The key to RPM’s success at Brands was the remarkable consistency of Mortimer and Ellis, with the drivers lapping within hundredths of a second of each other. This consistency exploited to the full the improvements made in the car by the team over the first four meetings. While still not the fastest machine (see below), the Viper is suddenly a serious and realistic contender for the title. Having said that, Mark Lemmer and Chris Needell will have applied the sponge to the bloodied nose of the #1 Aston Martin, slapped in a new gumshield, and will send the bio-ethanol heavyweight back into the ring for the next bout - Paul Drayson and Jonny Cocker looking for an early return to the top of the points race. But that will not be easy, as they will first have to get past their Barwell team-mates, and there is only one opportunity to score this weekend. Guy Harrington and Ben de Zille Butler trail Mortimer and Ellis by just one point, and lead Tom Alexander and Michael Bentwood by the same margin. Alexander should be recovered from the agonizing rib injury that he was carrying in July, which will only strengthen the #2’s position. The stalking horse so far this season has been the Team Eurotech – Preci Spark Ascari, with the Jones brothers recording a top-six finish in every race so far. Godfrey’s charge through the field in the Sunday race at Brands was hugely impressive, and a victory for the silver car is looking more and more likely before too long. Happily, the Ascari numbers have recovered to three (now four) for this round, as Phil Keen and Ollie Bryant combine in the #11 Damax KZ1R. Robin Ward’s team has endured wretched fortune this season, and a good result from both of its cars this weekend will be a huge tonic. Tommy Erdos again partners Stephen Keating in the #10 car. As you will no doubt have read, Bryant arrives at Damax via Tech 9. After early season success for Phil Hindley’s team, the shortcomings of the Porsche 997 have been painfully exposed. With no assistance being offered from the FIA adjusters, it has been left to Tech 9 to take control of its destiny by investing in the expensive, and as yet unproven, update package. There will be several pairs of eyes keeping a close eye on the Tech 9 car this weekend, with David Ashburn and Trackspeed likely to be the most interested. Ashburn has 2006 GTC-champ Jonny Lang with him for this race, but Matt Harris has acquired the support of Tom Ferrier as he tries to regain lost ground. Ferrier was a race winner with Motorbase last season in GTC and can be expected to extract maximum performance from his (updated) Porsche this time out. Nick Foster and Nigel Redwood found encouraging pace in their #7 RPM 997 in Kent, and will be looking to build on that performance in the first of the two trips to Northants this year. The fourth Ascari is a Berlanga car, for Michael Greenhalgh and Erik Zwart. The GT3 Ferrari battle this season has often been bruisingly close, and the Maranello parts department is heading for a good bonus if things continue in the same vein. In the second race at Brands, Adam Wilcox, for the second time this year, found his progress hampered by the fallout from a clash with the Christians in Motorsport 430. But this is no grudge match and there has been no suggestion of dirty deeds. With Tim Mullen back in the seat alongside Hector Lester this weekend, let’s hope that the VRS and CiM battle is as good as it promises to be. Contrary to first reports, Matt Owen will not have Antonio Garcia with him in the Team Modena Gallardo, but will instead have the equally rapid Adam Jones to support him; "My job this weekend is very simple, firstly I have to help Matt as much as I can, as he continues to get up to speed, and secondly put it on pole for the race!" he told DSC. At Brands Hatch, Mike Gardiner revealed that he had come to the conclusion that his team was unable to progress significantly without the input of a professional driver. Four weeks later, and it appears that the Moore Racing driver has done something about it, calling on the services of Neil Cunningham in the blue Viper. The Kiwi’s brief is also simple this weekend – close the gap to the faster cars. “I’m hoping I might get to race the Viper at Thruxton too,” says Cunningham, who tested the car at Donington Park last week, and was virtually a match for Adam Wilcox in the Ferrari, on a hot day with lots of slower traffic. Nigel Greensall continues to assist Ricky Cole’s return to BGT, in the Team Trimite Viper. Despite there being no indication of a relaxing of the restrictions that left the Rollcentre car akin to driving on ice, in the words of Ian Flux (at Brands Hatch), both he and Kevin Riley return to challenge the Eclipse MT900R for Mosler honours. Craig and Elliott Cole almost landed a podium at the last meeting, and will be endeavouring to go at least one place better this weekend. The handicaps imposed on the Moslers prior to Brands Hatch (handicaps that were implemented because the Belcar Moslers, on Michelins, were so fast) certainly took their toll in Kent, as these figures demonstrate. These are the average of the fastest ten laps set by the fastest driver in each marque (in race 2 – the Lamborghini’s pace was unrepresentative in race 1).  1. Ferrari 1:32.112
2. Lamborghini 1:32.125
3. Aston Martin 1:32.357
4. Viper 1:32.962
5. Ascari 1:33.429
6. Mosler 1:33.619
7. Porsche 1:34.476.
The pace of the first three marques are incredibly well matched, but thereafter the figures make for disappointing reading. It will be an interesting exercise to compare all seven around Silverstone’s International circuit. One car well worth keeping track of this weekend will be the Cadena Motorsport DBRS9, in the hands this time (in the absence of any Lotuses) of Barrie Whight and Gavan Kershaw. With the Lotus project now seemingly at an end, this duo will be hoping for a significant upturn in fortune after a pretty dreadful time so far. Trying to predict a winner in GTC is no easier than the same task in GT3, despite the smaller numbers. It is no exaggeration to suggest that there are five potential winners from the six entrants. The #34 Trackspeed Porsche 996 returns, after destroying the opposition at Brands Hatch, only a shunt-induced retirement preventing a crushing double victory. This time however, there will be no Phil Keen on hand to demonstrate the car’s speed. That task falls instead to BGT newcomer (and Porsche virgin?) Phil Nuttall. The newbie comes to this weekend’s meeting with a background in racing Ferraris in the now-defunct Pirelli Maranello Ferrari Challenge, where he competed alongside David Ashburn, Phil Burton, Kevin Riley and David Dove. Sadly, Dove’s 360 does not appear on the entry list for this race. Colin Broster and Pete Morris return to the series after a highly successful meeting for ABG Motorsport at Brands. Despite the demise of the #34, their victory in the Sunday race was fully deserved and they will surely be pace setters again this weekend. Somehow, RSS Performance has not yet managed to bag a win this year despite being in the thick of the action all season long. Perhaps this weekend, Graeme Mundy and Jamie Smyth will stand atop the podium? But not if Beechdean Motorsport or Team Aero have anything to do with it. Both teams have enjoyed highs and suffered lows this season, with Keith Ahlers’ outfit having a miserable July meeting. With the engine problems are sorted, Ahlers and Steve Hyde will be on a mission. Andrew Howard had his nightmare meeting at Snetterton, and apart from a spot of brain fade in the Saturday race, had a much better time of it at Brands. The ice cream baron, plus Aaron Scott, will be another duo looking to relive the joy of standing atop the podium. For Richmond Racing, a podium finish will be as good as a victory after a disappointing season so far. They almost achieved that goal at Snetterton, but were cruelly denied it at the death. Perhaps two-hours is the right format for the Ginetta? Richard Hollebon and Nick Marsh, and their team, are overdue a result. Early indications are that rain is possible for Sunday at Silverstone. If that is the case, it will be merely another variable in what will undoubtedly be a fascinating contest. | 
