British GT, Knockhill – Saturday Notes 2
Two More Reds

There may have only been 120 minutes scheduled for the BGT runners in between the XR2s, Sports & Saloons, Legends, Mini Coopers, Formula Fords, Classics and Global Lights, but that was enough to provide the teams with headaches and late nights galore.

The second of the day’s free practice sessions saw all 15 cars back out on track in glorious weather – the Forth Road Bridge being clearly visible from the sun-drenched, if very cool, Scottish hills – but things were brought to an early halt after Stephane Daoudi found the gravel at the John R Weir Chicane after possibly encountering oil at this most challenging part of the track.

The #3 Rosso Verde Scuderia was soon recovered unharmed and the session was once more underway; Joe Osborne taking advantage of a clear track to hustle his black Ginetta round the 1.3 miles – the G50 looking spectacular through the section from Seat Curve to the chicane – as he continued to look for a race set-up.

Dan Brown was out early in the #21 Chad Ferrari, but his car was soon appearing twice on the timing screens; the second appearance indicating the Stewards’ displeasure at his not respecting the circuit limits. But it was a somewhat bewildered Matt Griffin in the #2 MTECH Ferrari who was shown a black flag for the same offence having been given no indication that he was overstepping the mark.

Despite being fitted with its ballast for the second session, the Lotus 2-Eleven appeared to be running well and led the G4 times for most of the session; only dropping to second after a last minute effort from Nathan Freke in the Century Motorsport Ginetta. Earlier in the day, in ballast-free trim, the Lotus had given Aaron Scott a big surprise when he found himself unable to pass the small car in his much larger and much more powerful GT3 Racing Viper. Scott and Craig Wilkins were pleased to have found seven-tenths over their 2009 pace, but also concerned that they needed to find several more tenths.

Juan Garriz’s difficult introduction to the circuit continued; the Argentine youngster first being black flagged for his line at the chicane, and then finding the tyre wall between Butcher’s and the chicane late in the session. Tom Ferrier, meanwhile, found himself exiting the chicane backwards – much to his surprise – having suffered a driveshaft failure half-way through the session. The recovery process was a lengthy one and meant that only ten more minutes were possible.

The final casualty of the day was the Trackspeed Porsche, which had a coming together with the CCTV Predator Ferrari – the fastest car of the session – resulting in a cracked gearbox.

MH