Britcar, Brands Hatch – Race 2 Report
Sean McInerney Eclipses The Field

It may have been at the end of a long and exciting day for the AIGP fans, who saw Briton Robbie Kerr triumph on his home ground, but many stayed to see what must have been one of the best Britcar races ever. Sean McInerney in the Eclipse Mosler, a retiree in the previous day’s race, came from 40th on the quality grid to win the 50-minute race by over three seconds.

The grid was set by Saturday’s race results, with the non-finishers starting at the back, so all eyes would be on McInerney, Mick Mercer (Marcos), and Mike Gardiner in the Moore Viper, who would all have to carve their way through the field.

John Allen, starting Chamberlain’s Porsche, got bogged-down at the green lights and Henry Taylor wasted no time in slotting the Topcats Mosler into the gap, making it three abreast with Riley’s Mosler and Stanton in the Sagaris as they powered up towards the first corner. There was a fair amount of nudging and nerfing in the opening seconds, with Allen’s slow start catching those behind out, including James Pickford driving alone in the In2 Racing Lamborghini and John Gaw’s Porsche.

In a hectic first lap, Taylor, Riley and Stanton all had a possibility of taking the lead, and possibly each actually did at some point, but in front as they emerged into Clearways from the GP loop was, surprisingly, Phil Bennett in the Opel V8 Star. Sean McInerney came by 21st – one lap, 19 positions made.

The next lap was equally hectic, with Beighton in the Team Tiger Mantis relieving Taylor for fourth, and Pickford passing them both to seize third place from Stanton. Andre D’Cruze had a storming first lap in the Geoff Steel BMW GTR but was sadly out of the race already, having lost a wheel at Stirlings.

Phew – lap three – Pickford takes Riley for second, and is only 3.6 seconds shy of Bennett in the lead.

Wow – lap four – well, the start of lap five really, and Taylor’s Mosler / Beighton’s Marcos swoop as a pair down the inside of Stanton’s TVR as they crest Paddock Hill Bend. There is a large and appreciative audience, and the guys are putting on a show. McInerney is now on terms with the Class 1 contingent, and posts the fastest lap of the race so far as he takes Witt Gamski, having an impressive run in the Ferrari 360 for ninth.

John Allen had by now retired the Porsche 935: “There’s a gear selection problem and I couldn’t get second of the line, then I couldn’t find a gear out on the long circuit and got punted off, I don’t know who by”. A gearbox problem also saw Paul Collis call a premature end to his stint in the TJH Porsche. A puncture for Rod Barrett in the Hawthorns Porsche, and a spin for Wayne Gibson in Kevin Clarke’s BMW added to the list of incidents.

Andrew Tate’s race came to an end, too, the Porsche stricken in the gravel, and, since they were both called to see the Clerk of the Course later, it’s a fair bet that George Agyeton’s BMW may have been involved too. By now, McInerney was up to 7th and he then, in the course of three laps, dispensed with Mark Sumpter’s Eurotech Porsche, Stanton in the TVR, Henry Taylor’s Mosler, and the Team Tiger Marcos. Next time round it was Riley’s turn, and despite the wily old campaigner’s robust defence, the Eclipse car was past and in pursuit of the leading duo. Pickford had actually got onto terms with Bennett’s V8 Star, the gap being less than a second before Bennett used the traffic to his advantage, doubling the time difference.

Somewhat overshadowed by McInerney’s meteoric progress, but no less creditable, had been the performance of the other two back-grid starters, Gardiner and Mercer. Both had rose steadily through the field, and were now 14th and 15th respectively, but the luckless Gardiner hit problems again and the Viper was retired 10 laps in with a misfire.

Riley was pit bound as soon as the window was open, as was Pickford, wanting to get it out of the way; little did he know then that it wouldn’t be for the only time. McInerney now smelt the lead and was getting impatient in traffic, flashing his headlights in true LMS style.

Possibly due to the kerfuffle surrounding Saturday’s race, the men in serious trousers were taking an earnest look at driving standards and were dishing out stop/go penalties with impunity. Significant amongst those to receive one of these was James Pickford, for passing under yellows, then to further compound his misery, he picked up a puncture. That’s two stops then for the man who ten minutes ago had been challenging for the lead.

Simon Leith had been leading Class 2, but now his race was over, the MJH Ferrari 360 embedded in the gravel at Druids. And now, with McInerney having stopped already, it was around the half-way mark and time for Bennett to hand the Opel silhouette to Michael Vergers. The flying Dutchman exited the pit lane to rejoin just in front of the Eclipse Mosler, the pair now fifth and sixth respectively, with a quartet of non-stoppers in front of them; Stanton, Beighton, Steve Hyde’s RSS Porsche, and Peter Seldon’s BMW GTR.

So, Vergers and McInerney was the battle for the virtual lead, and the pair, very good friends, and car-sharers in the 24 hours, made some semblance of a fight out of it, but in the end it was a classic and quite easy move down the inside at Paddock. “I left the door open a couple of times, but he didn’t take it; in the end, I had to let him through, or he may have taken me off” said a resigned Vergers after the race.

Once the stops had all been taken, and the race settled, Sean McInerney emerged with a clear lead – nearly eight seconds - over Vergers, who was less than two seconds in front of Flux. Matt Seldon, having relieved father Peter in the family GTR, had come to a stop on the circuit, vacating a fine fifth place. “We think it’s a drive shaft” said Peter, adding “We’re pleased with the performance though, and I think we were in line for fourth today”, as the TV camera panned in on his son sitting dejectedly by a marshals’ post.

The final 10 minutes highlighted several spirited tussles. First there was the fight for second place, Vergers and Flux side-by-side, nose-to-tail, both using all the tricks they knew, but it was at Surtees, and with the unwitting help of a down-on-power Mike Wilds, that Fluxie clinched it. Then there was the fight for fourth – Graeme Mundy and Mark Sumpter, disputing their Porsches before Jon Finnemore’s Tiger Mantis pounced on both of them, Sumpter cheekily using the move to sneak past Mundy himself. In Class 3, Adrian Watt’s Duke Video BMW M3 was using all of the kerbs, and kicking up the dust, trying to stay in front of Mark Smith’s older E30 machine.

It wasn’t just spirited tussles but spirited drives too, particularly from James Pickford, who, having stopped three times, was taking no prisoners, picking off Mundy, Sumpter, and Finnemore in a single lap, then unlapping himself from second-placed Flux with a great move on what would be the final lap of the race.

Expectant father Sean McInerney dedicated his win to his grandmother, whose health was reported to be improving. “I had to get the bit between my teeth in the early laps, and get through the traffic, but after the pit stop I had a clear run,” he summarised.

The Topcats Mantis eventually came home sixth, salvaging something from the weekend; “We had no plan other than to go flat out. Mick brought the car in from 15th position, and more or less told me to crash it or win,” admitted Richard Fores, whilst the MJC Ferrari 360 struggled to make 11th; “There was no grip – it was like driving on black ice” rued Keith Robinson.

Class 2 honours fell once again to lone driver Henry Firman, in the Jaz Motorsport Porsche 911.”A back-to-back double,” he proclaimed, adding, “It just came to me – you could say I’m reasonably happy.” Dominic Evans and Steve Bell sneaked past Miles Masarati/Chris Wright to claim the class runner-up spot on the final lap and, whilst George Agyeton bagged the Class 3 win as an invitation entry, the points-scoring position went to Adrian Watt after that pitched battle with Mark Smith.

Mike Wilds and Ian Lawson may have taken the Class 4 victory in the BMW 320i, but the ex-F1 AND Le Mans star was still less than happy; “ It’s still not got the power – I’m four seconds off the pace I should be at. The Brunswick Mazda RX7 of Groombridge/Ashford was the class runner-up.

STEVE WOOD