British GT Championship – Thruxton Preview

Time To Trim Trimite’s Transcendency?   

The first six rounds of 2008 revealed few clues as to who might take a lead in the championship, but Brookspeed Team Trimite took full advantage of the opportunities presented at Snetterton to come away from Norfolk with a 16 point lead over Michael Meadows and James Sutton.

Their advantage was, in part, helped by the RPM Ford GT taking points from their rivals over the two races, but Jon Barnes and James Gornall took the fight to the Swiss machine and came away with a win and a second place. With the Ford’s outing being a one-off, we are back to a field of ‘regulars’; but the reality is that someone is going to have to step up to the plate quickly if they are to stop the Trimite car from taking the title. A 16 point lead - with a maximum of 60 points available from the remaining races and with a field as closely matched as we have in BGT – will not be easily overcome.

24 cars look likely to make the trip south; 16 GT3s – five Vipers, six Ferraris, three Lamborghinis and two Astons – and eight GT4s – six Ginettas, a Nissan and a Maserati.

Such is the nature of the Thruxton circuit – fast and flowing – that the two races (assuming dry-running, which looks likely) should see close competition among the GT3 runners, with all the cars suited to the track, and the challenge to Trimite could come from any of a number of runners.

Steve Clark and Paul O’Neill have tasted victory this year at Rockingham, but followed that up with two frustrating races that yield no points. They must put in a strong showing this weekend in the #1 RPM Viper if they are to entertain title hopes. Similarly, Ollie Bryant and Nick Foster lost ground at Snetterton (one point) after encouraging progress at the previous meeting.

But Alex Mortimer could again prove to be a spoiler to his former team-mates, as he races with Mike Gardiner in the Moore Racing Viper. This car has seen much development since it last ran in the series in 2007 and switched back to BGT after early-season problems thwarted its Britcar title hopes. It will be interesting to see how this car compares to the other Coupes.

Aaron Scott and Craig Wilkins are another pairing who will be looking for a result this weekend – 14 points (and, again, none at Snetterton) does not reflect how competitive this car has been.

The trio of CR Scuderia Ferrari 430s have between them occupied at least one step of the podium at all eight rounds so far, but no car has yet managed to produce consistency and speed. Michael Meadows and James Sutton have come closest to achieving the required combination; claiming four podium appearances in #14, but as yet being the only CRS car not to take a win. Michael Cullen, meanwhile, has had two wins this season, but inconsistent results have meant that he is only level with the youngsters on 31 points. Paddy Shovlin rejoins Cullen in #15, but is now five points behind his team-mate.

Luke Hines and Jeremy Metcalfe continue the hunt for their second win of the season, but six consecutive points-scoring finishes keep them in the hunt on 28 points; and local-boy Metcalfe knows the track well;  “We’ll be aiming to do the same as always at the weekend, go out there and do the best job we possibly can”, he said. “I’m really looking forward to the races; I think we’ll be very strong. The high speed corners at Thruxton should definitely suit the Ferrari and I always feel very comfortable there, it’s always good to compete at your home track.”

Allan Simonsen (on his fourth of six consecutive racing weekends) will be trying to land CiM’s first win of the season, together with Hector Lester, while Phil Burton and Adam Wilcox are still looking for VRS’s first win in GT3, as are Peter Bamford and Matt Griffin in the #4 Chad Racing 430. Chad takes just one car to Hampshire as Richard Marsh has business commitments.

Phil Hindley’s Tech 9 similarly takes just one car to Thruxton, with the team’s second car still being repaired and with no spare available. A bit of reshuffling sees Leo Machitski driving with Tom Ferrier in the #8 Gallardo this weekend.  

Team Modena has a full complement of cars and drivers, meanwhile, with Adam Jones/Piers Johnson and Guy Harrington/Ben de Zille Butler (winners at Thruxton in 2007) also looking for their first wins of the season.

Although Tech 9 have recorded a win (Ferrier/Morley) this season, the first half of the year can only be described as disappointing for both teams. With the pedigree of both teams and with the car having already proved its pace on numerous occasions, we can expect good things this weekend.

Last year, Barwell Motorsport took two winner’s trophies away from Thruxton, which should give encouragement to the two Aston Martin DBR9s entered this weekend. Tom Alexander and Michael Bentwood will be looking for dry conditions, first and foremost, but also an opportunity to fight on equal terms after their frustrations at Snetterton. But at least they got to race in Norfolk, unlike Barrie Whight and Gavan Kershaw - "A 10p part failed;" said Whight. "Replaced in about 20minutes back at the workshop. How annoying, but at the same time glad it broke on the grid rather than into the first corner." 

Having been denied the opportunity to race at their home circuit, the Cadena Motorsport duo will be confident of a good outing at Thruxton after two top-six finishes in the 2007 races (for Barrie and father Paul). The Astons have been awarded a 5mm front ride-height performance break since Snetterton, but Barrie Whight is unconvinced of its effectiveness having raced with the new setting in Britcar earlier in the year. 

The one variable this weekend will be the special compound tyre that all cars will need to race on at the high-speed circuit. “I hope it works for the Ferraris and Lambos as the Vipers already have a straight-line speed advantage,” said Chad’s Piers Masarati.

In GT4, things are looking good for Richmond Racing/IMS Motorsport duo Matt Nicoll-Jones and Stewart Linn. With four wins, three seconds and a third under their belts from the first eight races in the #88 Ginetta G50, their 17 point lead is looking pretty solid; and already their title challengers have effectively been reduced to three – Rob Austin, Hunter Abbott and Fulvio Mussi.

Austin and Abbott have taken three wins and two seconds in the #55, but Mussi’s consistent run of points-scoring finishes (round eight being the first time that he failed to appear on the podium) in various RPM G50s means he has seven points more than the duo. He is paired again with Nigel Redwood in the #52 car this weekend.

The RPM Ginetta lineup is completed by Steve Tandy and Phil Bailey in the #50, and Joe Osborne and Nigel Moore in the #51. Ian Stinton and Neil Clark, meanwhile, strive to continue to collect points (24 so far) as they learn more about extracting performance from the #71 Stark Racing G50.  

While we have no Aston Martins at Thruxton, we do again have three marques competing; the Moore Racing Maserati Trofeo (Paul Fenton and George Mackintosh) joining in alongside Snetterton debutant Promotorsport – who should see Maxi Jazz alongside Derek Palmer in the Nissan 350Z.

This weekend could be crucial in determining the likely direction in which the various titles are headed. But it should also provide some great racing.