SUN SHINES AT BRANDS FOR ECURIE GTS

The Bank holiday weekend on 4-5th May saw the second event of 2014 for ecurie GTS here is what happened at Brands Hatch…words by ecurie GTS.

We were delighted with the number of drivers that decided to join us; 24 in total including a few new faces and plenty of our more regular drivers. There was a great selection of cars in the paddock; lots of exotic machinery thanks to the Porsche Cup and Ferrari owners club. There was a strong feeling that a great weekend of racing lay ahead.

The marshalls and track staff had done a great job of organised the morning’s qualifying and we started 10 minutes ahead of schedule for the 18 minute session. It looked as though Tom Smith would take pole position with a time of 58.731, but Peter Barnard in the Elva managed to just ease in front with a 58.676 at the tail end of the session. Richard McKoen was delighted with the third spot on the grid in his TR4. It looked as though it could be anybody’s race in the afternoon; only 1 second separated 3rd and 11th places. The stage looked set for some close racing later that day. The session was largely incident free, but some mechanical problems did unfortunately cut the session short for Robin Ellis in the Lotus Elite. Another Elite driver; Brian Arculus was forced to retire with gear box issues. David Koskela and his son Marc only managed 4 laps in their MGB, a clutch bearing ending their session; we do hope they are back out with us soon though.

Peter Barnard was able to make a better start than Tom Smith and held the lead, but the red MGB number 22 was able to move past on lap 2. Peter was not going to make it easy for Tom though, just 4 seconds separated them at the half way stage. Richard McKeon was not able to capitalise on his qualifying pace; he bogged down of the line and found himself down in 7th after the first lap. He was able to use his pace though to find his way back up through the field as the race progressed. Robi Bernberg made a terrific start getting all the way from 17th to 3rd on lap 1; it looked as though he was going to stay there until mechanical problems set in on lap 21. One of the best battles of the race was between Pete Foster in the TR4 and Rob Cull in the TVR, Rob managed to hold Pete off for most of the first half of the race, but Foster was able to find a way past, and despite Rob’s best efforts he managed to stay in front.

There was plenty of action in the middle part of the pack; several MGB’s all dicing for position in the afternoon sun. John Hilbery was unchallenged for class victory in his Lotus Elite, but he managed to beat several cars from the higher classes for a very credible 14th overall. It was said that everyone got to have a race with someone, making an entertaining contest for both drivers and spectators.

RACE 1 RESULTS

1st Tom Smith

2nd Peter Barnard

3rd Pete Foster

4th Rob Cull

5th Richard McKoen

6th Mike Harris

7th Dominic Barnes

8th Paul Latimer

9th John Yea

10th David Russell-Wilks (Team P42!)

Fastest Lap: Tom Smith

Driver of the Race: Tom Smith

The great weather we enjoyed on Saturday remained with us on Sunday. We were treated to some really entertaining racing from other series including the Quaife Motorsport News Saloon Cars and Pirelli Ferrari Open. At 3:00 it was time for Ecurie GTS to take to the circuit. We followed our usual format for the grid; the same as the finishing order for race one. This time it was Tom Smith on pole with Peter Barnard 2nd. Tom was able to make a good start today to retain the lead and a perfect drive ensured he was first to see the chequered flag.

Rob Cull in the TVR also got away well to take second place off the line after starting in fourth. Peter Barnard managed to hang onto the back of the TVR and as the race progressed the Elva was able to find a way past on lap 19, only to lose the place on lap 23. It looked as though it would go to the wire, but a broken rear wheel cylinder on the TVR meant that the braking system was not efficient as it should have been, and Rob was forced to slow. A big slide at Clearways further hampered the TVR, leaving Rob to come home in 5th.

Robi Bernberg was keen to put a lower than usual result for him behind him in the second race. He began in 17th place, but by lap four he had overtaken 10 cars in front of him. He continued to make good progress through the race and made it all the way up to 3rd by the finish. His effort earned him a justly deserved driver of the race award.

There was plenty of action in the midfield again today; a group of very evenly matched MGB’s all jostling for position. It was Nick Crewdson that came out on top by the end; he put in a determined drive to progress from 13th to 7th. Robin Ellis was the first car home in class 2, a great effort to end up 11th overall after starting from the back of the grid. Like the previous race there was plenty of action, the short 1.2 mile circuit helping to keep all drivers on their toes.

RACE 2 RESULTS

1st Tom Smith

2nd Peter Barnard

3rd Robi Bernberg

4th Pete Foster

5th Rob Cull

6th Richard McKoen

7th Nick Crewdson

8th Mike Harris

9th Paul Latimer

10th Dominic Barnes

Fastest Lap: Tom Smith

Driver of the Race: Robi Bernberg

Many thanks to ecurie GTS. Photos by Dickon Siddall and Peter French.

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