Trackspeed - Oulton Park Weekend Report

It’s been a close season of much change at Trackspeed with the team that swept all before them in the British GT Championship in 2006 about to take the step up to the FIA GT3 European Championship for 2007.

That means a commitment to a trio of Porsche 997 GT3 Cup cars across a six event series which pits a huge number of different marques and their drivers directly against each other.

For Trackspeed though that’s just one element of a busy 2007 programme.

There are no clashing rounds between the FIA GT3 series and the 2007 British GT Championship and that presents the opportunity for some or all of the Porsches to find gainful employment for a far busier season schedule.

And Trackspeed of course have huge success to build upon having won the 2006 GT Cup Class in the Championship taking an unprecedented clean sweep of the podium places at a race at Snetterton on their way to the title.

At times entering 4 cars for the Championship in 2006 the team were rather less stretched at the opening rounds of the 2007 Championship, Trackspeed boss David Ashburn and Porsche Supercup coming man Richard Williams were out to show the potential of the Trackspeed Porsche against two dozen of the best GT race cars in the UK.

Circumstances though conspired which saw a second Trackspeed Porsche out on track after the brand new Lotus Exige of Lotus Sport Cadena disgraced itself, the team opted not to abandon their weekend but instead reached agreement with the Trackspeed team to use the spare Porsche 997 nestling on the team transporter.

Back to the Ashburn / Williams combo though and a busy Saturday would see the car out in practice, a pair of quick fire qualifying sessions and a 60 minute race.

The first practice session would see the #14 car just half a second away from the fastest car of all but fastest of the five Porsche 997s, an encouraging start.

The first 15 minute qualifying session would see David Ashburn stay well in contention to earn a starting position on the third row of the grid for the race later the same afternoon with Richard Williams going one row better than that, fourth fastest and still fastest Porsche in the session which set the grid for Easter Monday’s race.

Saturday Race
David Ashburn would start this first 60 minute sprint of the season and from the off remained well in contention, the Trackspeed car was holding its own. The lead pack’s gradual progress though was blunted by the safety Car being deployed to bring the field under control whilst a stricken Ascari was recovered.

That was good news for David Ashburn’s attempt to hang on to the leading runners but bad news as it brought those trailing in his wake back right to his rear bumper.

With the pitstop window looming as the race went green once again Ashburn decided that discretion was the better part of valour and the chasing #44 Mosler was allowed by.

It was soon Richard Williams’ turn to have a crack at the leading group and he wasted no time at all getting on terms.

Williams was soon in a very strong top 5 slot with a podium finish looking a distinct possibility, but just as the race looked set to take a very interesting turn for Trackspeed the motor racing gods decided otherwise.

A warning light on the dashboard prompted an unscheduled stop. And in racing like this that meant curtains for any hope of silverware first time out. Williams though had played the correct cards. The second race of the weekend was still to come and whilst the #14 car would finish at the tail end of the lead lap it had shown its competitiveness, posted by far the fastest race lap from a 997 and was in rude health ahead of Easter Mondays race two.

Monday Race
From the bright sunshine of Saturday to full on “It’s Grim Up North” Bank Holiday murk and drizzle on Easter Monday.

It wasn’t wet enough though to warrant wet tyres and almost the whole grid would start on slicks. Richard Williams would take the start this time around in the #14 Trackspeed Porsche and he made a typically determined start and seemed destined to make ground before the first corner; but as doors began to be slammed shut he held station in fourth place. Not for long though as, at the end of lap one Williams was all over the third placed Aston of the very rapid Michael Bentwood.

Williams made his first decisive move into Old Hall. Bentwood defended, but Williams was into third position very shortly afterwards. Exactly where is not clear, because at that very moment things were going badly awry elsewhere in the pack with a multi car accident at Deer Leap which would immediately require the sheepdog like skills of the safety car.

The safety car stayed out until the 15 minute mark, and when it pitted to restart the race the dramas were far from over.

Richard Williams was now showing why he will be racing in Porsche Super Cup this year, wringing every last ounce of performance out of the 997 in the slippery conditions and was now closing on Adam Wilcox in the second placed VRS Ferrari. The combination of the Porsche and Williams coping better than most in increasingly tricky conditions.

Wilcox himself was not allowing leader Tim Mullen to get away. The gap from first to second was at no point greater than 1.4s and was coming down to half a second as the pit stops approached with Williams looming very large indeed.

The drizzle returned again and the yoyo lap times got longer again. Williams though managed to up his pace and took Wilcox for second position on lap 15. Mullen though resisted a charging Williams for another two laps, until all three leading cars pitted nose to tail.

It was now the truly crunch decision of the day in what was a very crowded pitlane. To fit wets or not fit wets. That was the question.

And the answer from the Trackspeed squad was – that wets were the way to go. It looked the correct decision with the rain falling steadily but just a few minutes later David Ashburn, now aboard the #14 car, must have realised that the cars that had stayed on slicks had undoubtedly made the correct decision, not only had they saved a large chunk of time in the pits but the rain had now eased and the lap times were tumbling with the leading trio all on slicks and Ashburn trailing back in fourth place albeit an increasing distance behind.

Whilst the leading three cars were out of Trackspeed’s reach there was still danger from behind as Guy Harrington in the second Aston Martin, also on slicks closed in fast. Ashburn would hold on almost to the very last lap though, Harrington finally making his extra grip count through Deer Leap as the last lap began but it still wasn’t over for David Ashburn as the recovering Preci Spark Ascari was closing fast too. It was a time for a cool head and Ashburn played the part beautifully. He crossed the line to finish the race in fifth place mere tenths ahead of the charging #22 car.

“ We brought the car home without a scratch, we were on the pace all day, Richard drove a fabulous race and if we can take something significant from this we were the first car on wets home whilst several others were nowhere.”

Richard Williams meanwhile had enjoyed his British GT weekend: “The car was great, the conditions were very tricky indeed but the car still allowed me to push and that has to bode well for the team moving forward.”

With the Trackspeed office phone apparently rather busy of late it looks like there will be no problem to fill either the six available seats in the FIA GT3 Championship or indeed for a full season entry in the British Championship. The pace of the #14 car over the easter weekend will have done that process no harm whatsoever.