A new race format, new cars, new drivers and at times a great race - that was what was on offer to brighten up a cold grey Donington Park for Round One of the 2003 British GT Championship.

But a grid of just 14 cars lined up, after mechanical woes struck other entries yesterday. The arrival this morning of a spotless #20, latest-bodywork, Master Motorsport Ultima brightened the mood but the sight of the crew still working like trojans told a story. It had been a rush to get here, a 75 minute race was going to be something of a stretch.

At the front of the grid we had three rows of immaculately prepared GTO cars (including the sole representative in GT, the #7 CMS Viper) with the welcome sight of the #27 CDL TVR T400R of Gareth Evans taking its place on the back row, after an overnight rebuild by the fantastically energetic CDL crew.

The all Mosler front row with Tom Herridge starting in Blue #22 and Jamie Derbyshire in Red #33 looked stunning, the red car reminding many of the late lamented EMI liveried McLaren F1. This car however was not a GT1, or a GT2 but, in old money, a GT3!

Behind them were ranged a pair of Blackpool’s best, the TVR T400Rs. Shane Lynch taking the start in Eclipse Motorsport’s #69 car and John Hartshorne sitting alongside in the Peninsular TVR / JCB sponsored #23 version. It was Yankee muscle time on row three with Amanda Stretton in the CMS Viper alongside Ricky Cole in the #50 Xero Racing Corvette.

With ranks of the brand new GT Cup class cars separating the third TVR and the Ultima from the GTO ’pack’ an early display of trafficmeister tactics looked to be in store too, plenty to look forward to in the new for 2003 75 minute race.

The very yellow SEAT Leon Cupra R pace car had the field well bunched as it negotiated the chicane on the Donington Park National circuit. It ducked into the pitlane and then it was the turn of polesitter Tom Herridge to control the pace to the start. The lights went green and the engine note of the Moslers rose an octave or so (still very bass!) and started the sprint towards Redgate for the first of what would eventually be 62 laps.

If the Mosler pair thought they were going to get it all their own way, they had reckoned without the fast starting style of Shane Lynch. The #69 TVR was all over the back of the Moslers into Redgate and howled after them into Hollywood and the Craner Curves. The chase was on and it looked like being a lulu!

Behind these three John Hartshorne was trying to give pursuit but was losing ground, with Amanda Stretton trying to hang onto the back of the #23 TVR in the CMS Viper. Ricky Cole was having fun too, trying to latch onto the back of the much more powerful GT class car ahead and doing a good job of it too.

The two back row starters were making up ground fast. Steven Brady in the Ultima had passed four GT Cup class cars by Schwantz Curve, halfway round the first lap, and had passed the rest before the end of his first lap: sadly though that was as good as things got for the Ultima, which slowed dramatically as it crossed the line. The rocker cover gasket had failed and the Ultima retired hurt. Better luck next time.

The CDL TVR was also on the move, Gareth Evans making fast but measured progress through traffic and within two laps was closing on the Corvette at the end of the GTO train.

At the front of the race it was all action. Shane Lynch was within striking distance of the Moslers but the big mid engined V8 powered cars seemed to have the legs on the TVR on the straights, the orange and blue T400R had an advantage though in slower corners and in initial acceleration it seemed. This was good, hard and best of all close, racing to start the season.

The field was soon divided into two groups of three cars with John Hartshorne running a fast but lonely race between them. In the second group Amanda Stretton was being kept busy by the sight of the GT Cup leading Tech 9 Porsche dicing in her mirrors with the Corvette and CDL TVR.

Four laps in and this group of three were looking for a way past the Viper and a poor run out of the chicane gave them the opportunity they were looking for. Patrick Pearce steered the nimble Porsche by on acceleration onto the start finish straight and a very early braking point into Redgate for the Viper caught out Cole directly behind and allowed Evans’ TVR to dive up the inside and grab sixth place overall.

The lead trio were still involved in a great dice, their pace took them by the last placed GT Cup car (the #43 Lotus) as early as Lap 6, Lynch was pulling to the outside of Redgate on every lap and it seemed just a matter of time before the dummy was sold to Derbyshire in the red and white Mosler ahead.

The first real attempt came on lap 7, a dive up the inside at Redgate almost coming off for the TVR pilot. On the same lap he looked inside again, this time at the chicane, where the nimble little TVR held an advantage, he emerged ahead only to be outpaced on the run up to Redgate. This time it was Derbyshire’s turn to go up the inside and on the run down to Hollywood he made it stick.

Battle was now well and truly joined between Derbyshire and Lynch. Lap 10 and the Irishman’s next opportunity was presented as the Mosler stumbled slightly in lapping Keith Ahlers’ Cup class Morgan Aero 8. The TVR showed its nose in front of the Mosler into Redgate but the grunt of the big V8 told once more on the run to the Craner Curves. Lynch however doesn’t give up easily nowadays, last year’s pace was showing again as he pulled an identical move next time around only to be frustrated again, as the Mosler’s Chevy powerplant powered the car by once more.

With an hour to go both Stretton and Cole had powered by the Porsche but Gareth Evans was well away in the TVR: it would be a battle of the American V10 versus the American V8 for a while for fifth place.

Lap 14 and another sign of Shane Lynch’s determination, a time of 1:11.022 brought him back right onto the tail of Derbyshire and would stand as the fastest lap of the race outright. Nobody’s regarding Shane Lynch as anything other than a racing driver nowadays.

A lap later, Tom Herridge stumbled over the Renault Clio coming through the chicane. The loss of momentum allowed Derbyshire to gain ground and the Moslers passed either side of Enzo Mucci in the Renault along the start / finish straight, Derbyshire winning the battle and taking the lead into Redgate. Lynch had also seen his chance however and as Herridge was busy defending unsuccessfully from Derbyshire the TVR was moving up the inside to grab second at the same corner. First to third in the length of the pit straight. Tom Herridge is probably not a fan of Renault’s ‘Va Va Voom’ ad campaign!

The flying Shane Lynch wasn’t finished yet however. With Jamie Derbyshire trying to defend his newly won lead, Lynch harried the Mosler next time around, ducking and weaving in the big car’s mirrors before outbraking it into Redgate. This time the gap was sufficient for the TVR to grab the best line through Hollywood and it was Mosler’s turn to chase a TVR for a change! Three leaders in just 20 laps, this race was well alight.

But now it was Shane’s turn to face the challenge of traffic being surprised by the approach of the leading pack. Amanda Stretton was being pressed hard by Ricky Cole. Cole’s parents clearly never taught him any manners as he seemed determined to break the golden rule of ‘Ladies first’

Their battle for fifth delayed the leading trio through the chicane and Derbyshire was able to close right up again onto the tail of the TVR as a result. Next time round, with 49 minutes of the race still to run, it was more of the same for Lynch, this time the ISL Marcos Mantis was the stumbling block and a moment’s hesitation by both Lynch and Mantis driver Jeff Wyatt almost cost the TVR the lead. The Mosler looked on the outside, Lynch covered but then realised that Derbyshire was going inside. It’s lucky the F1 ‘One Move’ rule doesn’t apply in proper racing or Shane’s defence could have left him in trouble.

With the pit stop window now about to open, the CDL TVR running strongly in fifth place suddenly slowed. Surely not yet more mechanical woes? Gareth Evans was clearly nursing the car to the point where he could pit without penalty, but the car lost fifth and sixth places, so much did the lap times drop off.

Evans later explained: “I was sure that the vibrations I was getting were getting worse. I was in the car when the propshaft let go on Saturday and having seen the damage it caused and the efforts the lads had to go to fix it, I was determined to give them a chance to get to the end of the race.”

A very mature decision and a quite understandable sentiment. For a driver in his first GT race Gareth Evans clearly understands the tenet of handing over as good a car as you can to your partner. The TVR pitted as soon as it could and Steve Hyde powered out, now in seventh spot, to see whether the vibration was truly back.

35 minutes gone and Shane Lynch headed pitwards to hand over to Piers Johnson. A good stop by the Eclipse Motorsport squad, almost spoiled by a door that was reluctant to shut properly, saw the Harman / kardon backed driver back out into third place, with both Moslers ahead obviously still requiring a pitstop. Shane Lynch meanwhile was very happy with his afternoon’s work, but nervous all the same:

“I’ve got everything crossed, “ he told the Donington Pitlane reporter “Fingers, legs and bollocks.” Quite so Shane!

The Corvette was next to stop with Dave Beecroft’s team executing a textbook driver change, Peter Le Bas taking to the track as another championship debutant.

Steve Hyde was by now finding his feet in the CDL TVR. “The vibration was still there,” he said later, “I could certainly see why Gareth was wary of it but it was only really bad at the very top end.” Hyde’s speed was to be such that the ‘top end’ would see considerable usage over the next half hour or so.

With the half hour point approaching the next to pit was the Viper, Annie Templeton taking over from Amanda Stretton, the pitstop was a good one and Annie rejoined in spirited fashion, powersliding the big V10 away from the pitlane.

It was Jamie Derbyshire’s turn to relinquish the lead next, handing over to Shaun Balfe in another quick stop. Not quite quick enough though, as Piers Johnson just squeezed by the Mosler for second place as the #33 car rejoined. Balfe was onto the TVR’s case soon enough though, all over the bootlid of Johnson through Redgate.

John Hartshorne was next in after a steady (and lonely) run in fourth. New teammate Graeme Mundy (yet another debutant) rejoined after a well executed Dennis Leech choreographed stop, and retained the place ahead now of the third TVR, Steve Hyde having demoted Le Bas’s Corvette in an impressive charge to the front - with Mundy the next target. By now though just the top three were on the lead lap, a mark of the furious pace set by the Moslers, and matched by the Eclipse Motorsport TVR.

32 minutes to go and it was Tom Herridge’s turn to pit. Could Rob Barff retain the lead? If the other Mosler’s pitstop had been good and the TVR’s very good then the #22’s crews efforts were just unbelievable. As Barff roared out of the pitlane, the pursuing Piers Johnson was just passing the pit entrance. The stop had gained the leading car a full 10 seconds over its pursuers, a quite fantastic effort.

Shaun Balfe was still working hard to get past the TVR, the Mosler’s power advantage coupled with the TVR’s more nimble characteristics making for a very entertaining battle. With Rob Barff 10 seconds clear, Piers Johnson found himself having to concentrate on defence rather than a preferred attack on the leader. A lock-up into the chicane from Balfe gave the TVR driver some brief respite and allowed him to start to close the gap on a Barff-pedalled Mosler that was clearly in cruise mode (ish): was the big V8 marginal on fuel over the full race distance?

If that was the case then it didn’t explain how Balfe in the second Mosler could close the gap to the TVR so quickly. Just two laps after his hiccup at the chicane, a 2.2 second gap had become 0.2. The gap to the leader was now down to just 6.7 seconds. The race was very much still on for the win.

With 20 minutes still to run the Viper made its compulsory (for GT class cars) two minute fuel stop, effectively ending any challenge for the GTO cars from the all girl crew. The CMS run car would eventually finish in a distant 11th place: a race finish however is no mean feat in such a beast for a driver pairing that hadn’t sat in the car a fortnight ago. They will learn quickly and we’ll see better things in future rounds from the Girl Power squad.

Back to the front, and with 19 minutes to go Piers Johnson finally had to give best to Balfe, the #33 Mosler finding a way up the inside at Redgate and pulling away. With the TVR’s tyres now rather past their best it was time for Piers to consolidate on an extremely solid third place. But the race for the win wasn’t yet over, not by a long way!

The charging Johnson / Balfe combo had closed to within four seconds of Barff before Balfe took up the baton, Balfe now proceeded to snip away at Rob Barff’s remaining advantage.

Another battle for position was also developing albeit two laps back. Steve Hyde was driving the #27 CDL TVR through its pain barrier and was closing fast on Graeme Mundy in the fourth placed #23 Race Sport Salisbury TVR. Hyde’s pace at this stage suggested that if the car hadn’t suffered its propshaft failure in practice we might well have been treated to a four car battle at the front of the race, as a consistent string of laps in the low 1:12s and middle to high 1:11s would prove too much for Mundy to resist. By lap 48 Hyde went by the car that he himself had won races with two seasons earlier. He would keep a firm grip of fourth place to the flag, a fine performance and a real triumph for GT Championship debutants CDL Racing.

With 15 minutes left the Moslers were now nose to tail. This was no formation run to the finish however, Balfe was looking for a way past the Rollcentre Racing car.

Lap by lap he was jinking left and right into the corners, teasing Barff but making no rash moves. For Barff there was the knowledge that this was a race that he should win but could in this situation all too easily lose.

The nerves showed for both drivers, Balfe having a moment at the chicane but recovering and Barff running a little wide at Redgate, but leaving enough in reserve to fend off an inquisitive Shaun Balfe.

With five minutes to run Balfe was becoming much more vigorous in his enquiries as to whether the race lead was available. Barff went into the chicane rather too deep and the resultant loss of momentum allowed the chasing #33 to get right back onto his tail. An impressive rendition of the ‘Mansell Shuffle’ from Balfe was neatly repelled by Barff and the clock ticked on.

Time left for just a handful more laps and the question was “What about fuel?” It had been thought that the Moslers would be marginal on lasting the full 75 minutes and the current energetic driving from both drivers would surely not help on an economy run. One car was in rather more fuel trouble than the Moslers however, Peter Le Bas crossing the line to start his 57th lap with the Corvette’s V8 spluttering badly, the tank almost dry (the combination of a race spec electronic control unit and a ‘taxi’ spec V8 – according to team boss Dave Beecroft – causing a miscalculation on fuel mileage) .

The Mosler battle went on and as the 75 minute mark drew closer it looked to be Rob Barff’s race. With #22 and #33 still nose to tail, it was time for traffic to deal a new hand in the story of the race. Barff was on the tail of the 4th placed Steve Hyde into Redgate and the TVR, seeing a rather slower Viper ahead of the train, chose to take the racing line down through Hollywood. But the TVR’s speed wasn’t as great as the Mosler duo and a better exit from Redgate allowed Balfe to get alongside Barff. Rob chose to follow the TVR’s line past Annie Templeton through the Craner Curves but Balfe saw his chance and the two Moslers muscled their way past the Viper passing either side of a no doubt nervous first time GT race driver! Look out Annie, there's one on each side of you.

With Balfe now on the better line for the approach to the Old Hairpin. and Barff edged onto the grass, the lead changed hands again, ‘Red #33’ now ahead, and Barff was not a happy bunny!

But there was another card still in the pack for this race. Barff is a hard charger and hadn’t given up the chase. As the two Moslers thundered down to the chicane for the last time, with the chequered flag beyond, to the horror of onlookers the racing line was occupied by Peter Le Bas staggering home in the out of fuel Xero Corvette

Barff saw a last chance to grab the win and braked deep into the corner. Balfe saw the Corvette late, lost momentum and floored it on the exit of the chicane, but Barff got alongside the leading car, only to find that there wasn’t enough room to make the pass. The two Moslers crossed the line 0.156 seconds apart, a fantastic finish and an unbelievable last lap. Piers Johnson brought the #69 TVR home 11 seconds adrift for a fine podium finish for Eclipse Motorsport and Peter le Bas literally crawled home, the car completely without power, to rapturous applause from the grandstand.

Piers Johnson declared himself “Happy with that for a start, disappointed that we couldn’t run with the Moslers for the full race distance, but they are in another class at a circuit like this.”

Shane Lynch, deservedly named Driver of the Day by fuel suppliers ‘76’, had had “a really fantastic time out there. I was laughing into my helmet for the first half hour, some of the best fun I’ve ever had in a race.”

Tom Herridge was subdued, but looking forward to levelling the score next time out. “We had a good race but it just didn’t fall our way on the last lap. Disappointing, but that was a very good points finish.”

Rob Barff was altogether more annoyed: “Gutted, that’s the word for it, the race was ours and the move that lost us the lead was a hard one, with the Viper on the racing line on the last lap. I feel as if I’ve let the team down, they were absolutely mega, the pitstop was fantastic and it gave me a lead that I shouldn’t have lost. Perhaps our Econo-cruise mode was a bit conservative today.”

Jamie Derbyshire had enjoyed himself thoroughly: “That was a fantastic dice (with Shane Lynch) great fun and very clean. It’s a fantastic feeling to win first time out, but this is clearly not going to be easy. The TVR is much more nimble and better out of the slow stuff. There are other circuits where they might have more of an edge. I’m looking forward to it.”

Last word though to Shaun Balfe, a debut overall win in the championship. “The last lap was unbelievable, just one of those things where several things come together and fall one way or the other. Today it fell our way and I’m obviously delighted about that.”

A two hour race at Snetterton is next on the menu, with more cars promised (including both factory TVR T400Rs it is hoped, before they leave for the Le Mans Test Day). Let’s hope they and others will add strength in depth to the entertainment meted out at round one by the Moslers and TVRs.
GG