British GT Championship – Silverstone – GTO Class Race Report
TVRs Show Reliability For A One, Two, Three
Another bright and breezy day welcomed Round 5 of the 2003 British GT Championship to the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit. The forecast that the threat of rain had eased was welcome news for the 20 cars ready to contest the longest race yet for the championship, a three hour marathon.

The spoils for the winning team this time out weren’t restricted to the championship points on offer: this time the prize would be the historic British Empire Trophy. And for the first time in 2003 the race win would not go to a Mosler, but to a team taking their first race win in the championship.

As Ian McKellar in the SEAT pace car pulled into the pits it was Tom Herridge in the Rollcentre Mosler who muscled his way around the outside of Copse to lead. It wasn’t looking like a walkover 1-2 for Mosler even this early as Peter Le Bas in the #50 Xero Corvette powered by the Eclipse TVR to grab third by Becketts, and crawling all over the bootlid of the #33 Balfe MT900R.

It was a bad start though for Peter Cook in the Point Preparation #40 Porsche 996 Turbo, a spin dropping him to the tail of the field.

At the head of the race a pattern was emerging that pointed to radically different strategies in the two Mosler camps. Herridge was taking off like a cat with its tail on fire, a full 2.5 seconds clear of Jamie Derbyshire by the end of the first lap. Behind the two MT900Rs it was a battle royal between the Corvette and a Piers Johnson pedalled TVR that was looking for a way past to chase down the Moslers.

Herridge was more than four seconds clear on Lap 2 as Johnson tried hard to pass the ‘Vette, but a chance around the outside of Club was lost as Le Bas got a little sideways and Johnson decided discretion was the better part of valour: Piers Johnson kept his momentum and grabbed third at Abbey.

Behind this lot, Steven Brady in the Master Motorsport Ultima was racing with the CDL TVR of Steve Hyde: both cars have had their problems of late but both were now coming on song, catching the battle ahead.

Within a lap Brady had powered by Le Bas and was part of a three car train Mosler, Eclipse TVR and Ultima - with Hyde also now past the Corvette and joining in the fun. The action was coming fast and furious and this was just six minutes into a three hour race!

With Herridge seven seconds ahead, Johnson’s efforts to chase were temporarily scuppered by Steven Brady, the Ultima pilot edging past the #69 TVR and taking third place. Johnson retook the place next time around, before hustling through on the inside of Derbyshire for second. Free at last, the harman kardon Eclipse T400R was now off and away in pursuit of Herridge, now nine seconds clear.

The battle behind third placed Derbyshire was fast and furious: Brady and Hyde were at it hammer and tongs, but fourth would fall into Peter Le Bas’ lap when the CDL TVR and Ultima tripped over each other just enough to give the ‘Vette an opportunity to power up the inside of the pair at Woodcote.

Le Bas was close enough to challenge Derbyshire for third place – this was a different race from the norm! - but the Mosler had the legs on the ‘Vette on the straight. The #50 car seemed better through the twisty bits. Steve Hyde had followed Le Bas through as Brady fell back into the clutches of Graeme Mundy in the #23 Peninsula TVR.

Johnson was already nibbling into Herridge’s lead, down from almost 11 seconds to 7.4, and it was a question of whether Derbyshire could keep in touch with the fastest TVR. Peter Le Bas’s charge however would involve a move on the #33 Mosler at Becketts that would leave the Corvette stranded and the Mosler crawling around for attention back at the pits after a very grassy moment. Opinions as ever were divided but the result was unarguable, one leading car out of the race and another left with a mountain to climb if it was to claim a fifth straight race win.

Further back there was another battle developing, Tom Shrimpton in the #21 Glenn Eagling Marcos muscling his way past Amanda Stretton in the #7 Girl Power CMS Viper as the recovering Peter Cook arrived to join in the fun. Cook made short work of blasting by the Viper, before doing the same to Shrimpton up the inside of Copse for sixth place.

With 30 minutes gone – yes that’s all! - it was Herridge eight seconds up on Johnson, with Hyde and Mundy chasing in vain. Brady was being reeled in by Cook whilst Shrimpton was trying to shake off Stretton. The #33 Mosler would rejoin in 18th place a full five laps down but would still be struggling, the impact having saddled the Mosler with a badly offset steering column and worsening understeer.

40 minutes and Peter Cook was looking keen to get by the Ultima, and he did so at Stowe with an uncompromising move that put Brady off his stride. Graeme Mundy was next in his sights

First of the planned pit stops was the Ultima on 45 minutes for fuel, and a driver change to Aaron Scott. Tyres were changed too after the compulsory two minute fueling period.

Piers Johnson was now catching the Mosler quite steadily a 1:57.190 seeing him just 7.7 seconds adrift. Also still making progress was Peter Cook, as circuit commentator David Addison observed “Softly, softly catchee Mundy!!”

Next to pit was Tom Shrimpton after a fast and steady stint, no fuel but a driver change to Dan Eagling to try his luck with the #21 Marcos. It would turn out to be none too lucky, the Marcos pitting again with a deflating front tyre, the Peter Cook Porsche pitting too with a flat rear tyre after the pair clashed at Woodcote. The Porsche would refuel and Cook would hand the car over to Frank Pelle but the Marcos was more badly damaged. A suspension breakage would end its race in the pits after another very encouraging run.

At the head of the field Johnson had whittled the lead down to just two seconds. That gap would shrink to just a couple of tenths when the stranded #78 Tech 9 Porsche of Bob Berridge caused the safety car to be deployed as the one hour mark passed.

As the pace car circulated the leading #22 Mosler pitted for fuel, tyres and Rob Barff. Johnson stayed out and the game plan for Eclipse was now clear: stay out until half distance and make the race distance on one fuel stop. Could they?

The Porsche having been recovered the pace car withdrew and Johnson was back into his stride immediately with laps in the low 1:57s, Barff now almost two minutes behind the leader and in 4th place. The second Mosler was now in 12th place overall.

There was further trouble in store for a Mosler however and this time it was Barff’s turn! The #22 car slowed dramatically as it passed the pits, Johnson immediately pounced to lap the Rollcentre car and Barff was left to complete a slow lap with the car jammed in second gear.

As the halfway point approached it was a TVR T400R 1-2-3 with the CDL car in second ahead of Graeme Mundy for Peninsula. Barff rejoined - with the car now jammed in fourth gear, the entire linkage having come adrift, no lever and no way to shift gear at all with 90 minutes still to run! He had fallen to eighth place overall behind a battle between the Viper and Ultima that Aaron Scott would win.

Eventually, with 86 minutes to run, the Eclipse car pitted, the last of the major runners to do so. Fuel, a driver change to Shane Lynch and tyres were the order of the day, at least that was the theory. A stumble from someone in pitlane saw the air bottle to power the wheel hammers discharged. A quick minded John Griffiths made the correct call for the car to get on its way and Lynch rejoined the fray, enough fuel on board to finish he race but with tyres that were definitely past their best. Could this be Eclipse’s undoing?

Gareth Evans now led the race in the CDL TVR, just a second or two up on Lynch. Thus began a period of sustained TVR formation running, with John Hartshorne pushing to unlap himself and Gareth Evans welding his CDL TVR to the bootlid of Lynch’s Eclipse version, now ahead and in the lead.

Third was the hugely improved Ultima but after a great stint, Aaron Scott pitted to hand the car back to Steven Brady.

Rob Barff was now, incredibly, getting to grips with a car with just one gear (fourth). He was lapping quickest of all! He would unlap himself from the Eclipse car and would climb to second overall before making a final pitstop for fuel with just 26 minutes of the race remaining. The stop would drop the car to fourth, with the Ultima back in fifth, well ahead of the Viper in sixth. These three would finish the race in the same order but there was still action to come.

The Balfe motorsport crew meanwhile were having altogether more trouble. A wisp of smoke from the rear end signalled the end of a comeback drive from Shaun Balfe. All the bad luck seemed to be coming at once for the Lincolnshire team, a collapsed wheel bearing meaning that it would be a tall order just to finish the race within the required 75% of the race winning distance to qualify for points. To the team’s credit they did exactly that.

With just over 20 minutes remaining a hugely relieved Shane Lynch pitted from the lead. “The tyres were awful (they were literally down to the canvas) after pushing so hard for so long. It was a risk to pit but a bigger risk not to, now its fingers crossed time.”

Ben McLoughlin climbed aboard for the last 20 minutes and emerged back into the fray just a handful of seconds ahead of John Hartshorne. That wasn’t all though. Steve Hyde had received the “Hurry Up” board from CDL boss Bert Taylor and was pushing hard too in an attempt to relieve Hartshorne of his second slot.

McLoughlin seemed to have Hartshorne’s measure, first allowing the Peninsula TVR backed car to come within 4.3 seconds, then imposing his authority on the race. As the minutes ticked down it was a question of fuel, did the TVRs have enough?

The short answer was yes they did. It was a race to the flag though with Ben controlling it from the front in the closing stages, finishing just 2.1 seconds clear of John Hartshorne with the charging Steve Hyde still 11 seconds further back. A TVR 1-2-3.

Rob Barff: “It’s the little known Mosler MT900RA – for automatic. The whole gear selection assembly had come adrift with the lever. I pitted (at 90 minutes) and we jammed it in fourth. All in all I’d say that was my best race ever.” Just minutes behind, and only one gear – amazing.

Piers Johnson: “I thought we had it completely covered apart from the tyres. I knew if we could keep up with the Mosler we were laughing. We pushed it as far as we could on fuel and it was coughing and spluttering when I pitted. I had no idea we’d be getting the British Empire Trophy but what a great race for Eclipse to get their debut win.”

Shane Lynch: “That was touch and go at the finish. John (Hartshorne) was coming up real quick and it could have gone any way there. We were blessed. After days when we’ve had some terrible luck this was payback, but all in all it’s better to win a close race than to run away with it.”

John Hartshorne: “I had no idea how we were doing on fuel, mainly because we don’t have a fuel gauge. Dennis explained in his usual very clear manner that we would only need one stop. We ran at 7000 rpm all day and he was right. I’m really pleased.”

Graeme Mundy: “Not bad for a track I’ve never raced at before! I knew though that from ninth on the grid we could lap all day at the pace we set yesterday, while there were others ahead who would struggle.”

Gareth Evans: “The car ran very strongly all afternoon. Bert and the boys have prepared a great car. Hopefully this is the start of some better luck for CDL.”

Steve Hyde: “I got the Hurry Up call and got my foot in. It’s difficult when you can’t see the target ahead but we gave it a hell of a try.”

So a TVR 1-2-3, a result only before ever seen in the Tuscan Challenge (and the www.tasmin-challenge.com - thank you Graham Walden). But surely a result over three hours that must give encouragement to TVR fans in the lead up to the T400Rs’ debut at the Le Mans 24 hours. For the moment though, a great race with scraps throughout the field for almost the whole three hours. Eclipse Motorsport the proud winners of the British Empire Trophy, in an event that showed the very best aspects of endurance racing: strategy, drama, incident it had it all. Perhaps next year we can have the promotion that the event deserved too!!
GG