Victory was cruelly snatched from the Scuderia Vittoria-led Horsepower Racing (HPR) team’s grasp in the fourth round of the 2013 Britcar MSA British Endurance Championship on the world-renowned Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit (27-28 July).
The Paul Bailey-Andy Schulz driver pairing qualified their stunning Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 racer on the front row for the start of Sunday’s three-hour enduro.
Schulz was on course for pole position until his qualifying ended prematurely in the wall. On what would have been his fastest lap he was wrong-footed at Stirling’s Bend by a competitor from the invitational class and a heavy collision with the barriers caused severe front-end damage.
A valiant effort by the Scuderia Vittoria mechanics saw the repaired Aston make a resplendent return to the track on Sunday afternoon for what promised to be the most competitive Britcar race of the season to date.
Bailey took the reins for the first stint but lost position to the Javier Morcillo/Manuel Cintrano Mosler MT900R on the initial drop down Paddock Hill Bend.
He soon had his mirrors full of the Lee Mowle/Joe Osborne BMW Z4 and the Trackspeed Porsche 997 GT3 RSR driven by David Ashburn, until a heavy shunt involving Anthony Reid and Whit Gamski at Clearways halted proceedings at the completion of lap five.
The Safety Car was deployed to control the pace with the stricken Chevron and Ferrari blocking the track. However, a sterling effort by the Brands Hatch marshals saw the racing resume quickly, with 2h23m remaining.
Bailey drove the widest Aston Martin V12 Vantage in the business in defence of third place. He towed Mowle, Ashburn and Mike Millard’s Rapier SR2 around the 2.3-mile Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit, while Ginetta boss Lawrence Tomlinson threatened to make it a five-way battle.
The action intensified as positions changed hands and Millard’s Rapier came to a smoky end in the pits. However, a second Safety Car intervention was a precursor to the first driver change for HPR.
Schulz exited the pits in 11th place overall but gradually moved back up the leaderboard as the strategies played out.
His pace was blisteringly and he easily dispatched Ian Loggie’s Team Parker Porsche 997 GT3 RSR and Morcillo’s Mosler, which was intermittently off the pace.
Second place was soon in Schulz’s grasp after passing the rival Strata 21 Aston Martin squad. The fast lap times kept coming and Joe Osborne’s lead diminished rapidly as the second hour came to a close.
Schulz continued chipping away and seemed to find an extra gear before ducking into the pit-lane for his final fuel stop of the afternoon. The 20-second delay hurt HPR’s progress, but he emerged from the pits in fourth place with some rivals’ strategies yet to play out.
The Horsepower Racing driver was soon back in second place with a gap of 77 seconds to the leading Team LNT Ginetta G55, now in the hands of Mike Simpson. He recorded the fastest lap of the race – 1m26.118s – in pursuit of Simpson, finally taking the initiative when Team LNT made a second fuel stop.
With a comfortable buffer over the rest of the competition, Schulz had the simple task of managing the gap and the fuel load on the final sprint to the chequered flag.
Victory looked certain until a bolt that holds the right-rear wishbone in place sheered with nine laps to go, forcing Schulz into the pits.
The Scuderia Vittoria mechanics worked frantically to try and get the Aston back into contention.
However, all attempts proved futile and the only consolation for the team is that points for fastest lap and being classified second in class preserves its championship lead.
“I’m unbelievably disappointed, especially as this was the best stint I’ve ever done,” said Bailey. “I’m just short of three seconds quicker than my previous best and put in a good performance during today’s race. This makes the retirement all the more frustrating.”
“It’s really frustrating to not finish the race, but this is motorsport,” said Schulz. “It can be a cruel game sometimes. The team worked so hard to get the Aston Martin sorted last night and both the car and strategy worked perfectly today. We looked to be on for the win, but you can never count your chickens. We have to focus on the championship and we got good points. Our pace is mighty and we’re continuing to learn so I’m encouraged for the rest of the year.”
Scuderia Vittoria Team Manager Tom Ferrier, added: “The strategy we chose was correct. Paul drove a really good stint – his pace was excellent – and then Andy took over and did what we expected him to do. Fuel was critical but we were managing the gap to those behind. The result isn’t disastrous for the championship, but I think we deserved to win that one.”
Round 5 of the Britcar MSA British Endurance Championship will take place at the Snetterton circuit near Thetford, Norfolk on 16-17 August.
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