BTCC Race 14 Spa 500 Results
Warren Hughes and Peter Dumbreck are your winners.
Thought I'd try a team by team report. I'll probably only do it for this and the Cadwell 1000 though.
VX RacingMarcel Fassler made a poor start from pole which saw the #5 drop to fifth. Meanwhile Peter Dumbreck gradually got the #6 up from 9th on the grid up to third by the time Warren Hughes took over. When the #78 car came in from the lead to make a late second stop, Hughes gained the lead which he would never loose until the flag, Fabrizio Giovanardi meanwhile had gotten the #5 back up to second right behind until he slid off and damaged his car, resulting in an unscheduled stop for repairs. He would manage to recover to 4th, right behind Robert Huff who with Timo Scheider had gradually made their way up from 14th on the grid in the #88.
#5 7/10
#6 9/10
#88 8/10
Team HondaBoth Michael Krumm and Jean-Christophe Boullion lost positions at the start as they dropped down to 7th and 10th respectively at the start. But when Alan Gurr brought out the first safety car just after Boullion had made the #7's first stop, this allowed him to take over the lead when the rest of the field came in to make their's. On the other hand the #8 had serious issues during their stop and would loose a couple of laps in the garage as a result. Boullion immediately lost the lead to Laurent Aiello after the restart only to regain it when the #77 suffered a camshaft failure. Boullion would lead right up until the second round of stops where a shocking pitstop dropped them down outside the top ten. But James Thompson now in, the #7 was back up to fourth by the time the fourth safety car came out and everyone made their final stops. Then Thompson would get by Huff for 2nd on the restart and stayed there till the end though the #7 could well have won the race were it not for that awful second stop.
#7 9/10
#8 4/10
SEAT Sport UKSEAT's race started out okay with Matt Neal getting by Fassler at the start but loosing out to Priaulx's BMW at the same time. Colin Turkington also made a good start to get up to sixth but the #18's race would unravel after Eric van de Poele took over before crashing heavily at Eau Rouge which brought out the second of the five safety cars periods in the race. Rickard Rydell, now in the #17 had lost a few positions with a poor first stop but he had recovered to fourth again by lap 45 when he tagged the rear of Scheider's Astra, meaning he had to make an unscheduled stop for repairs. Things would go from bad to worse when Matt Neal got back in as a few laps later Mark Larkham's Focus was taken out by an out of control Gavin Smith coming out of Eau Rouge right in front of Neal. He was unable to avoid collecting Larkham and both would be out on the spot. This left the #19 of Tom Chilton and Rob Austin as the only SEAT as they ran a low key race to finish 7th.
#17 6/10
#18 5/10
#19 7/10
West Surrey RacingAfter a decent start WSR ended up having a shocker, though Anthony Reid got the #2 up to fourth at the start and Dan Eaves had got the #3 into the top ten during the first stint, their co-drivers Markus Winkelhock and Bertrand Baguette weren't especially fast which was probably expected given how left field the choice to sign them was, particularly Baguette who is only a 19 year old in Formula Renault. Things got worse when Baguette planted his car into the tires at Eau Rouge bringing out the third safety car and giving Dan Eaves yet another DNF to his already luckless season. The #2's fortunes weren't much better from there as Anthony Reid would pick up damage not long after he got back in the car, putting them near the back of the field and in position to get caught up in the Smith/Larkham/Neal carnage later on. From there Winkelhock managed to drag a crippled #2 home in a lowly 13th.
#2 5/10
#3 3/10
Team Dynamics After an awful second qualifying race, Jason Plato and Gordon Shedden would be starting deep in the field in the #55 and #57 while Darren Turner in the only Dynamics car in the top ten. Plato and Shedden gradually managed to make their way up the order then handed over to Alan van der Merwe and Luke Hines respectively. vd Merwe was another odd choice for a co-driver as he only had open wheel experience before now, especially since he was paired up with their lead driver when he was arguably the slowest driver in their roster. Nevertheless though Hines managed to get by him he did manage to stay in the top ten and put Plato in position to get back up to fifth by the end of the race, getting by Darren Turner a few laps from the end, he and John Cleland running a solid race to sixth. As for the #57, Hines unfortunately ran into trouble and had to pit for repairs, dropping the #57 outside the top ten. Though Gordon Shedden managed to bring the car back up to tenth when he got back in.
#54 7/10
#55 8/10
#57 6/10
Tech-Speed MotorsportAlain Menu immediately grabbed the lead from the outside pole after Fassler's poor start from pole and pulled away during the first stint. Then Laurent Aiello got in the car and looked equally quick as he took the lead back from Boullion after the restart. Unfortunately what was looking like a strong chance of victory was dashed on lap 17 when Aiello came to a stop with a camshaft failure. But things still looked up as by not pitting their second stop during the third safety like everyone else, Nicola Larini took the lead in the #78 despite starting down in 30th after snatching the lead from Andy Priaulx, the BMW running a similar strategy. Larini would manage to hold off Hughes and Giovanardi in the works Vauxhalls for several laps but their gamble wouldn't pay off thanks to the longest green flag run of the race, meaning they would have to stop for fuel and a driver change on lap 40. Gavin Smith took over the #78 and was on the fringes of the top ten on lap 58 when he lost control coming out of Eau Rouge while attempting pass the lapped Mark Larkham, tagging the Focus and triggering a pile up when Larkham was collected by several cars behind. Though three cars would retire as a result, Smith was able to continue after a quick pitstop under the resulting safety car and managed to bring the #78 home in 12th. Kelvin Burt and John George meanwhile ran a surprisingly solid race in the #79 with George running as high as ninth mid race and giving the Protons a run for their money, even managing to pass the higher rated Coronel on track. Unfortunately later on Kelvin Burt would be a victim of his teammate's Eau Rouge mess as he had to take to the grass in avoidance and spun the car, costing him several places. He would wind up 14th in the end.
#77 9/10
#78 6/10
#79 6/10
Team Petronas Syntium ProtonOther than Roberto Colciago briefly running the #20 in the top five after a great first pitstop, this was a fairly low key race for the Proton's. Gavin Pyper was able to capitalise on Colciago's solid run to bring home the #20 in ninth though he and Tom Coronel had the embarrassment of being split by pay driver John George. James Kaye didn't have one of his faster runs and he wound up dropping the #99 to 15th in his final stint. The #81 meanwhile was taken out of contention early on when Tim Harvey tagged Duncan Huisman coming out of the Bus Stop, spinning the Dutchman into the barrier and taking him off the lead lap. From there the best he and Gareth Howell could do was pick off the THLs once they were lapped to finish in 17th.
#20 7/10
#81 5/10
#99 4/10
GA MotorsportsMixed fortunes for GA today, while Stefan Hodgetts had to park the #25 Alfa with cooling issues early on leaving Carl Breeze as one of two drivers that never got to race in the 500, the #21 would see a great day despite starting near the back. Phil Bennett would find himself running as high as second after a great second stop saw them leap up the order. The final two safety cars bunched up the field enough for Charlie Butler-Henderson to loose positions to some of the faster cars behind but he would hold on for his career best finish in 8th.
#21 8/10
#25 3/10
Synchro MotorsportsThe #49 was another team taken out of contention early when Alan Gurr was kamikaze'd by Tom Boardman at La Source on lap three putting him a lap down before Gurr would end up crashing by himself though Blanchimont to bring out the first safety car. The #49 managed to continue but lost another four laps to make repairs. Meanwhile Sascha Maassen had a low key run in the #48, running in the midfield before Alex Wurz took over only to have to park the car in the garage a few laps later with suspension issues. A disaster for Synchro who drop from seventh down to ninth in the team's standings.
#48 4/10
#49 3/10
Edenbridge RacingThings started badly for the #64 as last minute mechanical troubles resulted in Tim Harvey starting from the pitlane after the rest of the field had already completed half of the first lap, going on top of the #23 already staring from last on the grid. The first safety car period allowed him to catch up which would prove to be disastrous for Huisman who was spun into the barriers coming out of the bus stop by Harvey. While Mike Jordan had a solid first stint, Erik Comas would prove to be rather slow as the Belgian squandered a top ten position after a good first pit stop. He had dropped the #23 to 17th by the time his engine blew up on lap 49 in the exact same spot it happened to Jordan the day before in the second qualifying race, bringing out the fourth safety car. By this point David Pinkney had taken over the #64 only to be caught out in the Smith/Larkham/Neal pile up coming out of Eau Rouge. He managed to get around back to the garage but an obviously broken front suspension meant he was out meaning that Edenbridge were the only multi-car team not to get a car home to the finish.
#23 4/10
#64 5/10
TH-Larkham MotorsportsThe #10 had a consistent but unspectacular race in the lower midfield before an odd strategy call to make their final stop and driver change earlier than everyone else saw them stuck a lap down when Comas' engine failure brought out the fourth safety car. Mark Larkham attempted to get the lap back by not pitting with everyone else under the safety car but was immediately swamped by the field on the restart as he wasn't allowed to pass the safety car to get clear of the leaders. A few laps later he was spun around coming out of Eau Rouge by an out of control Gavin Smith, into the path of Matt Neal, putting both cars out on the spot before another whack from Pinkney. Nick Leason and Mike Doble meanwhile in the #73 were slow as expected and the only car to be lapped on merit all race but they come home to a good points haul in 18th thanks to attrition.
#10 5/10
#73 2/10
Collard RacingA very short day for the team has Tom Boardman threw away a strong starting position by taking out Alan Gurr at La Source on lap three, breaking the BMW's front left suspension. Not much else to be said other than Rob Collard never got the chance to race as a result.
#93 3/10
Kartworld RacingAll in all, not a bad day for the small independent team. Team boss, Jason Hughes ran solidly in the lower midfield for his stint before Andy Neate took over managing to get himself in a position to be tenth on the final restart. Sadly he would be overhauled by the faster cars behind and would come home 16th and the final car on the lead lap. Still, its the team's best finish to date.
#97 6/10
Team BMW BelgiumBMW entered a works wildcard effort for their Belgian driver Kurt Mollekens who pairs up with ETCC teammate Andy Priaulx for this race and the Cadwell 1000. Priaulx started the car from 4th and ran the first two stints. He jumped to second at the start and kept Alain Menu in sight before being leap frogged by some of the cars behind in the first round of stops. But like the #78, they didn't make their second stop under the third SC and would lead off the restart. Priaulx though outbraked himself at La Source and dropped down to fifth when he ran wide. The #11's gamble backfired however when they were caught out by a long green flag run which meant they dropped outside the top ten when Priaulx handed over to Mollekens on lap 40. They would come home a disappointed 11th.
#11 6/10
VIP Petfoods RacingThe second of our two wildcard entries, this one with an all female lineup. Though they started from 27th, Melanie Healey would immediately drop to the back and stayed there until Fiona Leggate took over during the third safety car. A few laps later Leggate spun off up at Les Combes and whacked the barrier and ending their day.
#37 2/10
Nevertheless I'll post up the entry list and a few revised liveries over this coming week.
, I would like to enter (or be on a reserve list if this isn't possible) for next season (2005?) if there is going to be one. In the meantime looking forward to a good Spa race.