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James takes first podium finish in British GT 17th April 2008 Peterborough based James Gornall and his Brookspeed Team Trimite teammate Jon Barnes, scored their first podium finish in an action packed weekend of racing in their 1st season of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship at Knockhill circuit in Scotland. .jpg) Friday was the first chance for James to get a run on a circuit he’d never been to before. Jon had only visited the circuit once before, last year. The pairing however had to run-in the Dodge Viper’s freshly rebuilt 8.3 litre V10 engine during the Friday mornings test sessions, and were under strict instructions not to rev the engine above 4000RPM, meaning they were not able to set lap times representative of their real pace. In the second session the drivers were allowed to increase the revs to 5500RPM and with that, the #40 Viper moved sharply up to the top of the timesheets. Jon was behind the wheel setting competitive times, but he later came coasting into the pit lane, reporting a severe lack of drive and grinding noises from the transmission after a short run out of the final corner. The car was pushed back to the paddock where the team discovered that the differential had failed, beyond repair. Following some initial searching for a spare, the team were very grateful to receive a spare from fellow Dodge Viper runners, Team RPM. This meant James had still had no time in the car at race pace to familiarise himself with the circuit! So on Saturday, with qualifying and Race 1 to follow, the warm-up session was spent breaking-in the replacement differential! The team eagerly awaited an opportunity to run at full pace, and finally got the chance to do so when James, took the car out for the first qualifying session at midday. James posted a time of 51.88 seconds, initially putting the car pole, then the top three, but as the session time elapsed, and James was unable to find a clear lap due to traffic on what is a very short, tight circuit, the team were bumped down to 6th. Nevertheless respectable, given qualifying was the first time out for James at race pace. In the second qualifying session, for race 2 to be held on the Sunday, Jon posted a time of 51.84 seconds, eventually putting the car a slightly disappointing 10th in an overall faster session. The car was taken back to the awning and the team began preparations for what was to become an epic race 1 later that day. James took the wheel for the start and held onto his 6th position on the way into the first corner. The back of the circuit was still damp from an earlier rain shower, and as James came back into sight towards the end of the opening lap he was in an excellent 4th place, having safely negotiated the damp parts of the track. Over the next few laps James chased the leaders hard, but he eventually lost a place to the #2 Team RPM Viper. During the next 20 minutes of his stint James’s progress was hampered when the safety car was brought onto the track no less than 3 times after various accidents left cars in dangerous positions on the circuit. Time for James to chat to his chief engineer on the radio about tactics, and the odd joke! During yet another safety car period, the pit window opened for driver changes. The team brought James in from 4th place for the driver change. An impeccable pit stop allowed Jon to exit the pits right on the back bumper of the #2 Team RPM Viper, allowing him to make an early overtaking manoeuvre to take the car a further place up the field. When the #9 Tech 9 Lamborghini Gallardo then came into the pits for it’s later driver change, Jon was promoted a further place to 2nd. Following a further safety car, Jon was briefly bumped back to 3rd as the Trackspeed Porsche being driven by Richard Williams jumped the restart, resulting in a drive through penalty, thereby giving back the Team Trimite Brookspeed Viper its rightful 2nd place. A brilliant 2nd place is where the car finished at the flag following a spirited drive by both James and Jon, giving the Team their first ever podium in the British GT Championship. The jubilant team and drivers celebrated in the pits in front of the TV camera’s, with not a dry eye present, especially from Team principle Martin Braybrook. Sunday was upon the team with dry weather and showers again. Race 2, would be started by Jon at the wheel of the awesome Dodge Viper, from 10th place. The team knew that this race would be a very hard fight, with the chance of carnage at the first corner. At the start, Jon avoided all the problems but was displaced to 11th in the first few laps by a charging #1 RPM Viper and the Trackspeed Porsche. The car still lacked the outright pace of the Ferrari’s and Lamborghini’s, but Jon drove a sensible and mature race from midfield, knowing that if he could hang on to the lead pack, there would be casualties and the team could capitalize and gain positions. James took the wheel at the midpoint of the race, after another excellent pit stop for driver change. After James had been racing and making places for just 5 laps there was another safety car period. The prolonged stoppage meant that the whole field closed up which put James in an ideal position to start to race and pick off the cars ahead. Released from the safety car period in 8th place, James had moved up to a very hard fought 6th place after some heart stopping overtaking manoeuvres on this very tight twisty circuit, when, with only a minute or so to go, an accident at the back of the circuit, brought out the red flags to end the race. Commenting afterwards, James said “ This really has been an excellent race weekend for the team. We came here knowing that the Viper was not ideally suited for the circuit, and hoping to at least score some points. As it is, we’ve had a podium finish, come away with the highest points score of the weekend over all the teams, and it looks likely that we could be in the top 3 of the Championship overall. Everyone on the team has done a fantastic job to enable Jon and myself to take these results. We should now be seen as serious contenders for the Championship, and I feel a win in the British GT Championship is not far away. Next stop Rockingham on the 24th –26th May. I can’t wait.” |
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