Just as in both the Oulton Park races, it was a Mosler which took the chequered flag first at Spa-Francorchamps this afternoon (Sat) in round three of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship.
But on this occasion it wasn't youngsters Daniel Brown and Stuart Hall at the wheel of the winning car but old stagers Martin Short and Gregor Fisken.
Fifty-year-old Rollcentre Racing boss Short and his 44-year-old driving partner inherited the lead on the 13th of the 24 laps when Hall's leading Mosler was called back to the pits for a stop-and-go penalty for a technical infringement of the pit stop procedures.
But the Short/Fisken victory was anything but a lucky affair. Fisken, an old hand at Spa but new to British GT and the Mosler, held second place behind the fiercely driven Preci-Spark Ascari of David Jones for much of his opening stint, and once he was at the wheel Short pulled off a brilliant pass, diving inside the Ascari (Godfrey Jones now at the wheel) into the Bus Stop chicane.
"There's no way we would have won had Stuart not been given the penalty," admitted Short. "He was puling away from me - I have a comfortable 50-year-old pace and Stuart has a 24-year-old's proper Le Mans driver pace. Gregor did a great job, kept us in contention, and then it was down to me to pass the Ascari. We were nose-to-tail and at the Bus Stop I put myself right where he couldn't see me, right up his backside, and just before the braking area dived to the inside expecting him to close the door, but he didn't. I think it was the easiest overtaking manoeuvre of my career."
Added Fisken: "Martin took that car and drove the wheels off it. I had a great time... the performance of these cars is so equal, it's a very well-matched series."
The Short/Fisken Mosler finished six seconds clear of the Jones brothers' Ascari at the flag, with the Aaron Scott/Craig Wilkins Viper close behind for third after a solid performance by both drivers.
The Hall/Brown Mosler had an up-and-down race from the outset: 17-year-old Daniel lost ground in the opening laps, slipping to fourth behind the Ascari, its sister Mosler and the Invitation Class Ginetta G50Z, which was enjoying a superb British GT debut in the hands of Andrew Smith. Brown bounced back to second before his pit stop to hand over to Hall, and Stuart duly took over in the lead when the Ascari pitted. Alas the drivers' good work was undone in the pits, their change-over deemed by race officials to have taken a second less than the minimum permitted time.
Hall rejoined fourth after taking the penalty but slipped to fifth four laps from the end when Allan Simonsen's Rosso Verde Ferrari charged past. The Dane had taken over the car from Hector Lester in 10th place, and established a new lap record on his dash through the field.
A fuel pressure problem hampered Smith's pace during his final laps in the Barwell Ginetta, and cost the car a further 30 seconds in the pits when it proved hard to restart. Oliver Bryant took over at the wheel to finish an excellent sixth.
Duncan Cameron's new Ferrari 430 Scuderia came through a troublesome debut meeting to claim sixth in GT3, aided by the efforts of the MTECH team's guest driver for the weekend, 63-year-old ex-BRM Formula 1 driver Mike Wilds.
The Beechdean Aston Martin of Andrew Howard/Jamie Smyth, the Chris Hyman/Paul Warren Ferrari 430 and the Adrian Willmott/Tom Alexander Aston completed the GT3 finishers, with the perennially unlucky Adam Wilcox/Phil Burton Ferrari halted early by a driveshaft issue.
The three-way Ginetta battle for GT4 class honours was a boisterous affair, with the Stark Racing entry of Ian Stinton/Mike Thomas holding sway for four laps ahead of the championship-leading car of Jody Firth/Nigel Moore. Firth was then delayed by the gravel trap at Les Combes for a lap and Gary Simms was able to wrest the lead from Stinton.
Sims and the Rob Austin Racing Ginetta pitted with a handsome class lead and Hunter Abbott took over at the wheel to race on to win the class by nearly a minute. Both drivers were Spa debutants. "The first couple of laps were pretty hectic," said Gary. "There was a bit of pushing and shoving, but I came out of that on top and took the lead, and then it was a question of getting my head down and trying to take it easy on the tyres."
Added Abbott: "I took the car over in great condition. My stint was easy, I just had to keep it on the black stuff. I kept the reins in and short-shifted my way to victory."
There's now a four-way tie for the GT3 championship lead involving the Jones brothers and Hall/Brown, while Firth and Moore, who recovered to class third today, maintain their GT4 overall points advantage. The next round is tomorrow (Sunday).
The championship is sponsored by Avon Tyres and is further supported by motorsport insurance specialist AON, by Sunoco Racing Fuels and by Anglo American Oil Company.
Avon Tyres British GT Championship
Provisional results round 3
Spa-Francorchamps 9/5/2009
24 laps / 104.45 miles
1 GT3 Mosler MT900, Martin Short/Gregor Fisken 1h 2m 28.402s / 102.09mph
2 GT3 Ascari KZR1, David Jones/Godfrey Jones +6.172s
3 GT3 Dodge Viper, Aaron Scott/Craig Wilkins +15.134s
4 GT3 Ferrari 430, Allan Simonsen/Hector Lester +20.714s
5 GT3 Mosler MT900, Daniel Brown/Stuart Hall +38.336s
6 INV Ginetta G50Z, Oliver Bryant/Andrew Smith +45.948s
7 GT3 Ferrari 430, Duncan Cameron/Mike Wilds +1m 40.428s
8 GT3 Aston Martin DBRS9, Andrew Howard/Jamie Smyth 23 laps
9 GT4 Ginetta G50, Gary Simms/Hunter Abbott 22 laps
10 GT3 Ferrari 430, Chris Hyman/Paul Warren 21 laps etc
Fastest lap Simonsen, 2m 30.162s / 104.34mph
Provisional championship placings after round 3
GT3 1= Brown, Hall, Jones & Jones 24 points; 5= Lester & Simonsen 16; 7= Wilkins & Scott 15; 9 Cameron 12; 10= Short & Fisken 10 etc.
GT4 1= Firth & Moore 26; 3 Stinton 21; 4 Simms & Abbott 16 etc - photo by Jakob Ebrey-girlracer.co.uk
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