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Season Review 2001 |
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Having
been so close to overall victory in 2000, I was more determined than ever to
take the GT title in 2001. A
new driving partner in the shape of one Mike Jordan and my three race
old Lister Storm would be my companions in this quest.
There would be one more race than last year and visits to some
new circuits although the annual pilgrimage to Spa would be dropped.
As
far as opposition went, it was clear that the main competition would come
from the works TVR Speed 12 and the Chamberlain-run Viper. The latter had failed to show its teeth in the British GT
Championship for a number of years but a new driver line-up and new
operating team meant that the threat was definitely there. The Silverstone opener confirmed that the 3 of us would be battling it out. Mike immediately fell in love with the car and we won the race to take an early lead in the Championship. Although we had been dominant in the race, it was clear however how fast our new rivals would be. This
was shown at Snetterton where we were beaten to the pole again by the
Viper. A vibration prior to the start of a very wet race meant that
I would start with ‘unscrubbed’ wets and I suffered the consequences
for the first ten laps or so. In
spite of this and in spite of the fact that the windscreen wiper fell
off for Mike, we notched up a second place.
We
were thus level pegging with the Viper as we moved to the third race at Donington. The Lister is
particularly good around the sweeps of this East Midlands track and
although I gyrated to last place thanks to a damaged Porsche, I fought
back well and handed the car over to Mike for an easy second place.
Mike had other ideas though and hunted down the Viper which had
‘used’ its tyres. He
made his move on the last lap to give us maximum points. Next
stop was Oulton Park to fight for the Gold Cup. I have had my fair share
of dramas around my local circuit and problems in testing meant that we
started the race on the back foot.
We took second place after some contact with the Viper and the
scores were level again. We were more determined that ever to sort out a number of handling issues as we went to Croft. We nearly took pole but again had to start on the outside of the Viper. As it happened this would be irrelevant as the heavens opened as we were called onto the grid. I was on slicks which was less than ideal so I dived into the pits to change. This would mean starting from the pitlane on cold tyres but the car would be better suited to the conditions than our rivals. A good stint in the wet and a brave tyre call by the team gave us the advantage as the race unfolded and Mike held off the TVR to take victory.
I “guested” briefly in the first round of the inaugural ISC Championship with James Pickford. After dramas with the racecar in qualifying, I lent the team mine and James and I went on to win from the back of the grid. Unfortunately this Championship did not get off the ground so I guess James and I were the Champions!! We
then moved to Corby to sample the delights of the new Rockingham
track.
Initial feelings were that the infield section was a bit tame without
much scope for overtaking but I found it good fun!
We weren’t destined to have a particularly good race but we
left with third and some body damage. I
unfortunately missed the official test day for the next round of the
Championship at Castle Combe as I had committed to run with the PK team at Le
Mans.
This remains for me the greatest race on Earth and I jumped at
the opportunity to return to La Sarthe.
It was to be a decidedly wet race and my first experience with
the PK team and indeed the Porsche GT3RS.
Driving with Mike Youles and Stephen Day, we managed to overcome
more than our fair share of difficulties to record my best finish of 7th
in class.
The
contrast for the next race was marked - beautiful weather in sunny Wiltshire! Having missed
the test day I found the thought of qualifying on an unknown track
fairly daunting but surprised myself with how close I was to the pace. An error by the Viper played into our hands with their
removal from the race and the requirement for the pace car. A pivotal race in my view. We took pole at Brands for the next round and all looked very good for the race around the Grand Prix circuit. It was not to be however as the Viper and I touched at Paddock sending us both spinning into the gravel. I was then collected by an errant Porsche who had his own accident further up the hill. Victory went to the TVR who suddenly were becoming a threat.
We
needed a good result at faithful Donington and despite a cracked rib
from the accident above, Mike and I produced our best times ever around
the Midland track. We took
victory from pole to keep us in the hunt for the title.
Next
was my first trip to Knockhill in Scotland.
Although not best suited for big GT cars, I actually liked the
track a lot…in the dry. In
the wet it was a different matter and in the race I went steadily
backwards. Second was a
good result from a shortened race following a good stint by Mike. I
was praying for no rain for the next round at Thruxton.
The fastest circuit in the UK is daunting at the best of times
and I did not relish more greasy conditions.
It rained for the warm-up but was dry for the race.
I made a good start and all was well until the last corner of the
first lap when I went from first to last.
A spin of my own doing left both of us a lot to do and made the
victory all too more rewarding! The
maths meant we didn’t have to win the next round at Brands
Hatch, but
we did need to finish. Some
excellent teamwork settled our paranoia as we rolled out the FIA car
following some worrying vibrations on our normal vehicle.
A ‘steady’ race saw second place and the championship was
ours.
And
so to the last race at Silverstone.
Although we were already crowned British Champions and indeed had
won the prestigious RAC Tourist Trophy, I really wanted to win this one.
It was the first (and probably the last) night race and we were
keen to show our superiority. Good teamwork and a good stop handed us the advantage and we
took the chequered flag to round the season off in style.
My
thanks to the Lister ‘boys’ for their dedication throughout the
year. The car ran
faultlessly which gave us the edge over some pretty tough competition.
My thanks also to Mike who displayed some aggressive maturity on
the track from some ‘interesting’ positions I put him in. A great team mate and champion whom I am pleased to be
running with again next year. Next
stop Daytona….
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