Britcar Production GTN duo Sarah Bennett–Baggs and Jensen Lunn bounced back from a retirement at the Castle Combe round with a trouble free run in the two hour race at Snetterton.
After slaying the last of the problems with their BMW during Friday's test running around the 300 layout of the Norfolk track, Lunn qualified the car fifth in the Production One class with a lap of 2:03, his time two seconds faster than his teammate's as the duo split the 60-minute session between them.
In a race it was crucial the pair scored points in to keep themselves in the championship battle Bennett-Baggs started the race, but lost a handful of places as the busy field filed around the first few hairpins on the newly extended track.
The opening hour – and Sarah's stint – was dominated by two safety car periods after problems for teams in the GT classes, but during the racing laps she was able to make up the ground lost in the early laps, while keeping the class leading battle in sight before pitting at half distance, Lunn taking over driving responsibilities for the second half of the race.
Another trouble free stint ended with the team in 12th overall and fifth in class, but Bennett-Baggs felt that problems had held the Strata 21 crew back from perhaps a better finish.
“I think both Jensen and I are both a little disappointed,” she said. “We have both been driving our socks off this weekend, but for some unknown reason we were not as competitive as we normally are, either we have lost some power or everyone else in our class has stepped up their game, I don’t think either of us could have done anything more – it was a faultless drive, we have both been pushing hard all weekend and both stayed out of trouble and on the track. What more can I say, it's a shame we couldn’t do any more.”
The final round of the championship takes place at Brands Hatch on November 19.
