The No. 6 Aquila in the Silverstone dawn - Photo Credit: Chris Gurton Photography
Hour 16 of the Britcar 24 at Silverstone saw more drivers drop out of top positions as the long race continued to take its toll on some of the big names.
During the sixteenth hour, the No. 6 Aquila CR1 began to suffer problems. The team brought their care into the pits in third whilst it was running third, albeit fifteen laps off the leader. However, the car had reportedly been popping and banging as it went through Luffield and, on heading into the pits, the car had to be pushed into the garage for more extensive repairs.
It turned out that a burst water pipe had caused the problem and that had, in turn, caused the Aquila to overheat. The team set about working solving the problem, and managed to get the car out again before the sixteenth hour was up.
Another car to suffer was the sole representative for Class Two, the No. 27 Topcats Racing Marcos. Jamie Orton was driving when the team diagnosed an ignition problem. The car had to be wheeled back into the garage for repairs and it too slipped down the field.
2011 Britcar 24 Hours class leaders after hour sixteen
Class One:
1 – No.2 Ferrari – McInerney/McInerney/Keen
2 – No.3 Mosler – Beaumont/Fletcher/Draper/Hetherington
3 – No.6 Aquila – Mustill/Berridge/Evans/Martin
Class Two:
1 – No.27 Marcos – Upton/Huggins/Fletcher/Orton
Class Three:
1 – No.49 Aston Martin – Le Blanc/Van Lanschot/De Zille/Nimkoff
2 – No.57 Lotus – Euser/Prewitt/Brody/Freebird/McKinnon
3 – No.68 BMW – Clarke/Gibson/Radcliffe/Hayes
Class Four:
1 – No.89 BMW – Griffiths/Green/Forsbrey/Kirkpatrick
2 – N0.84 Seat – Breukers/Thijssen/Jensiew/Han
3 – No.88 Honda – Smail/Meins/Lillingston-Price/Harding
Follow live coverage from The Checkered Flag here: http://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2011/10/2011-britcar-24-hours-live-coverage/
