Hour Six of the 2012 Britcar 24 Hours at Silverstone continued into two and a half hours of the night shift, as several teams in all classes were suffering one drama or another, both on and off track.
The Safety Car was deployed for the first time during proceedings, with the reason why still unclear. At that time, the #74 Carvell Racing Jaguar XF and the #59 Strata 21 Porsche 996 were black flagged for excessive noise, with both cars returning to the pits for adjustments to be made. Then the #76 Synchro Honda Jazz was also later black flagged during the Safety Car period for the same infraction.
Neil Garner Motorsport was leading with Javier Morcillo behind the wheel of the Mosler, but later on in the hour, the car made an unscheduled pit stop for a driveshaft change, which was rapidly changed in the pit lane. But this meant the class lead was handed back to Team LNT once again, with the Mosler losing 8 laps for the very quick change, dropping it to 5th overall, with MB Racing’s Aston Martin now second in class.
Class 2 saw Topcats Racing slide down the order, as the initial coolant issue turned in to an engine change, forcing the mechanics to act fast. MP Motorsport and their M3 E46 GTR still lead the class at present, with Optimum Performance in second, as Topcats Racing would more than likely drop out of the top three.
Class 3 saw the Corum Sport Chevron still ahead, as Perfection Racing’s Aston Martin running on the same lap. MMC Motorsport forged on into the night along with the rest of the class, steadily holding third place. Intersport Racing are the team on the move, being consistent on lap times, and after speaking to the team’s Mark Radcliffe, he said that he called the pit stop on the radio, as the vibration was already apparent, after it occurred in the latter part of Kevin Clarke’s stint.
Class 4 saw the Brunswick outfit still ahead, with Team Toyota GB and their GT86 still keeping things on an even keel in second, with Piranha/Fauldsport’s Ginetta G40 making its way back into the top three.
2012 Britcar 24 Standings After 6 Hours:
Class One:
1 – Team LNT – Tomlinson/Kimber-Smith/Dean/Simpson
2 – Neil Garner Motorsport – White/Cintrano/Morcillo/Sharp
3 – MB Racing – West/Wall/Brown/Cripps
Class Two:
1 – MP Motorsport – Poole/Symons/Bardwell/Abra
2 – Optimum Motorsport – Osborne/Mowle/Fletcher/Rattenbury
3 – Topcats Racing – Huggins/Bankhurst/Black/Solivellas
Class Three
1 – Corum Sport – Abra/Poole/Bardwell/Symons
2- Perfection Racing – Spires/Jensen/Johanson/Holmgaard/Klosterman
3 – MMC Motorsport – Cox/Borness/Cox/Cox
Class Four
1 – Brunswick Automotive – Griffiths/Green/Kirkpatrick/Forsbrey
2 – Team Toyota GB – Hodgetts/Death/Death
3 – Piranha/Fauldsport – Ratcliife/Bialan/Mason/Bryant
