Team LNT look to have taken a hold on the 2012 Britcar 24 Hours with troubles affecting their nearest Class One rivals.
From damage dramas continued for the MB Racing Aston Martin Vantage , the car pitting half way through an intended long stint with damage of the splitter and undertray damage.
Worse problems befell the Strata 21/Neil Garner Motorsport who, after their driveshaft problems in the previous hour ended their eighth hour in the garage with an alternator problem. Before the problem Javier Morcillo had been clawing back ground and passed the MP Motorsport BMW for second overall just as both cars made pitstops.
The BMW crew won the battle of the team to keep the position, though the importance of their win only lasted a few laps before the Mosler’s issues escalated.
After noise related problems for the Corum Sport Chevron the Danish Perfection Racing Aston Martin now leads Class Three, the Chevron falling back into second place in class, though six laps now divides the pair.
Ivo Breukers has taken the Red Camel.nl SEAT to the lead of Class Four ahead of Brunswick Automotive and Team Toyota GB. Taken out of the Class Four battle was the Piranha/Fauldsport Ginetta G40, the diminutive sportscar just one of the ever growing number of cars to attract the unpopular black flag for excessive noise.
Back out on track was the Topcats Racing Marcos Mantis after an engine change in the garage, Warren Gilbert’s team only needing 93 minutes to change the engine in the #35 car continuing on in the Class Two battle – something of a battle of attrition in this year’s race.
2012 Britcar 24 Hours Standings After 8 Hours:
Class One:
1 – Team LNT – Tomlinson/Kimber-Smith/Dean/Simpson
2 – Strata 21 – 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/Bankburts/Black/Solivellas
Class Three
1 – Perfection Racing – Spires/Jensen/Johanson/Holmgaard/Klosterman
2- Corum Sport – Abra/Poole/Bardwell/Symons
3 – MMC Motorsport – Spencer/Cassar/Lewis/Pettit
Class Four
1 – Redcamel – Breukers/Thijssen/Bert de Heus
2 – Brunswick Automotive – Griffiths/Green/Kirkpatrick/Forsbrey
3 – Team Toyota GB – Hodgetts/Hodgetts/Primrose/Meaden