L-R: Team Bullrun drivers David Green, Richard Adams and Martin Byford

Britcar regulars Team Bullrun are to enter a Lotus Evora for a full season in the 2012 Britcar MSA British Endurance Championship (BEC).

The team, comprised of Richard Adams, David Green and  2011 BTCC driver Martin Byford ran part of the 2011 season in a Ferrari after winning the Britcar Production title in 2010 in a SEAT Leon.

“We were looking to move up the ladder a bit into GT and we were out there looking for a car,” said Green. “To be honest we’re a British team in a British championship and we loved the idea of a Lotus and what they’ve done with the new Evora in the GT class just makes it the perfect combination.”

Though several versions of the Elise model competed in 2011 Team Bullrun are the first to bring the Evora for a full Britcar season. An Evora, however, did claim third overall in October’s Britcar 24 Hours with a Dutch team led by Cor Euser. GT4 versions of the Evora have also scored class wins in the Avon Tyres British GT Championship and Blancpain Endurance Series.

“We are delighted that Bullrun share our view that the Evora could be a serious championship contender this year,” said Group Lotus Motorsport Director Claudio Berro. “It‘s great to see a British team, with a British car competing for a British title. The overall package Bullrun has managed to put together looks very strong and we look forward to closely following their progress throughout the season.”

“Ultimately our aspirations are to win,” explained Green. “We like to have fun and we like to represent ourselves well and we wanted to go in there with a car that would look a bit different, something that’s not racing in that endurance class at the moment. The hard thing about the Evora is it look so different with different colour schemes so we had a hard job landing on a colour scheme that worked because there are so many interesting way of doing it and we’ve ended with a black and red car that looks really stunning.”

The first round of the 2012 Britcar MSA British Endurance Championship will take place on March 24 on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit.

Team Bullrun's Lotus Evora livery for the 2012 British Endurance Championship season

The first takes the start of the 2011 Britcar 24 Hours (Photo Credit: Chris Gurton Photography)

A confirmed date for the series’ flagship 24 hours event at Silverstone has completed the 2012 Britcar calendar.

Unlike in 2011 the  GT cars of the MSA British Endurance Championship (BEC) will compete in stand alone race, those teams previously in the production classes will run in the Britcar Production Cup Championship. The latter series will consist of 90 minute races, supporting all but one of the BEC events, only missing the July 14-15 meeting at Brands Hatch, where the BEC will support the FIA Formula Two Championship on the Kent track’s Grand Prix circuit.

The season begins at Silverstone on March 24 in the first of five Saturday only meetings that form the first half of the season, taking competitors to five different tracks, including a three hour race at Oulton Park on June 23.

The Britcar 24 Hours will be held on September 21-23, before the series returns to Donington Park for the final championship race of the season – a four hour night race.

The calendar is rounded off by the third and final race of the year at Brands Hatch on November 24. The BEC will run as a non-championship race, handing over the prime ‘into the night’ slot to the final 90 minute race of the Production Cup Championship.

2012 Britcar MSA British Endurance Championship calendar

March 24 – Silverstone – 180 minutes
April 21 – Donington Park (GP Circuit) – 180 minutes
May 12 – Snetterton – 180 minutes
June 2 – Brands Hatch (Indy circuit) – 120 minutes
June 23 – Oulton Park – 180 minutes
July 14-15 – Brands Hatch (GP circuit) – 120 minutes
August 18-19 – Snetterton – 180 minutes
September 21-23 – Britcar 24 Hours, Silverstone
November 3 – Donington Park (National circuit) – 240 minutes
November 24 – Brands Hatch (Indy circuit) – TBC

2012 Britcar Dunlop Production Car Cup calendar

March 24 – Silverstone – 90 minutes
April 21 – Donington Park (GP Circuit) – 90 minutes
May 12 – Snetterton – 90 minutes
June 2 – Brands Hatch (Indy circuit) – 90 minutes
June 23 – Oulton Park – 90 minutes
August 18-19 – Snetterton – 90 minutes
September 21-23 – Britcar 24 Hours, Silverstone
November 3 – Donington Park (National circuit) – 90 minutes
November 24 – Brands Hatch (Indy circuit) – 90 minutes

George Murrells Will Compete In Dubai Next Weekend - Photo Credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography

2011 Ginetta GT Supercup frontrunner George Murrells is preparing for his first race action of 2012 next weekend when he competes in the Dunlop Dubai 24 Hour race, starting off a season in which he could combine Britcar and British GT campaigns.

Murrells sticks with the Optimum Motorsport team with whom he ran in 2011 for the Supercup series, the team running a Ginetta G50 GT4 car. Murrells will team up with Lee Mowle, Gary Simms and Joe Osbourne.

Optimum Motorsport have also recently acquired one of the new 540bhp Ginetta G55 GT3 machines, the team’s first move up to the GT3 class. The car will run in the 2012 MSA British Endurance Championship (Britcar), with Murrells and Mowle at the wheel, as well as the 2012 Avon Tyres British GT Championship. The driver line up for the British GT championship is undecided, though Murrells is one of the drivers in the reckoning.  

Live timing for the Dubai 24 Hour race can be found at http://www.live.24hseries.com/, with live TV coverage available on Motors TV and online at www.motorstv.com.

Nine winners of 2011, and tributes to two who lost their lives aiming to join them

Peter Allen

Huff beats Muller in Porto
Rob Huff chases down and catches Chevy teammate Yvan Muller, pulling alongside and past the Frenchman into one of the tight Portuguese street track’s chicanes. Huff attempts to turn in ahead, but there is contact. Huff goes across the inside of the chicane and keeps the lead to score his sixth win of the year. The momentum certainly seemed to be with Huff at the halfway point, but Muller would come back from this incident bigger and better to overhaul the Brit and win a third world title.

Rob Huff beat Yvan Muller in Porto (among other places) but still lost the title.

David Bean

Sky’s F1 deal
From a personal view there was the excitement of Nick Heidfeld’s car catching fire and exploding in front of us in the Hungarian Grand Prix, and the mix of exhaustion and contentment that I felt as the top three Britcar 24 Hours runners came to a stop beside me under the Silverstone podium, signalling the end of a busy 24 hours of reporting for this site. From a wider perspective, however, the moment someone from Sky Sports put their signature on a contract to show Formula 1 is one of the most significant of the year. This deal marks a radical change in how the sport is transmitted to some of its most dedicated fans, and it could have huge implications for the future of F1.

Josh Bell

Alonso’s start at Monza
There have been many in 2012, some sadly more disconcerting. The standout moment that provided me with the most emotion was Fernando Alonso‘s extraordinary start at his home Grand Prix, storming to the front of the field from fourth on the grid in the Ferrari. I was stunned in disbelief, a moment perhaps written in the storms. It was a brief, yet brilliant, high point in the race for Fernando but it was incredible nonetheless.

Jason Plato's Chevrolet Cruze before, and after, the RML run team's miraculous resurrection

James Broomhead

Moment Of The Year – RML’s Donington Rebuild
Jason Plato has just barrel rolled out of the second BTCC race at Donington Park, he physically and mentally battered by the accident at the thought of ending his weekend a race early and facing not scoring on an unhappy weekend. Cue a miraculous rebuild from the Silverline Chevrolet team in time for a superlative recovery drive almost forgotten during the rest of the season. Every possible panel on the car was replaced, a new aerial taped to the door, the entire team involved, including Plato’s father polishing the buckled roof. Enough cannot be said for the team, you wonder how many teams would even contemplate attempting the task.

Andy Champness

Moment Of The Year – Tom Boardman’s “Great” Silverstone
Moving away from Australian V8 Supercars to British Touring Cars, my moment of the year was provided by Special Tuning Racing’s Tom Boardman (and not just because I help out with their PR!) Most of you will be thinking I’m going to say the win at Knockhill, but it was actually the final two races at Silverstone. After his move on Plato at Knockhill, Tom got a bit of needless grief, so to watch him storm through to finish race two in sixth after starting from 23rd and then finishing the final race in third on his own merit was special. Tom was ecstatic afterwards, telling me: “That has to be one of the best races I’ve had all season! I know my win at Knockhill was good, but that felt great!” It was a poignant moment, knowing how hard the team had worked to get the cars fighting at the front and for Tom to show he can genuinely cut it with the best of them.

Tom Boardman took a maiden BTCC win at Knockhill, but it's his performance at the season finale that is Andy Champness' moment of the year

Mark Foley

British Formula 3 Paul Ricard, Final Corner, Final Lap
An edgy, race-long tussle between key championships contenders, Felipe Nasr and Kevin Magnussen, apparently wasn’t interesting enough for feisty Portuguese series-hopper Antonio Felix Da Costa, who made his presence felt throughout his guest appearance at the Paul Ricard weekend from the first corner to the last…Magnussen, Da Costa and Nasr ran nose-to-tail throughout, with a resilient Magnussen looking set to hold off strong opposition and claim a much needed win for his stuttering championship campaign. But, with the chequered flag in sight, an all-too-late lunge at the last corner from Da Costa saw the young Dane flicked off the circuit, allowing Nasr through to take yet another win. It not only sent pulses racing, but also managed to define each protagonist’s season in some respects – Da Costa’s wild racecraft, Nasr’s consistency and Magnussen’s awful luck.

Chris Gurton

Mark Webber’s pass at Eau Rouge
I’ve been fortunate enough to witness and be part of a number of great moments over the past year within motorsport and will have many stories to tell my grandchildren. But one moment that I couldn’t let pass without mentioning was a real breathtaking moment which sums up just what it takes to be a great racing driver. I am of course talking about Mark Webber’s stunning overtake on Fernando Alonso during the Belgian Grand Prix. Having got a better exit from La Source, Webber was gaining on the Spaniard down the hill towards Eau Rouge tucked into the slip stream. Assuming he would wait for the run up to Les Combes and the DRS Zone to make his move, remarkably we witnessed Webber pull out and pass the Ferrari round the outside and through Eau Rouge in a move which would normally end in tears. It was a remarkable manoeuvre and one that many would never even consider but was executed with skill and precision by the Aussie.

Leigh O’Gorman

Dan Wheldon’s fatal crash
Sadly, this has to go to the death of Dan Wheldon – the ramifications of which may be felt in motor racing for years to come. Since the crash, noises for better cockpit protection for single-seater’s have grown louder, while IndyCar’s days at high-banked ovals may be numbered. With IndyCar struggling for ovals, Wheldon’s death – amongst all the pointless greed and bickering of the owners and organisers – may finally be what defines the future of IndyCar. That Wheldon was about to move to a new chapter as the driver of Andretti-Autosport’s Go Daddy car makes it all the more tragic. A true superstar was lost.

Whether be the future of open-wheel oval racing, or the closed cockpit concept the death of Dan Wheldon will be felt by the Indycar fraternity and beyond for years to come

Simon Paice

Teammates get it wrong
There are two moments that stand out for me, both being incidents that stunned me into silence when team-mates got it wrong on track. First was the Honda Racing mix-up at Oulton Park in the BTCC, when Matt Neal made a last lap, final corner lunge at Gordon Shedden and resulted in putting them both through the gravel, cueing shocked faces from everyone watching.

The other was in the Formula Renault BARC opener at Croft, when the Fortec Motorsport team had a disaster. Braking for the first corner on the opening lap, contact between three of the Fortec cars resulted in its two title contenders, Josh Webster and Archie Hamilton, ending their races in the gravel, to the disbelief of those in attendance. This proved decisive in Webster narrowly missing out on the title.

Vince Pettit

Seeing Liam Doran take X Games Gold was a definite highlight of my year. I’ve been a fan of the X Games for some years and the recent addition of Rallycross has been excellent. Seeing Liam Doran work his way through the heats to face a head to head with rally legend Marcus Gronholm was amazing. Who would have thought a British driver in Downtown Los Angeles could cause such an upset on his X Games debut.

Liam Doran flew to X-Games glory, defeating Marcus Gronholm in the LA final

Louis Suddaby

Faubel and Zarco’s Dead Heat in Germany
Even now, I look at the photo finish from that day and still can’t believe what I’m seeing! The 125cc class is no stranger to close finishes but this was incredible. Never in the history of Grand Prix motorcycle racing had we seen a dead heat and the winner decided by a tiebreak. The fastest lap of the race swung it Faubel’s way. On four wheels, the Honda implosion at the final corner at Oulton Park stands out as a jaw dropping moment from the BTCC while Jenson Button’s last lap win in Canada also had me shouting at the telly!

TCF's two-wheel regular Louis Suddaby on the end of the 125cc race in Germany "I look at the photo finish from that day and still can’t believe what I’m seeing!"

Scott Wilkes

0.006s.
It’s difficult to describe just how epic the final two laps of the British Superbike Championship were. As Shane Byrne ran away with the victory in the final race at Brands Hatch, the title contenders were locked in a titanic duel for second. As the laps counted down to the penultimate tour, John Hopkins and Tommy Hill. After swapping positions at practically every corner, it came down to a sprint for the line out of the final corner. In the end, Tommy Hill walked away from Brands with the British title, and the honour of being part of two of the greatest laps of racing ever witnessed.

Aaron Scott and Craig Wilkins' Dodge Viper in Britcar competition (Photo Credit: Chris Gurton Photography)

After clinching the Britcar MSA British Endurance Championship title despite a DNF at the finale at Brands Hatch driver pairing Aaron Scott and Craig Wilkins have announced they are to take to European competition in 2012.

With GT Cup champion Andy Ruhan joining the established duo the focus will be on a full season in the Pro-Am Cup class of the Blancpain Endurance Series in a brand new Dodge Viper. The six round series will take the trio some of the most famous tracks in Europe including, Monza and Spa-Francorchamps, as well as a home race at Silverstone.

“2011 has been a great season for us and the hard work of everyone involved at GT3 Racing has enabled us to secure the Britcar Endurance title,” said Aaron Scott. “It’s a shame that we had the fuel pressure problem at Brands Hatch but that’s motor racing. We are now looking forward to a new challenge racing in the Blancpain Endurance Championship. The competition will be very strong and we are looking to make a good impression and get some good results. It’s great to continue with the Viper and I am very grateful to Dodge for their support in building our new car.”

Before the 2012 season begins the championship winning car will contest the 24 Hours of Dubai (January 12-14).

Scott qualified the car second for the three hour Britcar finale, and took the lead early but was forced back into the garage with the fuel pressure problem. However, they had already secured the championship win at the end of a season which included, six class wins, eight pole positions and eight fastest laps.

Henry Fletcher/Owen O'Neill Marcos Mantis (Photo Credit: Chris Gurton Photography)

After a tense climax to the Britcar season Topcats Racing won the three hour ‘into the night’ race around the Brands Hatch Indy circuit, Henry Fletcher and Owen O’Neill piloting the orange and grey Marcos Mantis to victory, securing the Class Three championship in the process.

The race – the final event of the inaugural British Endurance Championship – drew a entry devoid of the Class One Moslers and Ferrari’s – Calum Lockie and Paul White already having wrapped up that class after the Snetterton round. That should have left the way clear of a pair of big hitting Class Two cars.

Barwell Motorsport gave the new look GT3 Ginetta G55 is BEC debut with drivers Mark Lemmer, Ben Butler and Tom Kimber-Smith, with Le Mans LMP2 champion Kimber-Smith putting the car on pole position. However, when the field lined up for the 3:30pm start and pulled away for the first of two warm-up laps around the 1.2mile circuit, Kimber-Smith was forced to pull off with a broken driveshaft. The failure knocked the team out of contention for the win, but the car returned to the track just 24 minutes into the race to continue the development work on Ginetta’s racer.

In turn their failure gave the perfect opportunity to Aaron Scott and Craig Wilkins to end their championship winning season with the overall win that had evaded them through the rest of season. Under the BEC scoring simply by taking the green flag the GT3 Racing team had secured enough points to make certain of the overall title.

Despite an early problem knocking them out of the Aasron Scott and Craig Wilkins secured the British Endurance Championship title

Over the opening laps Scott pulled a lead out ahead of Jay Shepherd, starting the matt black Porsche of Neil Garner Engineering. But Scott, like Kimber-Smith before him was to find the overall victory taken away from him by a technical problem – in this case a fuel pump problem – that allowed Shepherd into the lead at Surtees after the Viper spluttered along the Cooper Straight.

When Scott brought the Viper back to the pits the way was paved for one of the best races of the season. Shepherd led the race from Optimum Motorsport’s Joe Osbourne, the two Topcats Racing Marcos, Fletcher’s Class Three example leading Neil Huggins aboard the Class Two car and the Eurotech run Porsche started by Gareth Jones.

The tight confines of the Indy circuit lent an extra element to the battle for the top five, Shepherd starting to lap cars just 15 minutes into the race, allowing Osbourne to catch up to the rear of the Porsche. More traffic – 20 cars were spread around the track – allowed Huggins – released from a prescriptive fuel strategy after a very early safety car – to catch the lead battle in the no.26 Marcos, and then work his way into the lead, Osbourne following into second when Shepherd ran wide at Paddock Hill Bend.

The tight 1.2mile Brands Hatch Indy circuit made the tight racing of the first possible, as traffic was a constant

The battle during the first hour was interrupted by further two safety car periods, the first when Tim Saunders pulled his Production Honda Civic off at Graham Hill Bend with the left-front wheel hanging off, the second when Graham Bryant span off at Clearways in a non-Topcats Marcos.

The pair of hiatus bunched up the lead battle further. Despite an off at Graham Hill Bend earlier in the race Gareth Jones moved past Henry Fletcher into fourth place as Huggins and Osbourne broke away with the third, fourth and fifth battle mired further back in traffic.

The fuel economy shackles had been put back on Huggins, as he defended from Osbourne as the far quicker Barwell Ginetta tried to take back one the twenty-odd laps it lay behind the lead.

“I let [the G55] through pretty easily because he was so far back,” Osbourne told The Checkered Flag after his stint. “I let him through to try and make a move on the Marcos for me to try and make a hole for me, but I think Tom Kimber-Smith was struggling to get around that Marcos. I think he had his defensive head on today, and fair play he did a bloody good job , I couldn’t get around him and it was all clean. Kudos to him.”

Huggins’ defensive head he said was down to him going as slow as possible, while still keeping the chasing Osbourne behind.

Both cars however, were not to figure in the race for lead after the opening stint, Osbourne handing the car to Lee Mowle just after the hour – the Optimum crew also held captive by the need for two stops to cycle third driver George Murrells into the car.

Huggins’ – and the no.26 Topcats crew’s problems began with a number of offs late in his stint that turned out to be down to a leak in the power steering hose dumping fluid onto the front tyres. Jon Harrison initially took the car over from Huggins’ but returned to the garage soon after for a longer stop to repair the problem.

Jay Shepherd led early on for Neil Garner's team, and Rod Barrett chased the lead in the closing hour

Their stops and problems gave the lead back to Jay Shepherd, leading from Henry Fletcher as the two men tried to stretch their fuel to the longest extent.

Fletcher took the lead on track on lap 96 and the leaders made their stops either side of the two hour mark. Shepherd just before, handing over to Rod Barrett and Fletcher soon after, Owen O’Neill taking over the car.

The exchange gave the Topcats car a commanding 50 second lead, but one that was steadily eroded, the team still with concerns over the ability to make it through the final hour. Topcats team principal Warren Gilbert went so far as to kindly tell the Porsche team to slow their man down, such was his worry. It was, as Henry Fletcher said after his two hour stint “win or bust”.

The Topcats man summed up the strategy; “I was going to run it dry full stop but it didn’t cough or anything but the fuel reading was on zero. It was empty.”

He recounted; “The start was, I didn’t know quite what would happen. We couldn’t run the race pace of the others, but I could run 49s which seemed to be what the others were running. I thought they might go a little bit quicker but obviously the Viper pulled off and then it was down to us. We tried to go for fastest lap, which we lost by four tenths to the Porsche. But we came here to win so I was pushing, pushing, pushing, pushing – there was nothing else to do but try and go flat out.”

Despite their greater pace in the latter stages of the race there were fuel concerns for the Hawthorns/Neil Garner team further towards Clark Curve up the pitlane, a half churn of Sunoco waiting – purely as a precaution – at the front of the garage.

Just when battle – almost certainly a brief one given the speed differential in favour of Barratt – was about to commence a spin from the Porsche driver dropped him to 28 seconds from the leader, handing victory to the jubilant Topcats crew, though the lead was again sliced to just 13 seconds by the checkered flag.

The Jones trio – Gareth, Morgan and Philip claimed third overall on an all Class Three podium ahead of the Invitation Class Two Optimum Ginetta, the crew preparing for the Dubai 24 Hours with a succession of late season Britcar runs.

Nissan GT Academy winners Jann Mardenborough and Bryan Heitkotter finished fifth overall in the Class Three Invitation Nissan 370Z, going a little way to make up the disappointment of the Britcar 24 retirement last month.

Barwell Motorsport's Ginetta G5 (Photo Credit: Chris Gurton Photography)

Tom Kimber-Smith gave the Barwell Motorsport run Ginetta G55 pole position at the end of a duel with Aaron Scott in the GT3 Racing Dodge Viper around Brands Hatch.

Barwell, returning for their normal end of season entry to the Britcar ranks, set the pace during Friday night’s dark practice running and were among the fastest cars throughout the 40 minute session with Mark Lemmer and Ben Butler sharing the car with Kimber-Smith.

Pole position was settled in a frantic final ten minutes as the Brands Hatch Indy circuit continued to dry after starting greasy after overnight rain. As such times plummeted by seven seconds from the initial flying lap set by the Nissan GT Academy backed Nissan 370Z down to Kimber-Smith’s 47.223 pole lap.

The tumbling times –and lack of the Class One Moslers and Ferraris – gave several different teams and drivers a hold on provisional pole. The all white Porsche of the Jones trio – Morgan, Philip and Gareth as well as the Class Three SB Race Engineering Ferrari 430 Challenge of Paul Bailey and Andy Schulz took the turns in leading the 22 car field, the latter entry holding pole by nearly two seconds at the half way point in the session.

Their quest for pole position was aided by a second safety car intervention – race organisers opting not to interrupt the session with red flag stoppages. A combination of the Mardi Gras entered Honda Integra and the Oliver Bryant Marcos Mantis – one off at each end of the circuit – halted comptetion for seven minutes, protecting the two second advantage.

However, when the session restarted with 12 minutes remaining the JDR Honda NSX – an invitational runner in Production Class One and Aaron Scott whittled down the margin to just two-tenths.

Scott then went fastest, nearly a second clear of the Schulz and Bailey Ferrari. Kimber-Smith moved into second chasing a moving target at the top of the timesheets as Scott dodged the traffic around the 1.2 mile Indy circuit to improve his time one again to 47.752.

That was to be the high water mark for the British Endurance Championship champions elect as two late laps from Kimber-Smith first took pole, they extended their advantage to over half a second.

After surviving their off on the approach to Druids the Marcos Mantis of Oliver and Graeme Bryant took third fastest with their final lap, Schulz and Bailey falling to fourth despite their own late session improvement, still able to top Class Three ahead of the Rob Barrett and Jay Shepherd crewed Porsche.

JDR led the Production GTN field, qualifying eleventh overall

The Honda NSX held on to claim Production pole and eleventh overall, a tenth faster than Wayne Gibson and Kevin Clarke’s Interport BMW. The Production championship chasing James May and Alex Osborne finished 19th after the early set back of bringing out the first safety car with an off at Druids.

The final race of the Britcar season is scheduled to begin shortly before 3:30pm with a three hour ‘into the night’ race for the British Endurance Championship field, while the Production entrants will be flagged off after two hours.

Strata 21 Mosler, 2011 Britcar 24 Hours (Photo Credit: Chris Gurton Photography)

Calum Lockie and the rest of the Strata 21 Mosler squad were knocked out of the Britcar 24 Hours after a cocktail of mechanical problems with their Mosler MT900R.

Lockie and Paul White – who clinched the Class One title of the British Endurance Championship in August – were joined by Spaniards Javier Morcillo and Manuel Cintrano, the pair normally rivals running for a Mosler for their Azteca Motorsport concern.

The foursome came together for testing – Morcillo and Cintrano arriving from Spain in time to run the Silverstone GP circuit in the reliveried Mosler.

However, problems soon started to appear during Thursday’s testing, with the engine temperature prompting an engine change before the start of qualifying on Friday.

Though further problems limited their running during the day Morcillo was able to put the car third on the grid of the start of the race, with Lockie taking the first stint of the twice-around-the-clock ordeal.

“The atmosphere on the grid was electric; the ambient temperature was very high and there was a really strong front to the grid,” said Lockie. “It turned out to be one of the quietest race starts I’ve ever had. I just drove gently on the engine and stroked it around, going clear in P2.”

Initially in second behind the fast starting Aquila CR1 Lockie inherited the race lead when the leader was given a penalty for overtaking under safety car conditions. However, with a 30 second lead the car began to develop a misfire that delayed the beginning of Morcillo’s first stint.

From that point the problems mounted up – a fuel pick up problem caused a 50 minute pitstop which knocked the team out of any contention for the win, though to their credit they solved the problem and returned the car to the race, though the problem was forcing them into running shorter stints than planned as the system was only picking up 60 of the 75 litres of fuel in the car’s tank.

The next problem struck with Lockie at the wheel when the throttle stuck down the Wellington Straight. “I braked as usual [for Brooklands] and the fronts locked up,” Lockie described. “I went for the ignition switch, but I really thought I was going into the wall very hard. It finally stopped two inches from the barriers!” Coincidentally a similar problem at the same corner would take the other Mosler present out of the race – they were not so lucky and hit the wall, heavily damaging the car.

The car was retrieved from the gravel and the throttle body replaced, but Morcillo soon returned to the puts after a majority of spokes on one of the wheels sheared.

The final – terminal – problem was the return of engine overheating, the team retiring the car at 6am on Sunday after 14 hours of struggles

Nicholas Mee Racing, Britcar 24 Hours (Photo Credit: Will Belcher)

Already victorious after the Aston Martin GT4 Challenge Nicholas Mee Racing recorded a stunning second overall – and first in class – at the Britcar 24 Hours at Silverstone.

The team comprised of regular drivers Dan de Zille, Karsten le Blanc, Christiaen van Lanschot and American Robert Nimkoff – who had brought an Aston Martin V8 Vantage from NMR for racing in the US earlier this year. Together with the team they lined up as one of 22 entries in Class Three for the 24 Hours, facing competition from teams running Ginettas, BMWs, SEATs and Lotuses.

De Zille qualified the TalentWorks International sponsored car 20th overall in the 50+ car field after the squad opted for caution during the qualifying session by ending their participation early, taking the extra time to prepare their car for the race ahead.

Dutchman Le Blanc took their first two hour double stint, with the team’s plan to pit roughly every hour for fuel, with a driver and tyre change initially every other pit call.

With this strategy seeing them into the lead during the opening hours a battle with the Marcos Racing International run Lotus Evora soon developed while both cars moved up the order as other teams struggled in the torturous running into Saturday.

De Zille – who has juggled a British Formula Ford campaign with his Aston Martin commitments this season – was the final driver in the NMR rotation, taking the car over for a two-hour, 53-minute stint – just seven minutes inside the maximum single stint duration.

Throughout the race the car performed flawlessly, the only longer than normal pitstop being for brake pad change. In total the team completed 19 pitstops, ten of which included tyre changes.

That consistency put the Aston Martin ahead of the Lotus by a lap at the checkered flag, after the veteran sportscar racing team had twice suffered delays – once chasing a problem, once for a brief stop-go penalty.

“Heroes all!” exclaimed team principal Nicholas Mee. “In 24 hours of racing we had no driver errors, no car failings, no time penalties, no damage and a dream result, all of which comes on top of five race wins and victory in this year’s Aston Martin Challenge series! I’m immensely proud and appreciative of the whole team’s achievements. Big thanks to our drivers, sponsors, pit-crew and supporters who have all helped make a great racing season even greater.”

RJN Motorsports Nissan 370z (Photo Credit: Chris Gurton Photography)

Nissan Playstation GT Academy winners Jann Mardenborough and Bryan Heitkotter left Silverstone disappointed after their involvement in the Britcar 24 Hours came to very early end.

Mardenborough and American Heitkotter combined with experienced Nissan GT driver Alex Buncombe and Chris Ward for the 24 hour race at Silverstone, and both men – having come from the world of online racing and gaming acquitted themselves well in both the day and night sessions in preparations for the race. The team qualified the RJN Motorsport run Nissan 370z in seventh overall behind the Moslers and Ferraris of the premier class.

Buncombe took the opening stint, running as high as fourth in the early stages of the race before handing over to Mardenborough – the first British winner of the European GT Academy competition.

However, just five laps into the 20-year-old’s stint the car loss oil pressure and ground to halt on the pit straight, the team officially retiring the car once it had been recovered to their garage.

“It’s disappointing but you have to take the rough with the smooth and I have been lucky enough to experience many highs since winning GT Academy,” said Mardenborough. “I can also take encouragement from today, having put in some good lap times both in the heat of the day and in the dark.”

“We were looking good for a strong finish,” said team principal Bob Neville. “This is only our second retirement in 26 races this season so we’re not used to this kind of disappointment, especially as the car was so competitive during qualifying and the start of the race.”

Both Mardenborough and Heitkotter have already qualified for the International C race license, but continue to gain experience – their next race is October 15-16 at Zandvoort – ahead of their main prize, a drive in the 2012 Dubai 24 Hours in January.

2011 Britcar 24 Hours overall podium (Photo Credit: Chris Gurton Photography)

Eclipse Motorsport braved a race of attrition that delayed much of the premier class to score victory in the 2011 Britcar 24 Hours by a full 13 laps.

Despite the very comfortable winning margin the win was far from assured for much of the race and the trio of Michael McInerney, his son Sean and Phil Keen suffered their own scares and delays over the course of a day of hard racing conducted in far from typical Britcar 24 weather.

“It was a rollercoaster like every time we do this race,” Sean McInerney told The Checkered Flag moments after his father climbed from the car beneath the podium. “In most cases we’ve normally had bad luck and it’s stayed that way but we’ve had a couple of breaks with things happening to other people to give us an opportunity to get back into the race. We’re over the moon, can’t complain at all.”

He continued; “these guys – the team have worked incredibly hard to get this car ready so however, good it feels for us it feels equally as good for them. They’re the ones who have been up having sleepless nights getting prepped for this. They’re the ones who have made it happen getting us out there.”

Though the team – Britcar regulars, the McInerneys also perennial runners in the 24 Hours – were among the early leaders the fifth hour of the race brought them into the pits after contact with another car going through the new arena section of the track.

The stop, the team assessing the Ferrari’s tracking as well as taping up the damage, dropped them to fourth, five laps behind the Aquila CR1, leading at the time.

The Aquila CR1 was by far the fastest car on track - expecially in the hands of John Martin - but reliabilty struggles thwarted the challenge for victory

The yellow car had dominated the early running after starting from pole. Taking the first stint Bob Berridge moved clear into the lead, with Calum Lockie in the Strata 21 Mosler and Scott O’Donnell in the ARC Bratislava Porsche in increasingly distant tow.

A drive through penalty took the car out of the lead, falling several laps off the lead before Australian hot-shoe John Martin took his first stint in the car. Martin had set the pace in qualifying and in a three hour stint that pushed the boundaries of maximum driving time he hauled the car back into the lead with unmatchable pace that put car four laps in the lead after Eclipse’s problems.

However, while the Aquila has enjoyed a much improved 2011 season over its troubled 2010 outings reliability remained the Achilles Heel for the Danish car with a pair of apparent drive shaft failures punctuating their race with lengthy stays in the garage. To their credit the Nigel Mustill headed team continued to repair the car to see the end of the race, claiming ninth overall.

A cracked exhaust manifold took out MJC – last year’s winners unable to repeat the faultless display of a year previous. The team had been delayed almost from the start with a broken seat. Whilst on track the seat slid backwards – and only backwards. The delay, which the team fix with a part created in the garage allowed them to climb back into the top three after lying outside the top twenty.

However, the Sunday morning hours brought more troubles for the team of Witt Gamski, Keith Robinson, John Gaw and Phil Dryburgh and this time they were terminal. Their Ferrari 430 developed a cracked manifold and though they initially raced on – Keith Robinson taking a double stint as the problem became apparent. However, soon the problem became too great, and with the crack too big to fixed the team called time on their efforts to retain the title.

The end of MJC’s race left the battle for the lead to Eclipse Motorsport and the Topcats Racing Mosler MT900 of Andrew Beaumont, Henry Fletcher, Julien Draper and Freddie Hetherington.

Initially the team maintained vigil a handful of laps in arrears to the leading Ferrari. However, the lead swung to the Topcats crew when Phil Keen spun, bringing out a safety car. The car was towed off the track, before limping back to the pits under its own power with a right-rear puncture. There was further delay in the pits a broken rear roll bar found beneath the car – potentially the cause of the puncture – before the team returned to the race, now four laps down on the leading Mosler.

Despite being long time entrants in Britcar competition Topcats Racing have only won the showpiece event once – when it was shortened to six hours in 2009 to cut costs during the recession – but as the race turned for home on Sunday afternoon the team had a comfortable margin in the lead with Freddie Hetherington at the wheel of the black and grey Runnymede Homes backed Mosler.

Unfortunately with the young GT driver aboard the car suffered a stuck throttle on the Wellington Straight, pushing Hetherington straight on at Brooklands. The wedge-fronted Mosler submarined under the tyre wall and though Hetherington was unharmed in the accident the front of the car destroyed, leaving Eclipse Motorsport to take the win unchallenged for the final four hours of the race able to maintain a sedate pace.

Topcats Racing were in contention for the victory, before Freddie Hetherington suffered a dramatic crash at Brooklands

The late retirement of the Mosler typified the race for Topcats Racing. Once more the team had entered three cars in the race – two Marcos Mantis alongside the Mosler and when MJC and the Aquila both dropped from the top ten with their problems all three ran in the top ten on the Sunday morning before problems began to rain down on Warren Gilbert’s team.

First the no.27 Marcos – by then almost guaranteed Class Two honours – suffered ignition troubles with Caterham racer Jamie Orton at the wheel, fixed after a brief stay in the garage. However, once Neil Huggins had taken over the green highlighted Mantis more serious problems struck. Huggins – a regular for Topcats Racing – described being “sideswiped” as he exited the pits after taking over car, damaging the suspension in the Marcos. Finally opposite the new pits the car ground to a halt, the repairs dropping the car out of the top ten at the time.

Four Japanese drivers took the no.53 Marcos Mantis to third in Class Three after a difficult start

Early race driveshaft problems had put the no.53 Marcos – running in Class Three – several laps off the pace, but the car – driven by an all-Japanese team of Yosuke Shimojima, Ryu Seya, Masashi Kakiuchi and Yasushi Kikuchi – was faultless from that point on. They were the last of the three Topcats charges to break into the top and eventually completed the class podium.

In many way the Class Three battle was the best of the race as the top two classes disintegrated. The class was won by the Nicholas Mee Racing Aston Martin Vantage – one of the few teams that can claim to have had a trouble free 24 Hours, with the only long stay in the pits being a brake pad change.

The Lotus Evora, entered – slightly confusingly – by Marcos Racing International for a driving quintet led by Dutchman Cor Euser shadowed the Aston for much of the race. The pair exchanged the lead on several occasion, often but not always down to differing pitstop strategies. The turning point – if you can single out one split second choice that decides a 24 hour race came in the thirteenth hour when Euser brought the Evora into the pits.

After struggling with oversteer he believed he had a problem with the car and returned to the pits after just 15 laps only for the team to find nothing. Euser and the team lost nearly 10 minutes in the process.

The stop saw the Class Three battle swing – over the course of an out from a lap advantage to the Lotus squad to a four lap lead for the NMR quartet – Dan de Zille, Kartsen Le Blanc, Christiaen van Lanschot and Robert Nimkoff. It was a gap the Lotus squad were unable to close back up fully, though they came with a single tour at the finish. Their final strategy roll of the dice came inside the final hour when both cars came in on the same lap to install their final drivers – Le Blanc and Hal Prewitt. Ultimately the Evora men had to settle for third overall.

A near faultless run - in contrast to most around them - gave Nicholas Mee Racing's team second overall

“We turned up on Thursday and the car felt good, good testing times, we weren’t pushing too hard to save the car and stuff,” said Dan de Zille after celebrating the class win with the rest of the team on the podium. “We got into the race, Karsten did a really good opening stint and once we got into the night time I put my foot down and made my way through the pack and then from threr it was trying to maintain that position. We were helped by a couple of cars taking each other off and catching fire and things and it all came good in the end.”

“The car was awesome but the guys in the Lotus really made us work. My last stint I went out before the last hour and the order was basically match their times, match their times and I pretty much killed myself doing it. There was a race on, it was just such a long term race it was hard to see.”

Though Class Three held up to the rigours of the race better than the two premier classes it was not without its high profile retirements.

Optimum Racing had set the class pole through United Autosports drive Joe Osborne, but was a victim of a very early accident. According to the team the contact – with an Aston Martin – had damaged the car. Now sliding from the rear the driver lost control and slid through the grass, clogging up the radiators at the front of the bright yellow G50, leading to terminal overheating and an early retirement.

British GT outfit Scuderia Vittoria where – for obvious reasons – among the favourites for class glory and ran well early on, overcoming the lowly starting position that came with the engine problems of qualifying. They however, were ruled out by chassis damage as dawn approached Silverstone.

Another of the G50s in the class was involved in undoubtedly the scariest accident of the race. In the first hours of darkness the Daniels Motorsport Honda Civic hit oil went off at Becketts. Marshals attended to the Class Four machine to try and recover it from the gravel trap. Unfortunately the Jemco Racing Ginetta struck the same oil and followed the same trajectory as the Civic striking one of the marshals working on the car. He was loaded into an ambulance during a 51-minute safety car period – in the absence of the standard fog the longest neutral period of the race – and taken to a Northampton hospital with a broken leg. At the time of writing it is know the marshal is recovering well.

The battles in Class Three also included a fight for the final podium spot. The Intersport BMW team, led by Kevin Clarke and Wayne Gibson was chasing down the Topcats Marcos – nicknamed the ‘Orient Express’ – in the final hour. The BMW team – twice champions in the Britcar Production ranks – believed they could claim third – based largely on the belief the Marcos crew would have to execute a final stop in the last 60 minutes.

Not only did that belief turn out to be unfounded, but a recurring steering pin brought the BMW into the garage for a final time. The same problem had already halted the crew once, as had a loose alternator wire.

Clarke, Gibson and co-driver Mark Radcliffe and Alex Hayes claimed fifth overall and fourth in class, one place ahead of the Motionsport Lotus Elise.

Class Four winners Brunswick Automotive claimed seventh place, after another trouble free run, benefitting to problems that befell the quicker cars over the course of the race.

The all-British Brunswick Automotive team outlasted their competition in Class Four

For much of the first half of the race the class was dominated by the diminutive Lotus Elise of CTR Developments.

The early pace was set by Alex Osbourne in the APO Sport SEAT Leon who led out the Britcar Production championship leaders. Osbourne completed a two-and-a-half hour stint in the car holding the lead throughout. However, driver Guy Parr outbraked himself, becoming part of a multiple car accident and delaying the team. The final moment came with another accident due to brake failure that left the car seriously damaged during the night.

It was then the Elise moved to the front, pushing into the top ten with a four lap advantage over familiar tin-top name Mardi Gras Motorsport, represented in the 24 Hours by a Honda Integra, bit both team would fall by the wayside before the checkered flag dropped.

CTR were the first to drop, a wheel bearing failure stranding the car at Abbey during the night. Mardi Gras briefly held the lead after the Lotus’ retirement before being overhauled by the Mark Griffiths led Brunswick team.

They maintained second in class, though the BMW M3 ahead extended their advatange hour on hour until the closing hours of the race and a driveshaft failure that dropped them from the podium places.

Their late race problems allowed the Cox family run BMW onto the podium. The team – Michael, Jason and Dave Cox joined by Paul Stubber – had easily set the pace in qualifying, but had fallen back within the first hour – cue a 23 hour fightback finally putting them back into the podium spots with just two hours to go.

They finished the race 12th overall, one place ahead of the Carvell Motorsport VW Gold MkIII which completed the race on the fewest number of pitstops – 11 – of any of the finishers in a fine showing for the underdog squad. The best of the three Mazda MX5 finished sixth in class behind the Mardi Gras Honda. The team of motoring journalists turning in a solid performance where both the armed forces team in the similar team and the GT model in Class Three had suffered problems throughout the race.

Eighth overall was the Class Two leading Topcats Marcos. The class fell apart in the early running to the extent that the Marcos was the only one of the six entries to complete the 50% of total laps necessary to be classified.

ARC Bratislava had set the early pace before being stopped for exceeding the noise limits. Rectification cost the team an hour in the garage before they could start climbing back up the order. A clutch problem stopped the Porsche for good.

One of the dark horses for the race – the Rollcentre Racing Ginetta G55 looked capable of living up to that lofty billing. The team, which included Lawrence Tomlinson, Martin Short and Colin Turkington ran as high as second overall before an ECU issue stopped the car after just three hours.

Filthy and held together with race tape but victorious the Eclipse Motorsport Ferrari sits beneath the Silverstone podium

The Eclipse Motorsport Ferrari crossed the line victorious (Photo Credit: Chris Gurton Photography)

The final hour of the 2011 Britcar 24 Hours was more like a coronation for the Eclipse Motorsport team as Michael McInerney led the team for a serene final 50 minutes to take the checkered flag to win Britain’s most gruelling race for the first time in six attempts.

While the Ferrari continued to a win that had been a near certainty since the retirement of the Topcats Mosler earlier on Sunday.

Behind them the second and third place cars took their final pitstop on the same lap, American Hal Prewitt piloting the Lotus Evora trying to pry second place away from Karsten Le Blanc – tasked with bringing the Nicholas Mee Racing Aston Martin Vantage to the checkered flag.

Further uncertainty surrounded the destination of third place in Class Three and fourth overall. The Intersport team believed they could catch the Japanese crews ‘Oriental Express’ Marcos for the position, but a recurrence of a steering pin problem in the no.68 BMW ended their tilt for a class podium with forty minutes of the race remaining.

As ever in endurance racing there were stories up and down the grid. The Japanese crewed Marcos was just one, the Carvell Motorsport run VW Golf Mk III – coming home 13th after just 11 pitstops must be one of the best of the race.

There was heartbreak too. Already having gone through three driveshafts over the course of the race the no.52 Forza Motorsport 4 backed Toyota MR2 turned its last corner at Becketts just after the tow backs to the paddock were stopped before the end of the race.

The single Class Two finisher was the no.27 Topcats Racing Marcos Mantis.

Brunswick Automotive collected the Class Four victory their six lap advantage clearly showed they deserved. The Dutch Red Camel team and the Cox’s BMW M3 CSL completed the Class Four podium

Full report to follow. When we have recovered.

2011 Britcar 24 Hours class leaders after hour 23

Class One:
1 – No.2 Ferrari – McInerney/McInerney/Keen
2 – No.6 Aquila – Mustill/Berridge/Evans/Martin
3 – No.3 Mosler – Beaumont/Fletcher/Draper/Hetherington

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.53 Marcos – Shimojima/Seya/Kakiuchi/Kikuchi

Class Four:
1 – No.89 BMW – Griffiths/Green/Forsbrey/Kirkpatrick
2 – No.84 Seat – Breukers/Thijssen/Jensiew/Han
3 – No.77 BMW – Cox/Cox/Cox/Stubber

Eclipse Motorsport (Photo Credit: Chris Gurton Photography)

Eclipse Motorsport‘s Ferrari 430 leads the Britcar 24 Hour Race at Silverstone, as the event enters its final sixty minutes.

The McInerney trio slowed their pace once their last main rival – Topcats Racing Mosler – suffered a failure and accident at Brooklands early in the afternoon.

It left the Ferrari-powered squad with a lead of fifteen laps over the Nicholas Mee Aston Martin Racing team – a position that leaves the Aston top of the Class Three standings.

Another Class Three machine currently fills the final podium spot, with the number 57 Marcos Racing Lotus Evora clinging on admirably, just over a lap shy of second spot.

The second Topcats entry – the no.53 Marcos Mantis GT3 – was a good distance from its fellow Class Three competitors. The number 43 machine was a clear sixteen laps off of the podium, although with Kevin Clarke’s BMW M3 a distant 5th, the Mantis crew were settling for a suitable reward.

Motionsport pulled themselves up to 6th with one hour remaining. The Lotus-driven team headed by Mark Griffiths BMW M3 (Class Four leaders) by a couple of tours, while the recovering no.27 Topcats assumed 8th overall and leading in Class 2.
Class victory is a foregone conclusion for the Topcats entry – the Marcos Mattis machine is the sole Class 2 machine still sunning in the race.

That’s not to say the position is completely comfortable. Red Camel kept the Topcats team on their toes in their own Seat Leon, aided somewhat by only making twelve stops throughout.

Nigel Mustill’s Class 1 Aquila CR1 completed the top ten, but is catching the 8th and 9th positions quickly and may have them before race end.

There was little action through the 23rd hour as cars and machines settle into the final stages; however the silence was broken somewhat by separate offs for the Piranha Motorsport Ginetta G40 (#91) and the Jet Black Renault Clio (#95) – both continued.

2011 Britcar 24 Hours class leaders after hour 23

Class One:
1 – No.2 Ferrari – McInerney/McInerney/Keen
2 – No.6 Aquila – Mustill/Berridge/Evans/Marti
3 – No.3 Mosler – Beaumont/Fletcher/Draper/Hetherington

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.53 Marcos – Shimojima/Seya/Kakiuchi/Kikuchi

Class Four:
1 – No.89 BMW – Griffiths/Green/Forsbrey/Kirkpatrick
2 – No.84 Seat – Breukers/Thijssen/Jensiew/Han
3 – No.77 BMW – Cox/Cox/Cox/Stubber

Follow live coverage from The Checkered Flag here: http://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2011/10/2011-britcar-24-hours-live-coverage/

Nicholas Mee Racing Aston Martin (Photo Credit: Chris Gurton Photography)

While the Eclipse Motorsport run Ferrari of Sean and Michael McInerney and Phil Keen holds a commanding 15 lap lead at the top of the leaderboard in the Britcar 24 Hours places in the top ten and class podiums remain in flux.

Perhaps the best battle heading into the final hours of the race is the battle for second overall and the Class Three win. Nicholas Mee Racing and Marcos Racing International have been closely matched for much of the second half of the race, with a lap between them and the gap swinging back and forth with their differing pitstop strategies.

The twenty-second hour marked the final –reportedly – driver change stop for NMR with Formula Ford (and Aston GT4) driver Dan de Zille taking the car over for a final stint.

The stop dropped the Aston Martin team back onto the same lap as the chasing Lotus Evora – the gap just 43 seconds, though with the Lotus due a pitstop of its own in the near future De Zille managed the gap, keeping it stable until the beginning of the penultimate hour.

The other class where positions have changed is Class Four with the podium places changing hands. The Mardi Gras Motorsport run Honda Integra fell down the order after assorted driveshaft and gearbox failure, allowing the BMW M3 CSL entered by Dave Cox to take the final podium spot – reprising the same sort of performance the three Cox family members had last year in Ford Escort Cosworth.

At the head of the field Phil Keen took over the now dominant looking Ferrari for his final stint of the race

After fixing their earlier problems the no.27 Topcats Racing Marcos has broken back into the top ten, joining the team’s Japanese driven car which ended the hour in fourth place overall and third in Class Three but 18 laps behind the lead pair.

2011 Britcar 24 Hours class leaders after hour 22

Class One:
1 – No.2 Ferrari – McInerney/McInerney/Keen
2 – No.3 Mosler – Beaumont/Fletcher/Draper/Hetherington
2 – No.6 Aquila – Mustill/Berridge/Evans/Marti

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.53 Marcos – Shimojima/Seya/Kakiuchi/Kikuchi

Class Four:
1 – No.89 BMW – Griffiths/Green/Forsbrey/Kirkpatrick
2 – No.84 Seat – Breukers/Thijssen/Jensiew/Han
3 – No.77 BMW – Cox/Cox/Cox/Stubber

Follow live coverage from The Checkered Flag here: http://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2011/10/2011-britcar-24-hours-live-coverage/

The No.3 car began Hour Twenty-One ahead of the No.2 car, but things soon changed - Photo Credit: Chris Gurton Photography

Hour Twenty-One of the Britcar 24 at Silverstone began with a bang as the race leading Topcats Racing No.3 Mosler crashed out of the event.

The car was being driven by Freddie Hetherington at the time, and he fortunately emerged from the incident unscathed. The throttle on the Mosler MT900R was stuck open going through Brooklands and the car went straight-on over the gravel and was buried deep into the tyre wall.

On seeing the accident damage – the car had a hugely crumpled front-end – it was clear that its race was over.

The incident promoted the No 2. Eclipse Motorsport Ferrari, which had been leading for much of the event, back into the lead. The extraction of the Mosler from the safety car was done under the protection of a safety car, which remained deployed for the first fifteen minutes of the twenty-first hour.

The No. 49 Nicholas Mee Aston Martin – a class three car no less – was promoted up to a net second place (assuming it completed enough laps to overhaul the stricken Mosler, which it did), and the No. 57 Marcos Racing Lotus Evora, also a Class Three motor, inherited a net third place.

Things almost unravelled for that No. 57 car when it was give an 8-second stop/go penalty for speeding in the pit lane. Fortunately for the team, the margin over the next team was sufficient for them to avoid losing a place.

2011 Britcar 24 Hours class leaders after hour 21

Class One:
1 – No.2 Ferrari – McInerney/McInerney/Keen
2 – No.6 Aquila – Mustill/Berridge/Evans/Marti

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 – No.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/

The two Topcats Racing Marcos Mantis (Photo Credit: Chris Gurton Photography)

With the afternoon sun beating down on Silverstone, Topcats Racing’s Mosler GT2 has a stranglehold on the Britcar 24 Hour race.

After twenty-one hours and 481 racing laps, the number 3 entry leads Michael McInerney’s Eclipse Ferrari 430 by three complete tours of the Northamptonshire circuit.

Nicholas Mee Racing’s Aston Martin GT4 rounds out the podium, while also leading the Class 3 field. The Aston held a one-lap advantage over 4th place team, Marcos International – the Lotus Evora squad - completed their twenty-third pitstop 477 laps in, with a healthy lead over the following runners.

For the top four, it had been a fairly uneventful affair, but sadly that was not the case for the sole remaining Class 2 runner, Topcats’ Marcos Mantis GT3 entry.

After running 5th for most of the night and into the morning, the no.27 machine was clipped exiting the pitlane. The collision, ever so slight, was still strong enough to damage the suspension – with drive falling away; the GT3 drew to a halt against the new pitwall, bringing out the safety car.

With the hour complete, the GT3 had fallen to 10th overall, but will fall off the sheets in the next hour.

The Marcos’ misfortune was Kevin Clarke’s gain. The number 68 BMW M3 driver rose to 5th place, maintaining a five-lap lead over the 6th placed car – the other Topcats Racing Marcos Mantis, this one running in Class Three.

Paul Winter’s Dorset Sports Cars Porsche 996 has been keeping the Mantis GT3 honest. Only a single tour separates the Class 3 competitors, with Mark Griffith’s BMW E3 8th ahead of the Motionsport Lotus Elise GT4.

It wasn’t all good news for the Class 3 runners. The Sub-Zero Wolf Seat was hit with a stop/go penalty on lap 470 for an incorrect pit stop procedure, dropping the Seat Supercopa to 18th overall and 8th in Class.

2011 Britcar 24 Hours class leaders after hour 20

Class One:
1 – No.3 Mosler – Beaumont/Fletcher/Draper/Hetherington
2 – No.2 Ferrari – McInerney/McInerney/Keen
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 – No.88 Honda – Smail/Meins/Lillingston-Price/Harding
3 – No.84 Seat – Breukers/Thijssen/Jensiew/Han

Follow live coverage from The Checkered Flag here: http://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2011/10/2011-britcar-24-hours-live-coverage/

Topcats Racing Mosler (Photo Credit: Chris Gurton Photography)

After giving away five laps to the Topcats Racing Mosler after their spin and subsequent slow return to the pits for an extended pitstop Phil Keen was able to chip away two laps of that advantage in the nineteenth hour of the 2011 Britcar 24 Hours.

The second lap that Keen made up cam towards the end of the hour at 11:30am, passing the Mosler – driven by Topcats regular Henry Fletcher – on track.

Behind them the Nicholas Mee Racing Aston Martin continues its course for the final step of the overall podium, now one whole clear of the Marcos Racing run Lotus Evora – the Cor Euser led team their Aston’s constant companion in the battle for class honours for much of the race.

The Intersport BMW remains in third place in class, though it ends the hour with a call for the team manager to visit race control – too often the precursor to a penalty.

Mardi Gras Motorsport are another team to end the hour with a penalty after being called in for a drive through from second in Class Four. The – technically – slowest class in the race is still being led by Brunswick Automotive in their BMW – now with a nine lap lead over the Honda Integra squad. Red Camel remain in third, though the Dave Cox led BMW M3 CSL fielding team have rallied to fourth in class – though they are still 11 laps from breaking onto the class podium. The team Jason, Michael and Dave Cox and Paul Stubber are now ahead of the no.75 Mazda MX5 and no.82 Rob Carvell led VW Golf MkIII.

2011 Britcar 24 Hours class leaders after hour nineteen

Class One:
1 – No.3 Mosler – Beaumont/Fletcher/Draper/Hetherington
2 – No.2 Ferrari – McInerney/McInerney/Keen
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 – No.88 Honda – Smail/Meins/Lillingston-Price/Harding
3 – No.84 Seat – Breukers/Thijssen/Jensiew/Han

Follow live coverage from The Checkered Flag here: http://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2011/10/2011-britcar-24-hours-live-coverage/

2011 Britcar 24 Hours (Photo Credit: Chris Gurton Photography)

There was a dramatic development in Hour Eighteen of the Britcar 24 as the No.2 Ferrari of the Eclipse Motorsport Team, who had been leading the race since Hour Six, surrendered its lead after a puncture.

Phil Keen had jumped into the Ferrari 430 as it entered the pits for its nineteenth stop of the race. However, the car was back in a few minutes later with a left-rear puncture after being towed away from the track near the new Wing complex.

This was not a regular tyre change for a puncture though, as a broken roll bar made it difficult to replace. The team tried to get the car away quickly, but an official from tyre supplier Dunlop would not let the car out of the pits until he was convinced that the new set were safely attached.

The No.2 Ferrari eventually re-joined the field in second, six laps behind our new leader, the No.3 Mosler of the Topcats Racing team.

Phil Keen was not to be deterred though. After this elongated pit stop he came straight out to and set a personal best lap time for the team – a 2:09:225.

The drama did not end there though. The No.6 Aquila, although not running near the front any longer, was still third in class. However, as Gareth Evans took the yellow car around ‘The Loop’ section the driveshaft failed and the Aquila had to be towed back to the garage. Before this, the No.6 team had also been given a 30-second stop/go penalty for overtaking under yellow flags, as had the No.56 car, the Team Caramba BMW M3.

Car 27, the only remaining car in Class Two, also received the same penalty for the same crime. However, the Topcats Racing Marcos also had reason to be cheerful during the sixteenth hour: the No.68 Intersport car that was running sixth had an overly long pit stop thanks to a loose alternator wire, and No.27 inherited that position.

Car no.66, the Dorset Sports Cars Porsche 996 also had an elongated trip to the pits when the team had problems getting the rear brakes pads removed.

2011 Britcar 24 Hours class leaders after hour eighteen

Class One:
1 – No.3 Mosler – Beaumont/Fletcher/Draper/Hetherington
2 – No.2 Ferrari – McInerney/McInerney/Keen
3 – No.6 Aquila – Mustill/Berridge/Evans/Martin

Class Two:
1 – No.27 Marcos – Upton/Huggins/Fletcher/Orton

Class Three:
1 – No.57 Lotus – Euser/Prewitt/Brody/Freebird/McKinnon
2 – No.49 Aston Martin – Le Blanc/Van Lanschot/De Zille/Nimkoff
3 – No.68 BMW – Clarke/Gibson/Radcliffe/Hayes

Class Four:
1 – No.89 BMW – Griffiths/Green/Forsbrey/Kirkpatrick
2 – No.88 Honda – Smail/Meins/Lillingston-Price/Harding
3 – N0.84 Seat – Breukers/Thijssen/Jensiew/Han

Follow live coverage from The Checkered Flag here: http://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2011/10/2011-britcar-24-hours-live-coverage/

Topcats Racing Marcos Mantis (Photo Credit: Chris Gurton Photography)

Long something that looked doubtful the Aquila CR1’s attempt to win the Britcar 24 Hours appears to – realistically – to have come to an end. After pitting with a broken water hose previously the polesitting car has returned to the fray, but currently lies 48 laps off the lead still held by the Eclipse Motorsport Ferrari.

At the start of the hour there was drama from the no.27 Topcats Racing Marcos, though the team returned driver Jamie Orton and ‘Big Green’ after curing an ignition switch problem. The car hasn’t returned to the pits since.

The quick repair, as well as the demise of both the Aquila and MJC over the course of the morning have lifted all three of the Topcats Racing cars into the top ten, the second placed Mosler and now seventh placed no.27 joined by the no.53 Marcos of the quartet of Japanese drivers driving back into the top ten despite an early driveshaft failure

The gap at the top of Class Three – now also the battle for the final spot on the overall podium – has closed up once more, the Lotus Evora now within a lap of the Nicholas Mee Racing Aston Martin. The Paul Winter led Dorse Sports Cars Porsche squad currently occupy third in the class but six laps adrift of the battle for the podium. Kevin Clarke’s BMW now lies fourth in class. The Motionsport Lotus Elise – a previous visitor to the top three in class has fallen back, the latest lengthy stop satisfying the team’s concerns about the engine mounts.

The Brunswick Automotive BMW continues to lead Class Four with a five lap advantage over the Red Camel SEAT.

2011 Britcar 24 Hours class leaders after hour seventeen

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.66 Porsche – Winter/Mundy/Morris/Speed/Raven

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/

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/

Eclipse race towards the sunrise (Photo Credit: Chris Gurton Photography)

Amidst the dawn, the Eclipse Motorsport-prepared Ferrari 430 continues to lead the Britcar 24 Hour race at Silverstone.

Piloted by Sean McInerney, the entry maintained its solid run at the front, embellishing its three lap gap to the Topcats Racing Mosler in second place.

Indeed, where the Topcats racers were initially facing a potential battle with the MJC Ferrari 430, suddenly a large gap opened up.

On lap 340, the 2010 winners drew into the pits with a cracked manifold – a problem that would force their retirement. By the end of the fifteenth hour, Gamski had fallen to ninth spot on the timing screens.

It brought Nigel Mustill’s Aquila CR1 into the top three. The Chamberlain Synergy operation started the hour in 5th, overtaking Nicholas Mee Racing Aston Martin in the process.

With MJC’s misfortune, NMR returned to 4th overall, while leading Class Three – a clear lap ahead of the front running Class Two machine, Topcats Racing Marcos Mantis GT3.

The Marcos International run Lotus Evora assumed 6th ahead of the Intersport BMW M3, with Paul Winter’s Dorset Sports Cars Porsche looking on in 8th, albeit five laps adrift.

Brunswick Automotive’s BMW M3 leads the Class 4 field, while holding 10th overall – a solid performance by the all-British squad, as they maintain an eight-lap lead over their nearest class rivals, the Red Camel’s SEAT Leon.

The day ended prematurely for Paul White’s Strata 21 machine. After a difficult Saturday, the Mosler GT3 retired with an overheating engine.

2011 Britcar 24 Hours class leaders after hour fifteen

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
2 – No.5 Porsche – Konopka/O’Donnell/Myszkowski/Lewandowski/Edwards

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

The last moments of darkness at the Britcar 24 (Photo Credit: Chris Gurton Photography)

The fourteenth hour of the 2011 Britcar 24 Hours at Silverstone ended with the first promises of sunlight over Northamptonshire to bring warmth to the crowds who have braved the night.

The sunlight greets – a little aptly – the Eclipse Motorsport Ferrari which still holds a comfortable lead of three laps at the top of the overall standings and also Class One as the Topcats Racing Mosler and MJC Ferrari continue in second and third respectively. The MJC Ltd entry however is running with a cracked manifold, though Keith Robinson returned to the cockpit for a double stint .

The team have an eight lap advantage over the Nicholas Mee Racing Aston Martin in the overall standings, with the same margin standing between them and the Aquila in the Class One standings.

John Martin has returned to the cockpit of the Aquila, with the car’s lap times being cut accordingly. Aided by a long stop by the Topcats Racing Marcos – replacing brake pads all round, the driveshaft and curing an oil leak – the Australian ended the hour in fifth overall. The Marcos ended the hour in eighth.

In Class Three the Intersport BMW have moved into second place behind the Nicholas Mee Aston, pushing the Marcos International entered Lotus Evora back to third after battling for the lead only a couple of hours ago.

Mark Griffiths’ Brunswick Automotive BMW continues to lead on Class Four after benefitting during the night from the troubles for the CTR Developments Lotus. Behind them, the class order remains the same with Mardi Gras and Red Camel second and third ahead of the Journalist-driven Mazda MX5 – the team pitting the car during the hour, Autosport writer Ben Anderson making way for Andrew Frankel.

After fighting back from losing time in the pits after being adjudged too loud during Saturday’s portion of the race the ARC Bratislava car has been knocked out due to terminal clutch problems after climbing back into the top 15 places overall.

2011 Britcar 24 Hours class leaders after hour fourteen

Class One:
1 – No.2 Ferrari – McInerney/McInerney/Keen
2 – No.3 Mosler – Beaumont/Fletcher/Draper/Hetherington
3 – No.1 Ferrari – Gamski/Robinson/Gaw/Dryburgh

Class Two:
1 – No.27 Marcos – Upton/Huggins/Fletcher/Orton
2 – No.5 Porsche – Konopka/O’Donnell/Myszkowski/Lewandowski/Edwards

Class Three:
1 – No.49 Aston Martin – Le Blanc/Van Lanschot/De Zille/Nimkoff
2 – No.68 BMW – Clarke/Gibson/Radcliffe/Hayes
3 – No.57 Lotus – Euser/Prewitt/Brody/Freebird/McKinnon

Class Four:
1 – No.89 BMW – Griffiths/Green/Forsbrey/Kirkpatrick
2 – No.88 Honda – Smail/Meins/Lillingston-Price/Harding
3 – N0.84 Seat – Breukers/Thijssen/Jensiew/Han

Follow live coverage from The Checkered Flag here: http://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2011/10/2011-britcar-24-hours-live-coverage/

2011 Britcar 24 Hours (Photo Credit: Chris Gurton Photography)

Hour Thirteen at the Britcar 24 race effectively reduced the Class Two field from two to one after the No. 5 Porsche of ARC Bratislava spend most of the hour in the garage.

A clutch problem, which at the moment looks terminal, will mean that the No.27 Topcats Racing Marcos – which was running fourth at the end of the thirteenth hour – will be the only Class Two car left in the race.

The top three remained the same throughout the thirteenth hour with Phil Keen in the No.2 Ferrari  demonstrating how comfortable he was leading the race under darkness that he set the team’s personal best time.

The Topcats racing Mosler remained second, but was still around five laps behind the lead Ferrari and was failing to make an impact on that gap. The No.1 Ferrari remained in third, and all of the top three had completed fifteen pit stops by the end of hour thirteen.

Again, the No. 4 Mosler was having a race to forget. Calum Lockie went off track at one point and the car needed a throttle-body change.

In Class Three, the No. 68 was forced to make a reasonably lengthy pit stop for new brakes pads. Pitting from seventh, the length of the stop was sufficient to allow the No.6 Aquila up into that position. As a surprise to some onlookers, the Aquila was still going strong. Cor Euser was called into the pits reporting oversteer by his No. 57 Marcos Racing team. They were unable to find any problems but the time wasted in the pit lane dropped the team behind new class leaders Nicholas Mee Racing, who were running the No. 49 car.

Down in Class Four, the No. 89 BMW of Brunswick Automotive was still leading and eleventh overall. Michael Cox switched into the No. 77 BMW M3, taking over from his brother. The team had been languishing in the second half of the standings during the first half of the race, but were now up into the top 20.

2011 Britcar 24 Hours class leaders after hour thirteen

Class One:
1 – No.2 Ferrari – McInerney/McInerney/Keen
2 – No.3 Mosler – Beaumont/Fletcher/Draper/Hetherington
3 – No.1 Ferrari – Gamski/Robinson/Gaw/Dryburgh

Class Two:
1 – No.27 Marcos – Upton/Huggins/Fletcher/Orton
2 – No.5 Porsche – Konopka/O’Donnell/Myszkowski/Lewandowski/Edwards

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 – No.88 Honda – Smail/Meins/Lillingston-Price/Harding
3 – N0.84 Seat – Breukers/Thijssen/Jensiew

Topcats Racing (Photo Credit: Chris Gurton Photography)

At the half way point of the 2011 Britcar 24 Hours the lead trio remain relatively stagnant. All three leaders are Class One representatives, with the Eclipse Motorsport Ferrari still lead the Topcats Mosler and the no.1 MJC Ferrari.

All three are circulating at similar pace with laps in between them. However, the best racing on the track lies – also in the top ten – with the lead for Class Three.

The Nicholas Mee Racing Aston Martin and the Cor Euser led Marcos International run Lotus Evora have been running on the same lap, the Lotus twice taking the Class Three lead with a move on track, once either side of losing the lead during a scheduled pitstop.

The half way hour also ended the run of having all four classes present in the race inside the top ten, the moment coming when the Class Three Motionsport Lotus Elise passed Brunswick Automotive – the Class Four leaders – for tenth overall.

Also fighting in the lower half of the top ten is the Aquila, driving back from a driveshaft failure earlier in the night. Though now gaining ground at nowhere near the rate it was earlier in the race the Danish machine entered under Nigel Mustill‘s name has still been able to pull itself up to eighth, though still 19 laps off of the overall pace.

After the recent delay – and likely retirement – of the CTR Developments Lotus the Class Four leaderboard has been shuffled. The Mark Griffiths lead Brunswick Automotive BMW leads over the Mardi Gras Motorsport Honda Integra and the SEAT of Dutch Red Camel team.

Fourth in class is the Mazda MX5 of the four motoring journalists – the best of the three Jota run Mazda MX5s after both the armed forces car – also in Class Four – and the GT version suffered hefty delays early on.

2011 Britcar 24 Hours class leaders after hour twelve

Class One:
1 – No.2 Ferrari – McInerney/McInerney/Keen
2 – No.3 Mosler – Beaumont/Fletcher/Draper/Hetherington
3 – No.1 Ferrari – Gamski/Robinson/Gaw/Dryburgh

Class Two:
1 – No.27 Marcos – Upton/Huggins/Fletcher/Orton
2 – No.5 Porsche – Konopka/O’Donnell/Myszkowski/Lewandowski/Edwards

Class Three:
1 – No.57 Lotus – Euser/Prewitt/Brody/Freebird/McKinnon
2 – No.49 Aston Martin – Le Blanc/Van Lanschot/De Zille/Nimkoff
3 – No.68 BMW – Clarke/Gibson/Radcliffe/Hayes

Class Four:
1 – No.89 BMW – Griffiths/Green/Forsbrey/Kirkpatrick
2 – No.88 Honda – Smail/Meins/Lillingston-Price/Harding
3 – N0.84 Seat – Breukers/Thijssen/Jensiew/Han

Porsche 996 - Photo Credit: Chris Gurton Photography

Hour eleven at the Britcar 24 hour race, which took place between 02:30 and 03:30, provided us with action in the form of another safety car appearance and some change at the sharp end of Classes Three andFour.

The safety car came about 22 minutes into the eleventh hour after the No. 59 car, the MB Racing Aston Martin N24 GT4, had an incident at Copse after an ABS and gearbox failure. The car eventually made its way back round to the pits under its own steam and the safety car was out for less than ten minutes.

There was no change at the top during this hour. The leader remained the No. 2 Eclipse Motorsport Ferrari, which remained at the head of the pack despite a scheduled pit stop at the end of its 250th race lap.

At the end of hour, the No. 57 car, the Marcos Racing Lotus, took the lead of Class Three by overtaking car 49, the Nicholas Mee Racing Aston Martin GT4. The gap between the two was closing steadily throughout the hour and, eventually, the Lotus moved ahead.

The woes of the No.7 team depend after they received a 90-second stop/go penalty. However, in the grand scheme of things, the extra time did not make a huge amount of difference to their position, with the BMW Z4 already over eighty laps off the leader.

The Topcats Racing Marcos slipped a couple of places after a pit stop during hour eleven, but still remained comfortably at the top of Class 2.

The hour was rounded off by pit stops for cars 3 and 1, who were sitting second and third, respectively. These passed without incident and, by the end of hour eleven, the top three places where occupied exclusively by Class One vehicles.

Class One:

1 – No.2 Ferrari – McInerney/McInerney/Keen
2 – No.3 Mosler – Beaumont/Fletcher/Draper/Hetherington
3 – No.1 Ferrari – Gamski/Robinson/Gaw/Dryburgh

Class Two:
1 – No.27 Marcos – Upton/Huggins/Fletcher/Orton
2 – No.5 Porsche – Konopka/O’Donnell/Myszkowski/Lewandowski/Edwards

Class Three:
1 – No.57 Lotus – Euser/Prewitt/Brody/Freebird/McKinnon
2 – No.49 Aston Martin – Le Blanc/Van Lanschot/De Zille/Nimkoff
3 – No.68 BMW – Clarke/Gibson/Radcliffe/Hayes

Class Four:
1 – No.89 BMW – Griffiths/Green/Forsbrey/Kirkpatrick
2 – No.88 Honda – Smail/Meins/Lillingston-Price/Harding
3 – N0.84 Seat – Breukers/Thijssen/Jensiew/Han

Mazda MX5 (Photo Credit: Chris Gurton Photography)

With the night sky shadowing the Silverstone circuit, Eclipse Motorsport maintained its heady lead after ten hours of the Britcar 24 Hour race.

A stellar performance from the troupe in the Ferrari 430 held its three-lap lead over 2nd placed rivals Topcats Racing and their Mosler GT2 entry; however It was all change behind the leading pair.

Rising to third place were fellow Class 1 racers MJC. The squad, in their Ferrari 430 machine steadily climbed the order passing several Class Two and Three cars on its way to the podium position.

Having started the tenth hour in 6th place, the Gamski entry passed the Marcos Racing Lotus Evora (lap 225) and the Nicholas Mee Aston Martin (lap 232) to assume 4th place.

That would become 3rd due to a misfiring Topcats Racing Marcos Mantis GT3. The Class Two leaders lost several minutes repairing the issue, dropping to 4th upon release.

A routine stop helped Marcos International take the Class 3 lead and 5th overall ahead of the Nicholas Mee Aston.

Intersport’s BMW M3 runs a credible 7th, three laps adrift of the leading half-dozen. There was little to worry the BMW from behind – Dorset Sports Car Porsche was a further three laps off of the BMW in 8th.

Nigel Mustill’s Aquila CR1 entered the hour in 11th; however that became 9th as the Class 1 squad continue to recover their race, passing Pete Storey’s Lotus Elise before the hour was out.

Richard Chamberlain’s CTR Developments had also shown well. The Lotus Elise squad was sitting 8th for a time, until a wheel bearing failure threw the GT4 machine off circuit at Abbey. It was enough to bring out another safety car and drop the Class 4 squad to 20th overall.

Mardi Gras Motorsports were the biggest beneficiaries. CTR’s problem handed the Honda Integra team the Class 4 lead and 11th on the overall sheets.

2011 Britcar 24 Hours class leaders after hour ten

Class One:
1 – No.2 Ferrari – McInerney/McInerney/Keen
2 – No.3 Mosler – Beaumont/Fletcher/Draper/Hetherington
3 – No.1 Ferrari – Gamski/Robinson/Gaw/Dryburgh

Class Two:
1 – No.27 Marcos – Upton/Huggins/Fletcher/Orton
2 – No.5 Porsche – Konopka/O’Donnell/Myszkowski/Lewandowski/Edwards

Class Three:
1 – No.57 Lotus – Euser/Prewitt/Brody/Freebird/McKinnon
2 – No.49 Aston Martin – Le Blanc/Van Lanschot/De Zille/Nimkoff
3 – No.68 BMW – Clarke/Gibson/Radcliffe/Hayes

Class Four:
1 – No.88 Honda – Smail/Meins/Lillingston-Price/Harding
2 – No.89 BMW – Griffiths/Green/Forsbrey/Kirkpatrick
3 – N0.80 Honda – Stanbridge/Okumura/Wheeler/Hack

MJC Ltd's Ferrari 430 prepares to pull away from pitlane (Photo Credit: Chris Gurton Photography)

Hour nine saw a few driver swaps but otherwise there was little incident as the race leader brought the lap tally to over 200.

The No. 2 Eclipse Ferrari made its eleventh stop of the race at the end of its 199^th lap, pitting from a five lap lead. Phil Keen stepped out of the car to give Sean McInerney the opportunity to complete that double century of laps for the team.

Sporting a new piece of white race tape of the bonnet, but otherwise seeming to run beautifully, the blue and white Ferrari 430 emerged from the pits with a comfortable lead.

The No. 3 Topcats Mosler team also made their eleventh swap, using that opportunity to take Henry Fletcher out of the car and substitute him with Freddie Hetherington. The team continued to run in a comfortable second place.

Third in class one is still the No. 1 car – the MJC Ltd Ferrari 430 – which has steadily been recovering from some difficult opening hours to back up into sixth place overall. Fans of the Aquila will be pleased to know that John Martin was also back in the car and, if he can put in a stint as good as the last one, that yellow No. 6 car should once again be marching up the order in subsequent hours.

Other Class One cars were not fairing so well. The No.4 Strata 21 Mosler team, which a couple of hours ago seemed to be chipping away steadily at the huge gap between them and the leader cars, were now slipping back once again.

The No 7. BMW Z4 team are not having much to cheer either. They have encountered problem after problem with their brand new car this weekend and it was seen being pushed up the pit lane during the ninth hour. They were languishing some seventy laps behind the leaders, and the remaining fourteen hours will surely just be a test session for them.

2011 Britcar 24 Hours Class Leaders after Hour Nine:

Class One:
1 – No.2 Ferrari – McInerney/McInerney/Keen
2 – No.3 Mosler – Beaumont/Fletcher/Draper/Hetherington
3 – No.1 Ferrari – Gamski/Robinson/Gaw/Dryburgh

Class Two:
1 – No.27 Marcos – Upton/Huggins/Fletcher/Orton
2 – No.5 Porsche – Konopka/O’Donnell/Myszkowski/Lewandowski/Edwards

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.83 Lotus – Chamberlain/Randeria/Fillingham/Webb
2 – No.88 Honda – Smail/Meins/Lillingston-Price/Harding
3 – No.89 BMW – Griffiths/Green/Forsbrey/Kirkpatrick

Eclipse Motorsport pitstop (Photo Credit: Chris Gurton Photography)

Following the problems for the Aquila the previous hour the Eclipse Motorsport Ferrari continues to lead at the end of the eighth hour, with a three lap advantage over the Topcats Racing Mosler.

With Phil Keen at the wheel for an extended stint – a drinks bottle refill the only necessary alteration to the driver, performed as Keen stood aside while the fuel fill was completed.

In a greatly depleted Class Two the no.27 Marcos – again of Topcats Racing – lies nearly twenty laps clear of the ARC Bratislava Porsche – back out on track after losing an hour to noise abatement issues.

Nicholas Mee Racing’s Aston Martin continues to lead Class Three in an as yet untroubled run. The Marcos Racing Lotus Evora – the team led by Cor Euser now lies second with the BMW of Britcar regulars Intersport in third and seventh overall. The Lotus Elise of Motionsport – another Britcar regular represented on the 24 Hours grid lies fourth in class ahead of the Dorset Sports Cars Porsche in fifth.

The top five in Class Three are separated by four laps – from nine to 13 laps away from the overall lead – and the MJC Ferrari, still battling back after issues with the seat runners in the car allowing the seat to slide backwards – and only backwards.

The class four lead is still being held by the CTR Developments Lotus. Behind them second and third in class remain the same but the no.94 Rollcentre Racing Ginetta G40 that had been running fourth in class was hampered by a small fire caused by rubbish picked up around one of the wheels. Their misfortune has allowed the Synchro Motorsport Honda Civic up into fourth with the APO Sport SEAT – an early class pacesetter before driver Guy Parr was involved in an incident – fifth in class.

The hour also saw news about the cause of the previous safety car period. The 50 minute neutral period, starting at roughly 9:45pm, was caused by a multi-car incident at Maggotts, with several cars spinning off on oil. The no.85 Daniels Motorsport Honda Civic was the first to spin off – with marshals rushing to move the car.

Unfortunately the Jemco Racing Ginetta also spun on oil, striking – it would appear – one of the attending marshals. The report is that the marshal has suffered a broken leg, and has been taken to hospital in Northampton.

2011 Britcar 24 Hours Class Leaders after Hour Eight:

Class One:
1 – No.2 Ferrari – McInerney/McInerney/Keen
2 – No.3 Mosler – Beaumont/Fletcher/Draper/Hetherington
3 – No.1 Ferrari – Gamski/Robinson/Gaw/Dryburgh

Class Two:
1 – No.27 Marcos – Upton/Huggins/Fletcher/Orton
2 – No.5 Porsche – Konopka/O’Donnell/Myszkowski/Lewandowski/Edwards

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.83 Lotus – Chamberlain/Randeria/Fillingham/Webb
2 – No.88 Honda – Smail/Meins/Lillingston-Price/Harding
3 – No.89 BMW – Griffiths/Green/Forsbrey/Kirkpatrick

Follow live coverage from The Checkered Flag here: http://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2011/10/2011-britcar-24-hours-live-coverage/

Eclipse Motorsport makes a pitstop by night (Photo Credit: Chris Gurton Photography)

Hour seven saw the Aquila challenge falter at the Britcar 24 hours as a broken driveshaft confined the team to the garage.

The seventh hour began with the field still under the safety car and the No.6 Aquila had a comfortable lead of three laps. The 51-minute safety car period came to an end early in the hour and the racing resumed.

Then, 35 minutes into hour seven and the No.2 Eclipse Motorsport Ferrari, who had been catching the Aquila at a rate of about five seconds a lap, suddenly jumped up into the lead. The yellow Aquila had stopped out on track at Vale, and it continued to slide down the standings for the rest of the hour whilst the car was recovered and then worked on in the garage.

The No. 3 Topcats Racing Mosler received a 30-second stop/go penalty soon after the safety car came in. Despite this though, the team still managed to finish the hour in second, thanks to the failure of the Aquila.

Another Topcats Racing car – the No. 53 Marcos, also received a stop/go +30 penalty during hour seven, as did the Class Four No.99 MG.

Further down the field, the No.4 Mosler, which had earlier been suffering a fuel pressure regulation problem, was now fixed and setting lap times that were on a par with the leaders. They would have been back in contention but, unfortunately for the team, the repairs had left them 40 laps down.

2011 Britcar 24 Hours Class Leaders after Hour Seven:

Class One:
1 – No.2 Ferrari – McInerney/McInerney/Keen
2 – No.3 Mosler – Beaumont/Fletcher/Draper/Hetherington
3 – No.1 Ferrari – Gamski/Robinson/Gaw/Dryburgh

Class Two:
1 – No.27 Marcos – Upton/Huggins/Fletcher/Orton
2 – No.5 Porsche – Konopka/O’Donnell/Myszkowski/Lewandowski/Edwards
3 – No.30 Ginetta – Tomlinson/Short/Turkington/Simspson/Nicoll-Jones

Class Three:
1 – No.57 Lotus – Euser/Prewitt/Brody/Freebird/McKinnon
2 – No.49 Aston Martin – Le Blanc/Van Lanschot/De Zille/Nimkoff
3 – No.46 Lotus – Storey/Mitson/Gower/Rowland

Class Four:
1 – No.83 Lotus – Chamberlain/Randeria/Fillingham/Webb
2 – No.88 Honda – Smail/Meins/Lillingston-Price/Harding
3 – No.89 BMW – Griffiths/Green/Forsbrey/Kirkpatrick

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2011 Britcar 24 Hours (Photo Credit: Chris Gurton Photography)

Nigel Mustill’s Aquila CR1 maintained his three-lap lead come six hours of the Britcar 24 Hours at Silverstone, although they did so with some controversy.

As the Aquila cycled around, lead pilot John Martin was thought to have exceeded the three-hour driving limit; however the team argued otherwise.

Mustill’s entry headed the no.27 Topcats Racing Marcos Mantis machine in second spot, while respective third and fourth place runners Michael McInerney Eclipse Motorsports Ferrari and Topcats Racing Mosler GT2 lagged a short distance behind.

“Not too bad,” an understated Martin descibed his stint. ”We pushed on as much as we could obviously we pushed a little bit more until we got to the lead then the whole last stint was pretty much cruise, try and save as much fuel and car as possible, so try not to use the brakes. At first it’s a bit hard to drive – as a driving style I’ve never really had to do that but then you try to challenge yourself. ‘Can I get through Maggotts and Becketts with no brakes?’ Yes, tick. ‘How early can I lift off the throttle and still do a nine or a ten. Little games to keep yourself awake. Plus of course the traffic, it’s like driving around the M25. You’re passing Civics and they’re flat out so you’ve got to give them a bit of room.”

Indeed the lead Topcats machine garnered the runner-up position while others around him pitted repeatedly.  It was a strategy that also kept the Topcats machine top of Class Two.

By the 138^th lap, the Marcos Mantis machine had stopped four times, compared to the nine and eight by the McInerney and Mosler cars.

Nicholas Mee Racing‘s Aston Martin assumed 5^th place and the top of Class 3 at the race’s quarter distance ahead of Marcos Racing Lotus Evora, with Intersport’s BMW M3 a lap adrift.

Motionsport maintained 8^th position in their Lotus Elise GT4.  A solid gap keeps the Lotus one lap of Paul Winter’s Dorset Sports Cars Porsche 996 GT3 entry in 9^th, although MJC’s Ferrari 430 (10^th) may soon deprive the Porsche of his position.

The safety car emerged early in the hour.  Dropped oil caused the number no.85 Daniels Motorsports Honda Civic to go off, only to be collected moments later by the no.47 Jemco Racing Ginetta.

2011 Britcar 24 Hours class leaders after hour six

Class One:
1 – No.6 Aquila – Mustill/Berridge/Evans/Martin
2 – No.2 Ferrari – McInerney/McInerney/Keen
3 – No.3 Mosler – Beaumont/Fletcher/Draper/Hetherington

Class Two
1 – No.27 Marcos – Upton/Huggins/Fletcher/Orton
2 – No.5 Porsche – Konopka/O’Donnell/Myszkowski/Lewandowski/Edwards
3 – No.30 Ginetta – Tomlinson/Short/Turkington/Simpson/Nicoll-Jones

Class Three
1 – No.57 Lotus – Euser/Prewitt/Briody/Freebird/McKinnon
2 – No.49 Aston Martin – Le Blanc/van Lanschot/De Zille/Nimkoff
3 - No.66 Porsche – Winter/Mundy/Morris/Speed/Raven

Class Four
1 – No.83 Lotus – Chamberlain/Randeria/Fillingham/Webb
2 – No.88 Honda – Smail/Meins/Lillingston-Price/Harding
3 – No.89 BMW – Griffiths/Green/Forsbrey/Kirkpatrick