British Endurance Championship

FF Corse Return to Winning Ways Ahead of Beechdean ‘Legends’

2 Mins read

After their race one disappointment FF Corse drivers Calum Lockie and David Mason resumed their domination of the MSA British Dunlop Endurance Championship with a victory by two laps over Beechdean Motorsport’s Aston Martin Vantage GT4.

The winning margin was due to the differing fortunes of the two teams in the second half of the 90 minute race. Having been given a four lap lead by Lockie when he took over the car with 40 minutes remaining Mason was able to ease home. He was able to take the strain off the worn tyres beneath the Ferrari 458 Challenge, as well as bring the car to the checkered flag following the team’s repair job, which Mason was quick to praise after the race.

There was a brief scare during the pitstop with smoke once more rising from the machine as it sat stationary. Fortunately, this time it was not the sign of a serious problem and Mason was able to go on to take the win that all but confirmed the pair as 2015 champions as second in the points Nick Holden was an early retirement in his Ariel Atom.

While Mason was moderating his pace Beechdean driver Andrew Howard was setting his fastest laps of the day. He regularly took four seconds a lap back from the Ferrari, sufficient to twice unlap himself around the 1.85 mile Silverstone International circuit. Howard’s performance secured a second runner-up result for the ‘legends’ line-up for the weekend (one of their rivals described the combination of Howard and Paul Hollywood as one ‘legend of British GT’ and one ‘legend of British TV’).

Chris Valentine and Fareed Ali were the men who made the lofty observations of their competitors and they added a second Endurance Championship podium finish to their day in the Porsche Boxter.

The Anglo-Canadian pair also finished third in the trophy standings for the second time of the day, finishing behind Steve Glynn’s TVR and the Chevrolet CR8 of Gary Simms. Glynn doubled his count of winner’s trophies, having also come out ahead in the first race of the day, but he did so only after a seven second stop go for Simms off set the delay of a longer than expected pitstop for the TVR driver.

Early in the race he had been the second quickest man on track, proving the Sagaris’ pace by taking second overall from the Hollywood driven Beechdean Vantage GT4 that had started the race from pole position.

James McIntyre-Ure was fourth among the trophy runners. Darrelle Wilson was another of the retirements early in the race.

2902 posts

About author
James is our Diet-Coke fuelled writer and has been with TCF pretty much since day 1, he can be found frequenting twitter at @_JBroomhead
Articles
Related posts
British Endurance ChampionshipMaurice Henry Column

Maurice Henry Column: Character Building

3 Mins read
2023 tested us with endurance racing challenges, pushing an ex-British Touring car in Class C. Despite DNFs and setbacks, adapting to diverse BTCC cars was a valuable learning experience. Securing 2nd in Class showcased our determination and fitness. Looking ahead to 2024, I aim for quantifiable success, seeking wins in a level playing field.
British Endurance ChampionshipBTCCFeaturesMaurice Henry Column

Maurice Henry Column: BTCC Racer

3 Mins read
Maurice Henry talks about his latest move in the motorsport world, joining Team HARD. as he chases the BTCC dream.
24 Hours of Le MansBritish Endurance ChampionshipFIA WECInterviewsSportscars

The car behind Brabham's return to the race track - BT62

8 Mins read
David Brabham and Will Powell piloted the Brabham BT62 to victory on its on-track debut at Brands Hatch earlier this month, and shed more light to The Checkered Flag on plans to return an iconic name to elite level motorsport.