Ahmad Al Harthy was clearly not happy as he sat in the Oman Racing garage after the two qualifying sessions late on Friday evening; “I’m disappointed to have missed pole in my session,” he said, “but we were nowhere in the second session – Michael was only 20th – and it’s because the car is now so heavy that we can’t squeeze any more out of it round here!” But the Omani racer’s mood was destined to get a whole lot better the following morning, as quick work from his team ensured that he and Jeff Smith went to the grid for the first race with slick tyres already fitted.
Why was this significant? Well, the race had officially been declared wet about 30 minutes before the scheduled start time as a result of persistent drizzle and overnight rain. It would begin with two laps behind the Safety Car, with the clock starting to count down at the end of the first of these. As cars started to leave the pits, however, Oman Racing spotted that there was little or no spray from cars at Eau Rouge (the drizzle having stopped by then) and the #4 and #5 Aston Martin Vantages had their wets swapped for slicks before being sent out. Only a couple of other cars did the same, but there were mixed reports from the drivers who had left on wets – some wanted to swap and others wanted to stay on cut rubber.
Pole-sitter Marco Attard, in the #79 Ecurie Ecosse BMW Z4, was one of several drivers to make the decision to pit for slicks, but he then found the pitlane exit closed and he would have to take the start from there. He was joined by Jon Minshaw (#63 Porsche), Paul Bailey (#28 Aston), François Perrodo (#16 Ferrari), Jody Firth (#12 Porsche), Mark Patterson (#23 Audi) and Gary Eastwood (#18 Ferrari) and they could do nothing but wait as Al Harthy set off at the head of the pack for the first of the Safety Car laps.
As the clock started to tick down, with the completion of the lap, Andrew Howard realised that slicks was the only way forward and the #1 Beechdean Aston headed into the pits, along with Phil Dryburgh (#6 Aston), John Dhillon (#13 Ferrari), Paul White (#21 Aston), Timur Sardarov (#78 BMW) and Steve Tandy (#2 Bentley). Moments later, the existing queue in the pitlane was released; and five minutes after that, the race finally went green.
Even at this stage the track was mostly dry enough for the slicks to work and the two Oman Racing cars started to pull away; but there was still just enough moisture left for wet tyres to work and both Yannick Mallegol in the #15 AF Corse Ferrari and Sir Chris Hoy in the #80 RJN Nissan managed to get between the two Astons before the first racing lap was complete. However, Al Harthy enjoyed a 2.420s lead as the lap was completed, and this had extended to a mighty 9.470s a lap later.
By this point Mallegol and Hoy were already falling down the order on overheating tyres, and it was the #63 Trackspeed Porsche of Jon Minshaw that held second from Smith after a blistering opening stint.
The Demon Tweeks boss had been the first in the queue for slicks before the start and had taken advantage of warmer rubber to make rapid progress before the colder slicks on the Oman cars came up to temperature; the #63 Porsche going from 12th to sixth to second in consecutive laps. However, with his Joker now played, Minshaw found that closing the gap to Al Harthy was suddenly a much harder proposition and the #4 Vantage remained around eight seconds ahead of the Porsche.
Marco Attard had fared less well on his release from the pitlane and found himself trapped behind a gaggle of battling cars on different rubber and thus was unable to take advantage of his warm tyres.
The Ecosse BMW had dropped to 13th and was stuck there for the first four laps as the order fluctuated around him, but on Lap 5 rose to eighth after taking Perrodo and as several wet-shod cars faded. Two laps later, though, the French driver took the position back from the Scot and Mark Bailey also took back the place that Attard had won from him two laps earlier.
With such a confused start, there was action wherever you looked in the field. Mark Patterson was hit by Gary Eastwood on the first green lap at La Source, as the FF Corse Ferrari struggled for grip, but while both cars lost ground – the Audi falling to 22nd and the Ferrari to 34th – they were able to continue and the US-based South African was back up to 13th by Lap 6.
Colin White was still on wets in the #40 IDL-CWS Ginetta G55 GT3, but was managing to hold on to fourth nonetheless – much to the frustration of Derek Johnston in the #888 Triple Eight BMW (who also started on slicks) who could see the top three disappearing off into the distance at the rate of five seconds a lap. Worse was to follow for the Z4, however, as White’s stubbornness had resulted in a lengthy cue of impatient GT3s forming, and on Lap 8 Pasin Lathouras, Jody Firth and François Perrodo all went by and the #888 dropped to eighth. White could no longer hold back the tide on his fading tyres, but as the #29 Ferrari and the #12 Porsche made a move at the Bus Stop Chicane on Lap 9, the Ginetta moved over and pushed the Ferrari into the Porsche. Lathouras was able to continue with rear damage, but the Porsche’s radiator had been damaged and Firth’s run of lousy luck continued.
White was later hit with a 30s penalty for his actions.
By the end of Lap 9, Minshaw still trailed Al Harthy by just over eight seconds, while Smith had dropped back a further 12 seconds, while still holding a more than comfortable 26s over Perrodo, now in fourth. The pit window opened very soon afterwards and Smith was the first to stop, followed half a minute later by Howard and Attard; the Beechdean Aston having taken ninth place from the Ecosse BMW on Lap 8. But the #1 would have an additional 15 seconds to serve at the stop on account of its win at Snetterton, and the advantage swung back to the #79 Z4, in terms of the championship-fight at least.
Al Harthy stayed out for two more laps before handing over to Michael Caine, and once the pit-window fog had cleared the 2012 champion led Phil Keen in the #63 Trackspeed Porsche by 4.526s at the end of Lap 12 and with 29 minutes still on the clock. Johnston had the further misfortune to spin on his inlap, leaving Luke Hines in tenth in the #888 Z4 when he joined the race, while Perrodo briefly led in the #16 458 on his BGT debut, before Manu Collard made his series debut in the car in fifth. However, the Frenchman was soon deposed by Matt Bell in the United Autosports Audi on Lap 14 and he would have no answer to the R8 thereafter.
All attention was now on the battle for the lead, which was getting ever closer as Caine tried to stay ahead in his heavily-ballasted Aston; but even with his weight advantage, Keen could do no more than trim a few tenths off with each lap. Rory Butcher was comfortable in third in the #5 Vantage, while Alexander Sims was by now up to fourth in #79, but almost half-a-minute adrift of the top three.
Jonny Adam found himself right behind the #2 Generation Bentley Continental GT3 of James Appleby (who had taken over from Steve Tandy ) after joining the race in the Beechdean Aston, and was now fighting for 11th. But while it might have been expected that the Aston would breeze past the Bentley, the Scot was discovering that the Continental was a much tougher opponent. After it was discovered that the new BOP map had resulted in an incurable misfire, David Appleby was authorised to use the Snetterton map by SRO (after Qualifying) and the team and car were much happier thereafter. It took a full eight laps to finally overcome Appleby’s resistance – the Bentley losing and then retaking the place on Lap 15 – which didn’t leave long for the championship leader to find a way into the points.
The gap at the front got smaller with every lap until, on Lap 20, with just nine minutes remaining, the #63 Porsche finally found the gap its driver had been looking for and was through into the lead.
Instead of pulling away, though, Keen found that Caine was staying with him and the chase continued until time ran out and the flag was flown at the end of lap 23; Keen’s margin of victory being just 1.311s.
“We had a puncture yesterday so I had that in the back of my mind just to look after the car, but I caught Michael Caine and had plenty of time to find a way past,” said Phil Keen. “John gave me a good car, I just brought it home.”
“I’m very happy with the win,” said Jon Minshaw. “Competing in the Spa 6 Hours every year for the last 15 years has certainly helped! I know the track here pretty much as well as I know my home circuit, Oulton Park, so it’s like my second home here.”
“That was great”, said a much happier Ahmad Al Harthy. “My stint was really strong, we made the right call with the tyres from the start and so we began in P1 because of that. Unfortunately, with the extra weight we had to carry, the Porsche was quicker in sector one and it was always going to happen that we’d end up P2. Second place, though, was a great result and I was really happy with my driving.”
Rory Butcher brought the #5 Aston home for a double-podium celebration for Oman Racing; the first silverware in GT3 for he and Jeff Smith.
“Really happy with that,” said Butcher. “The team made a great call to get us out on slicks and Jeff did a great job in his stint. All I had to do was bring her home. I spent most of my stint getting a feel for the car and seeing if there were any changes we could make for Race 2.”
Alexander Sims was still almost 20 seconds adrift in fourth at the flag, while Matt Bell and Manu Collard rounded out the top six.
“It was a big challenge, but to be honest it was needed,” reflected Marco Attard. “I just could not believe how dry the other side of the circuit was, considering what it was like at this side and the pits. I know it’s expected at Spa, but it was so dry after Eau Rouge. We all had to make the change, so there’s no point looking back on it. I was happy with fourth, but I would have liked to be higher. Fourth is a good start, and thankfully getting double pole has helped us. With a bit of luck, Alexander can make the most of that in his stint and I can take it easy for mine!”
Richard Lyons was seventh in the #29 AF Corse Ferrari, while Tom Sharp held off Andy Schulz’s #28 Aston for eighth in the #40 Ginetta. Jonny Adam had taken tenth from Luke Hines at around the same time as the lead had changed hands, but Colin White’s penalty meant that the Ginetta was demoted to 17th after the race, promoting Schulz and Adam to eight and ninth and giving James Appleby – who just held off Richard Abra’s #38 Aston – the final championship point.
Even though it remained cool and overcast for the next few hours, the rain stayed away and so there would be no tyre confusion at the start of the second race, scheduled for 13:50. All 25 GT3s were present and correct on the grid and Alexander Sims led them away in the #79 Ecurie Ecosse BMW behind the pace car.
Pre-race chat in the media room had settled on the consensus that Sims would quickly pull away unless Jonny Adam, starting second, could get ahead on the opening lap.
However, what nobody had foreseen was the RJN Nissan GT-R of Wolfgang Reip making a better start from third and taking the lead along the Kemmel Straight on Lap 1, as can be seen on the video below (from 3:00):
Sims hung on to second, but Adam’s start was a nightmare; the Scot being swallowed up by the pack and dropping to eighth – and then losing a further place to Manu Collard’s #15 Ferrari on the second lap. Tom Onslow-Cole, meanwhile, had already demonstrated his pace in the #21 Strata21 Aston Martin in Race 1 with fastest lap, and was now third and chasing Sims for second. Behind him, remarkably, was the Ginetta G55 of Tom Sharp, which had gone from ninth to fourth after an excellent start.
Just as teammate Colin White had done in Race 1, Sharp defended his position despite clearly lacking the pace of many of his pursuers and a large queue formed behind the Ginetta.
However, the rear left wheel of the #40 was smoking noticeably and bottoming-out at Eau Rouge and seemingly getting worse with every lap; and on Lap 5 the wheel gave way and the car was pitched backwards into the tyrewall.
The impact was a heavy one, but Sharp was quickly out of the car and unhurt, and with it being in a place of danger the Safety Car was scrambled to allow the recovery operation to take place.
This took the pressure off Reip for the time being – the Belgian having maintained a 0.8s lead over Sims so far – but allowed the pack to close back up to the top three having fallen nine seconds behind TOC in third. It was, however, a welcome development for Michael Caine, who had been forced to pit the #4 Aston on Lap 3 with smoke pouring from the rear-right wheel. The car had been hit from behind by the #3 Rosso Verde Ferrari of Benny Simonsen (three times) and it was thought that this had caused a puncture.
However, when Caine arrived at his pit box, it was discovered that the tyre was intact but that the bodywork had been rubbing on it. The Oman Racing team changed the tyre and sent him back out, but he was almost a full lap adrift. The caution period, however, helped him pull back almost two minutes before it ended on Lap 7.
Reip again made a faultless start and continued to lead, while further back Toni Vilander took the blue and white #15 AF Corse Ferrari to fourth at the expense of Joe Osborne in the #88 Triple Eight BMW. Further back, the United Audi of Matt Bell was crawling along the Kemmel Straight after losing a tyre at Eau Rouge. This was a result of Richard Abra getting it wrong in the chicane at the end of the Safety Car period and running into the back of the Audi in his Aston (for which he would receive a fine and the loss of six championship points). The Audi was able to get back to the pits for a new tyre, but had dropped to dead last.
Rory Butcher had a moment on the restart lap, losing position to the FF Ferrari of Adam Carroll, and the AF Ferraris of Richard Lyons and Aaron Scott, but he regained 11th on the next lap after passing the #13 458 and was up to tenth a lap later after passing the #29.
The pit window was now open, but there was no driver-change activity just yet. The top four were covered by under three seconds and none of the quartet looked likely to be heading pitwards any time soon. Phil Keen, however, was headed for the pits, but this was as a result of contact from another car. Jon Minshaw took over, but just a couple of laps later was forced to retire with suspension failure.
As the race passed the halfway point, the GT3 cars began to pit – Luke Hines, Butcher, Lyons, Abra, Jonny Cocker (#78 BMW), Steven Kane (#17 Bentley) and James Appleby being the first. Moments later, however, the Safety Car was once again leaving the pits. Derek Johnston had lost control of the #888 BMW on his outlap and crashed heavily at the exit to Les Combes. Again the driver was unhurt, but the track was strewn with bits of bodywork.
As soon as the SC boards came out, the call went out for the remaining cars to pit and they all did before the leader could be picked up. Thus, the #69 GT4 Porsche found itself the first car behind the Safety Car.
We now had Sir Chris Hoy in P1 in the #80 Nissan, with Marco Attard second, Lee Mowle third in the #88 Z4, Paul White fourth in the Strata21 Aston, Gary Eastwood fifth in the #18 Ferrari and Andrew Howard sixth in the #1 Aston.
But the Safety Car continued to circulate – very slowly – as the minutes ticked by and there was no indication of when the restart might be given. The wave-by took place with 16 minutes to go, but still the lights stayed on.
Eventually, the timing screen showed that the caution would be coming to an end at the end of Lap 16, but this would mean less than eight minutes of racing remaining. Chris Hoy made a good start to hold onto his lead into La Source and through Eau Rouge, and it looked like the power of the Nissan may be enough to keep him there; but before Sector 2 had been completed, Attard was through and into the lead.
Mowle hung on to third and White to fourth on Lap 17, but Howard was up to fifth after getting past Eastwood and was expected to progress still further in the last two laps. Almost immediately, though, the Aston began to drop back as a burst radiator hose took effect; the defending champion eventually being classified 15th and out of the points.
Things were going better for Jody Firth as the #12 Trackspeed Porsche tore through the top ten at the restart; the Yorkshireman going from tenth to fifth in the space of two laps and challenging Eastwood for fourth.
At the head of the field, Attard looked comfortable as he pulled out a three-second lead over Hoy’s Nissan and he took the flag after 19 laps to claim his second win of the year and to take the lead in the title chase with two races to go. Oh, and he also received the Blancpain Gentlemen Trophy to boot.
“It’s fantastic to win the race and get the award,” said Attard. “I’m a lot less stressed after that, end of the weekend and it’s gone well. We had the rub of the green, Alexander did great and so did the team. They’re always that one step ahead.”
“It was a shame the Nissan got us with its straight line speed,” said Alexander Sims. “We couldn’t get past him, so the two safety cars mixed it up for us. It wasn’t the most eventful race, but it was a straight-forward weekend and results have been great.”
Sir Chris Hoy and Wolfgang Reip were also delighted with their first podium finish in British GT.
“I knew I had to push, the team told me, so I did,” said Reip. “The Nissan’s straight line speed meant I have the advantage over Alexander Sims. After I had the clear track, I built up the gap, but it was annoying that the safety car stopped that. We did a good pit stop for Chris to take over. The second safety car was a little more in our favour. It’s my second race in Spa, and my second podium here, it’s amazing.”
“It was a tense wait to get out there, the car had a good gap, but after the safety car it became a different challenge,” said Hoy. “When I went out, there was the potential for GT4 traffic, but thankfully it wasn’t there. I had to let the BMW through, but to be fair he was quicker than me too. Being in second was a new experience for me, you don’t think about what’s behind you, the less excited you are, the easier it becomes. I kept it simple, as I’m still learning and it’s not second nature to me yet. I finished off the end of the race, as Wolfgang did the work, and he deserves the credit. This is an amazing venue to get a podium.”
The battle for the final podium place would not be decided until the final second, with Eastwood making a move on Mowle at the chicane. The BMW forced the Ferrari wide out of the corner, but in so doing lost momentum. Eastwood recovered to swoop past the Z4 and grab third, while Firth also pounced to take fourth by the smallest of margins from Mowle.
“The #88 BMW was losing time and had used up a lot of their tyres,” said Eastwood. “They’re too quick for us early on, but afterwards, late on we can catch up and after he defended well, I was able to take the gap and grab third.”
“It was a fabulous scrap to the flag of which I thoroughly enjoyed!” said Firth. “Finishing fourth is the first time we have been able to show what we are capable of. Terrible bad luck so far has dented what could have been a promising season.”
Paul White lost out in the dash to the flag, but was able to defend sixth from Yannick Mallegol, while Pasin Lathouras (#29 Ferrari), Phil Dryburgh (#6 Aston) and, remarkably – given their earlier problem and an extra 10 seconds at the stop – Ahmad Al Harthy (#4 Aston) finished in the points.
Marco Attard emerged from Spa with a healthy lead in the title race, and could now potentially take the title at Brands Hatch. But things are far from settled and several teams remain in the hunt:
130.5 – Marc Attard
111.5 – Alexander Sims
107 – Andrew Howard & Jonny Adam
93 – Ahmad Al Harthy & Michael Caine
81 – Jon Minshaw & Phil Keen
58.5 – Gary Eastwood
The next round takes place at Brands Hatch – a happy hunting ground for Beechdean – at the end of August, with the season finalé following on a fortnight later at Donington Park.
MH
