Although the aggregate times of two ten minute sessions might not be terribly indicative of the outcome of a three hour, three-stop race, a good grid position should nevertheless help a car stay out of trouble and make the best of its start here tomorrow.
The GT3 AM field was first on the agenda, back to full strength with David Ashburn back aboard his distinctively liveried ‘997, a new Porsche engine installed and one of the first on track.
Ross Wylie got down to business early with the first flyer, a 2:04.961 the marker to Steve Tandy’s Ginetta in second, this position stolen by team mate Rick Parfitt within seconds of its posting. The second front row slot was seemed the best anyone else could mange as it traded back and forth between Gary Eastwood’s Ferrari, Ian Loggie’s Audi and Gilles Vannelet’s McLaren before Ahmad Al Harthy broke the loop and went fastest with a 2:04.856. This wouldn’t last long though as Andrew Howard showed what could be done with an Aston Martin around Silverstone, sticking a 2:04.390 at the top of the time screen that would remain to the chequered flag. It was looking like an Aston 1-2-3 until Vannelet took third to split Ahmad Al Harthy’s and Liam Griffin’s Oman Racing Vantages.
With only a second covering the top five, Marco Attard had the best of the ‘Am’ BMW’s in fifth ahead of Ross Wylie’s McLaren and Ian Loggie’s Audi R8. Lee Mowle ended up eighth for Triple Eight Racing after a stronger showing earlier on.
It looked like an Aston Martin might be the car to have as Rory Butcher took his #6 Oman Racing Vantage GT3 into the top slot on aggregate as the Pro drivers hit the track. The lap was something of a false dawn though as his 2:03.233 was smashed by Alexander Sims’ Ecurie Ecosse BMW with a 2:01.979. Mike Simpson had briefly been second in the #32 Ginetta, continuing a solid showing here today, but was no match for a cluster of cars finding their real qualifying pace: Daniel Lloyd took third for Oman Racing in the #2 Aston, with Phil Keen’s Demon Tweeks BMW Z4 showing well in fourth, the Simpson / Tandy Ginetta slipping away.
Pole position was to be shaken up again though as the field considered its last laps: Adrian Quaife-Hobbs lined up a great middle and final sector to grab pole for the #12 McLaren 650S. His glory was short lived however as Jonny Adam pulled another pole-winning lap out of the bag for Beechdean AMR with a minute to go. His 2:01.697 achieved an aggregate time of 4:06.087, just shy of a second clear of the McLaren’s. Sims and Attard would have to settle for third place.
While all this was occurring Joe Osborne had sneaked the Triple Eight BMW back to fourth on aggregate, the car looking very steady ahead of tomorrow’s race.
Andrew Howard: “We didn’t have any concerns. The Am drivers absolutely rely on the aero here, the Pros maybe less so. It’s about confidence in that balance, we’ve been here plenty of times before so we know where we should be in that respect and can work the set up.”
Adrian Quaife-Hobbs: “It’s only my third time in a GT car but it felt great and I know this circuit very well. I only got the call for this on Thursday, but Gilles and I are under no illusion: we’ve been brought here to win.”
GT4 qualifying showed the pace of the ISSY Racing Lotus Evora. Oz Yusuf scrapped hard for pole with Jamie Chadwick’s Beechdean Aston Martin in the Am session, trading laps in the low 2:15’s while Graham Johnson and Alistair Barclay got close with their Ginettas, Terry Langley’s Quantamatic Aston Martin also in the hunt at the sharp end of the grid. The Chadwick / Yusuf battle was fierce, just thousandths in their trade for pole. Yusuf posted a 2:15.047 to steal the position with seconds to go but this seemed to be disallowed – the time went red on the screen, the #77 car’s Team Manager summoned to Race Control for exceeding track limits. Jamie Chadwick delivered a last gasp 2:15.076 which was good enough in the circumstances: first blood to Beechdean again, or so it seemed. As Chadwick pitted at the flag Richard Williams stole the show with a 2:15.002; the #86 Toyota GT86 had looked like a dark horse all day.
“That was some lap!” exclaimed the GPRM driver, “It’s my first time on the new GP circuit so I’m really happy with that. The team has done a lot of work since Rockingham. The new developments we’ve made are really showing and we’re targeting a podium.”
The GT4 Pro session swung things back in favour of the Lotus however as Gavan Kershaw got down to business. A couple of seconds quicker, his early posting of 2:13.575 was enough to put the #77 Evora on aggregate pole. At 4:28.694 the ISSY Racing pairing showed cohesion and consistency, though their margin over the second placed GPRM GT86 was slim. Chris Hodgetts put in some strong laps, the rapidly improving #86 Toyota ending up just under two tenths adrift.
Ross Gunn secured third place for Beechdean, with the #55 and #50 PMW Expo / Optimum Ginettas fourth and fifth. With only three quarters of a second covering the top four aggregate times and three hours to shake things out GT4 is looking hugely competitive for tomorrow’s race, which starts at 12:20 pm local time.
Combined GT3 Qualifying Times >>
Combined GT4 Qualifying Times >>
Martin Little
