The second round of the 2014 Blancpain Endurance Series at Silverstone began in miserable wet conditions as the teams’ bronze-rated drivers put in an hour of practice. The session was interrupted by several red flags due to cars ending up in the gravel.
Torrential rain caught out Miguel Faisca in the #35 RJN Nissan GT-R on his out lap. The car made contact with the barrier and sustained some light front-end damage, but should be repairable in time for tomorrow morning’s free practice sessions.
Andrew Howard also ended up in the gravel in the Beechdean Aston (a one-off entry at this round), as did Vadim Kogay in the #333 GT Corse by Rinaldi Ferrari. The sister #458 car got stuck on a kerb with 10 minutes raining, bringing out the red flags, and the session did not restart
At the final red flag, it was Henry Hassid who topped the times for TDS Racing (in the #12 BMW Z4) with a lap of 2:26.385. Next up was the #128 Horsepower Racing Aston, courtest of Andy Schulz’s efforts, followed by the #90 Villorba Corsa Ferrari.
Fourth-fastest was the ROAL Motorsport BMW Z4, which this round has Michela Cerruti on the driver line-up after she missed Monza in favour of the Auto GP race at Marrakech. “It was very dangerous at the start of the session, there was a lot of aquaplaning,” she said. “But once it stopped raining, the behaviour of the car was not too bad, not so nervous. Okay, there’s not a lot of grip, but I was pretty happy.”
Fellow BMW Z4 runners Ecurie Ecosse were also reasonably optimistic. “It’s our first time running on the Pirelli wets, so that will take some getting used to,” noted Olly Bryant. “Of course we’d love a sunny weekend, but the Z4 is strong in the wet.”
Silverstone in the wet is a common experience for GT Academy graduates, who do a great deal of their driver training here, but as Nick McMillen explained, GT3 is still a whole new ball game. “It feels totally different to the 370Z GT4, so I was mainly playing around with different lines through the corners, trying dry and wet lines to see what worked best.”
Co-driver Alex Buncombe thinks the Nissan is in good shape if conditions stay as they are for Sunday. “The car works well with the Pirelli wet, and I was able to gain a lot of places in my stint here during the wet race in 2012, so we should be okay, even if it is very slippery out there.”
Overall the entry list for Silverstone is largely unchanged from Monza, but there are a few comings and going to note. After being replaced at Monza by Mark Shulzitsky due to a delay in getting his visa, the 2013 Russian GT Academy winner Stanislav Aksenov has now taken up his place in the #35 car alongisde Faisca and Katusmasa Chiyo.
There have also been a few changes in the Pro Cup entry for this round. Reiter Engineering – who were supposed to use their new SaNeNi Camaro at Monza but instead ran their usual Lamborghini Gallardo on short notice due to teething problems – will not be competing this weekend. They’re running the Camaro at the Lausitzring ADAC GT Masters round. AF Racing was originally down to run a pair of Lamborghinis from this round onwards, but are also absent from the paddock.
Several British teams have joined the BES grid for this weekend, some no doubt eager to have some extra track time ahead of next weekend’s three-hour event for the national series. The aforementioned Andrew Howard is joined by Aston debutant Daniel Lloyd and regular factory driver Alex MacDowall, while the Generation Bentley and Triple Eight BMW Z4 of Ryan Ratcliffe, Derek Johnston and Lee Mowle.
VLN regulars Leonard Motorsport Aston Martin have Stuart Leonard, Paul Wilson and Aston works driver Johnny Adam at the wheel, while British GT outfit Horsepower Racing have entered the #43 Vantage in the Gentlemen Trophy category, driven by Paul Bailey and Andy Schulz.
“It’s partly to get mileage for Silverstone next weekend, but also to allow Paul to get a feel for Blancpain and see if it’s something he might want to do in the next year or two,” Schulz told us. “It’s certainly quite daunting to come into – it’s probably the quickest GT series in Europe – and it was definitely difficult in that rain. The car was letting go suddenly and the brakes weren’t quite as good as we’d like, so not an ideal introduction so far.”
MP Motorsport is running the full BES schedule this season, but like the one-off entries will be looking to exploit its local knowledge against tough opposition. “We’re hoping to carry the momentum from this race last year, where we finished second,” said Richard Abra, “and we’ve dialled out a couple of issues that held us back at Monza. We tested at Paul Ricard for a few days last week and the car felt great, so we’re looking good.”
Elsewhere, Bernd Schnieder will be filling in for Maximilian Buhk this weekend in the #10 HTP Motorsport SLS. The German, who drove for the team last year at the Spa 24 Hours, has been drafted in while Buhk competes for the team in ADAC GT Masters.
Kessel Racing’s #111 entry in the Gentlemen Trophy is also subject to a driver change. Danielli Perfetti, who drove for the team at Monza, is being replaced by Markus Mahy to partner Freddy Kremer and American Stephen Earle. He will also join the team for the Spa 24 Hours later this year.
Finally, the Sainteloc Racing #26 Audi R8 has had a makeover this weekend. The French squad opting for a black and white, hexagonal patterned livery instead of their usual chrome and blue.
Stephen Errity & Stephen Kilbey
