2013 British GT Championship – Rd 1, Oulton Park
By Nat Twiss
Britain's premier GT Series, the Avon Tyres British GT Championship kicked off with an explosive start last weekend at the picturesque Oulton Park circuit.
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| Race 1 began with the #15 Fortec Mercedes AMG SLS GT3 on pole position, after a blistering qualifying time of 1:37.098, two tenths faster than the second place of the #27 Vita4One 458 of Jay Palmer and Mateo Bobbi. |
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| Although the circuit was dry, conditions remained difficult as the biting wind and cold temperatures made heating the tyres incredibly challenging. On the warm-up lap, the Vita4One car found itself buried in the Armco, causing a delay to the start of the race as the damage to the barriers was assessed. |
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Eventually the debris was cleared and the race, and season, was set to go. With the damage to the rear portion of the #27 car, second place was taken by the #33 Trackspeed Racing Porsche of John Misnhaw and Phil Keen, followed closely by the #1 Motorbase Porsche piloted by Ahmad Al Harthy. |
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| The British GT Championship is populated by some fantastic driving talent, and on such a small circuit like Oulton Park it manifests itself in exciting, close racing. Particularly in the midfield. |
Midway through the race, the front of the field started to shake up. The #15 Mercedes and the #31 Trackspeed car of David Ashburn were involved in a laps-long scrap for the top spot, with both of the Trackspeed team-mates finding their way through to take the lead. They remained this way through to the chequered flag, bringing the first race of the season to a great finish for two thirds of the Trackspeed team, with their fellow #32 car facing a disqualification after a first-lap altercation.
Race 1 Results
1 | 33 | GT3 | Trackspeed | Jon Minshaw | Porsche 997 GT3 R | 33 laps | 1:36.806 |
2 | 31 | GT3 | Trackspeed | David Ashburn | Porsche 997 GT3 R | 33 laps | 1:36.217 |
3 | 15 | GT3 | Fortec Motorsports | Jason Minshaw | Mercedes AMG SLS GT3 | 33 laps | 1:37.337 |
4 | 1 | GT3 | Motorbase Performance | Ahmad Al Harthy | Porsche 997 GT3 R | 33 laps | 1:37.843 |
5 | 3 | GT3 | Rosso Verde | Hector Lester | Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 | 33 laps | 1:36.130 |
6 | 79 | GT3 | Ecurie Ecosse | Marco Attard | BMW Z4 GT3 | 33 laps | 1:37.362 |
7 | 13 | GT3 | AF Corse | John Dhillon | Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 | 33 laps | 1:37.338 |
8 | 21 | GT3 | MTECH | Duncan Cameron | Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 | 33 laps | 1:37.038 |
9 | 25 | GT3 | United Autosports | Mark Patterson | Audi R8 LMS ultra | 33 laps | 1:36.734 |
10 | 6 | GT3 | PGF-Kinfaun AMR | Phil Dryburgh | Aston Martin Vantage GT3 | 33 laps | 1:37.346 |
