A thrilling second round in the Rockingham Round of the Britcar Championship. Javier Morcillo claims a podium and fastest lap.
By Jan Stevenson
Britcar Boss James Tucker described this round as “the best Britcar race we’ve seen in years”, and with a Mosler lock out on the front row of the grid it certainly had the potential for a superb race as the field lined up at Rockingham Raceway in an unseasonably hot April afternoon.
The GT cars would be once again sharing the track with the Production race, this time for the full 150-minute duration, and, with an all-Mosler front row, Calum Lockie in the Strata 21 car, and Manuel Cintrano, taking the opening stint in the Azteca machine for the first time, blasted side by side onto the banked Turn 1. They were joined on the inside line by a fast-starting Aaron Scott, in the GT3 Racing Dodge Viper. Scott’s start, though, had been adjudged to be a little too smart, and within a few laps he was called in for a drive-through penalty, for “starting out of position”.
With Cintrano and Calum Lockie slipping back a little as the front runners started to catch up with the back markers by seven laps in ‘traffic’ started to cause problems. It allowed Millard to take Lockie, and, with the first safety car out, allowed Cintrano to slip into the pits for a half measure top up of fuel.
After five laps the caution was lifted only to see the Safety Car soon back out for a further eight laps. After 60 minutes of the 150 minute race run Azteca was again back in for fuel. Strata 21 stayed out hoping a one stop strategy would pay off.
At the half way mark, Paul White stepped up to the plate in the Strata Mosler, with fuel and new rubber he was off. Lockie said he had had to compromise his drive. “The front end is sliding. Fuel is marginal and I have been short-shifting all through the stint.”
As Morcilla built up a lead of over a minute, behind him was trouble, and the trouble was Ferrari shaped, with both former Eclipse Mosler owner McInerney and also Robinson slicing through the field nose to tail. As Morcillo made another pit stop for fuel and tyres, with thirty minutes to go, it left the two Ferraris out in front and battling for the lead.
As the two combatants battled it out, and starting to make driver errors, Morcillo started to charge them down, setting the fastest lap of the race and taking a confident third place from Paul White. He ended just 12 seconds from race winner Sean McInerney, with White/Lockie in 4th place.
The MSA Britcar Endurance Race meets up again at Donington Park in two weeks time, and hopping over the Channel, the Dutch Supercar Challenge will join up for in their annual UK round. Out in the Mosler Super GT will be Martin Short, Mosler Europe CEO.
By Jan Stevenson
Britcar Boss James Tucker described this round as “the best Britcar race we’ve seen in years”, and with a Mosler lock out on the front row of the grid it certainly had the potential for a superb race as the field lined up at Rockingham Raceway in an unseasonably hot April afternoon.
The GT cars would be once again sharing the track with the Production race, this time for the full 150-minute duration, and, with an all-Mosler front row, Calum Lockie in the Strata 21 car, and Manuel Cintrano, taking the opening stint in the Azteca machine for the first time, blasted side by side onto the banked Turn 1. They were joined on the inside line by a fast-starting Aaron Scott, in the GT3 Racing Dodge Viper. Scott’s start, though, had been adjudged to be a little too smart, and within a few laps he was called in for a drive-through penalty, for “starting out of position”.
With Cintrano and Calum Lockie slipping back a little as the front runners started to catch up with the back markers by seven laps in ‘traffic’ started to cause problems. It allowed Millard to take Lockie, and, with the first safety car out, allowed Cintrano to slip into the pits for a half measure top up of fuel.
After five laps the caution was lifted only to see the Safety Car soon back out for a further eight laps. After 60 minutes of the 150 minute race run Azteca was again back in for fuel. Strata 21 stayed out hoping a one stop strategy would pay off.
At the half way mark, Paul White stepped up to the plate in the Strata Mosler, with fuel and new rubber he was off. Lockie said he had had to compromise his drive. “The front end is sliding. Fuel is marginal and I have been short-shifting all through the stint.”
As Morcilla built up a lead of over a minute, behind him was trouble, and the trouble was Ferrari shaped, with both former Eclipse Mosler owner McInerney and also Robinson slicing through the field nose to tail. As Morcillo made another pit stop for fuel and tyres, with thirty minutes to go, it left the two Ferraris out in front and battling for the lead.
As the two combatants battled it out, and starting to make driver errors, Morcillo started to charge them down, setting the fastest lap of the race and taking a confident third place from Paul White. He ended just 12 seconds from race winner Sean McInerney, with White/Lockie in 4th place.
The MSA Britcar Endurance Race meets up again at Donington Park in two weeks time, and hopping over the Channel, the Dutch Supercar Challenge will join up for in their annual UK round. Out in the Mosler Super GT will be Martin Short, Mosler Europe CEO.
