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23/06/2015 Swan at the double as TORA British GT kicks off at Oulton
Scott Swan’s BAM Bentley Continental GT3 bagged a brace of TORA Avon Tyres British GT Championship victories at Oulton Park last Sunday to become the real-world series’ first officially recognised virtual race winner.
The build-up to this season’s opening weekend largely centred on how fast the late-arriving Bentley would fare, particularly in the hands BAM’s Swan. After qualifying, however, the gap proved not to be quite as significant around the narrow Oulton Park circuit. Swan took pole by a mere 0.2sec over fellow BAM member Alexandre Arnou in his BMW Z4. The fastest non-BAM entry was Collin Barring for Le Mans Rennsport in third, so hardly the all-BAM Bentley-fest some had initially predicted.
In all, 137 cars took to the circuit for the opening round, a phenomenal number considering the nature of the track. With a mixture of top teams locking out the top spots on the grid and with a number of established names further back than would have been expected, the races were bound to produce fireworks.
Race 1 went the way of Swan in the Bentley, but it was no walk in the park with constant pressure applied throughout the race, firstly from the BAM BMW of Arnou and then the fleet of LMR and F4H entries close behind. Swan was able to control the pace well as the squabble for podium positions began in the latter stages but he was not able to draw too far away from the pack, raising more than a few eyebrows.
Second eventually went to the LMR Burkett Motorsport BMW of Thomas Lyden with Barring taking the final spot for LMR Gullwing.
The sister BAM Bentley driven by Joseph McAuley had not had the same luck as his victorious team-mate in qualifying and was quickly swamped by the pack at the start. An issue, unseen by the cameras, ended his race. The bad luck within the BAM camp also spread to the BMW of Arnou who suffered a mechanical issue sufficient to end his weekend before it had really started. With Nicolas Lozano also suffering technical issues midway through the race, the curtain had well and truly fallen on the French challenge.
The high attrition allowed the various LMR entries to capitalise and close off the podium in what had initially threatened to be a Scottish/French whitewash.
It was bad news before the start for Dan Austins though as a technical issue prevented him from starting the race. He held the 'prize' of being the highest qualified GT3 Aston Martin in 11th place but sadly it was all for nothing and 'Billy' didn't even get out of the pits. The Aston Martin honour instead went to Paul Webster in the Full Tilt Racing GT3 Vantage down in 39th place in what proved to be a challenging day for the British marque.
Race 2 saw another lights to flag victory for Bentley in the hands of Swan, the Scotsman controlling the pace well from the start and keeping just enough of a gap to the LMR boys to be comfortable. David Hoch, who’d finished fourth in the day’s opening encounter, improved to second ahead of fellow American Collin Barring, resulting in a decent weekend for LMR Gullwing with their pair of Mercedes SLS AMGs.
BAM's weekend then was very much bittersweet. The double win was undoubtedly a highlight but the problems arising with three of its other entries that could and should have been at or very near the front should not be ignored. No doubt there will be some head scratching before round 2 at Zolder…
However, for Le Mans Rennsport, the joy was clear for all to see and for Collin Barring, it was the culmination of a long few weeks of preparation not just from the driving seat but from the organisation too.
"We pushed hard and moved forward but just didn't quite have the pace to take on the lone Bentley. But it's a very satisfying performance for Le Mans Rennsport!
The main talk post race was how well the event ran. It makes us as a team proud to represent TORA and call it our home.”
For GT4 it was Parker in the DGT Racing Ginetta that came out on top after a battle with fellow Ginetta drivers that end up being very similar to that of Race 1. With the dramas befalling some of the GT3 drivers ahead Parker would finish just shy of the overall podium.
Suffice to say, the GT4 battle is well and truly on and we're in for an exciting contest if the two opening races are anything to go by.
For the rest of the grid it was very much a case of fighting attrition and managing the increased traffic on what is a narrow circuit that demands respect and patience in abundance.
The CQR Audi of Christian Rose had qualified perhaps a little further back than the regular front runners would have liked, but Rose – returning to GT racing after two years away – enjoyed his races and relished the challenge.
“I'm really pleased with how things went,” he said. “I made a few mistakes and lost a few positions, but also had some really good, close battles throughout the pack.”
Further back still and the GT4 battle between the Ford Mustangs was close between Israel Campos, Costa Rica's Jose Arguello and Mouse Racing's Michael Azzari. All three found themselves embroiled in close quarters engagements with some of the GT3 runners but each survived and the smiles after the event showed the level of enjoyment had by the international cast of Mustang drivers.
Attrition was a key word with a number of high-profile names enduring troublesome races not necessarily through contact with other cars. Scott McCraken for HCR was such a driver, a sizeable off at the Shell Hairpin ending his race.
The championship now moves to Zolder for the first of the 'flyaway' races. A lot of teams and drivers will be looking to get higher up the grid as the championship moves up a gear and all eyes will be on BAM and, in particular, the Bentley of Swan to see just how much longer their luck will hold out.
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