As a sun-scorched Snetterton set the scene for the second round of the Fun Cup Endurance Championship last weekend, reigning champion and round-one winner Team GRD claimed victory despite starting 25th and last on the grid.
The #1 car claimed the top position with just a 3.6-second gap separating the first-round winner from championship rival UVio/Hofmann’s at the line. This result was later solidified, however, after the second-place finishers fell victim to the scrutiny of the scales, the car 2kg under the minimum weight limit and facing exclusion from the results.
Going into the weekend, the randomised ballot placed GRD on the 13th row for the four-hour tussle. Yet, driver Riley Phillips – sharing with Chris Dovell and Simon Rudd – remained unfazed by the climb.
Phillips said: “Obviously the [200] track is quite straight with not many corners; it’s going to be a bit of a slipstream-fest. I don’t think anyone will break away or make a run for it.”
At the sharp end, the UVio machine of Scott Fitzgerald led early on, trading positions with the Clapham North car of former W Series racer Abbie Eaton as both drivers fought for track position before the first mandatory pit window. Fitzgerald’s unwavering tenacity eventually allowed him to build a much-needed buffer. Lap by lap, he forged a 71s cushion over the field at one stage.
He said: “We didn’t fight to slow ourselves down; it’s just about getting as far up the road as possible.”
UVio squad (r) led for much of the race but ended up excluded after being found underweight
Photo by: Richard Styles
Yet gaps are often fleeting and fragile things in endurance racing. Two safety car periods in quick succession evaporated the #225 car’s advantage. The UVio/Hofmann’s machine, in the hands of Fabio Randaccio, had set a staggering pace, but the blue GRD bug soon loomed in the rearview mirror.
A race that looked settled three hours prior was now boiling down to a thriller in the final throes. The gap continued to shrink with Phillips at the wheel during the last stint. Sniffing at the rear bumper, a lunge down the inside into Brundle solidified a GRD lead with under 20 minutes remaining.
However, it was ultimately the weighing scales that caused UVio’s downfall. A mere 2kg disparity meant the car had quite literally sweated away its eligibility. Following the verdict, GCI Racing claimed second with Craig Butterworth and Ian Wood, with Northern Velocity’s Jack Harding, Alan Henderson and Daniel Irving – better known for racing Mazda MX-5s – taking third and earning £1000 for their debut efforts.
Elsewhere, the Mega Mix support bill delivered high-octane sprint action. If endurance racing is a choreographed tango, the Mini Miglia series is a bar fight. The series boasts over 50 years of history and produced pure door-to door racing. Reigning champion Rupert Deeth started race one from fourth and said: “The 200 layout will keep us all together, I think there will be a lot of swapping and moving.”
Sure enough, Ian Curley claimed the race-one win following a red flag caused by Andrew Hack’s roll at Murrays. Kane Astin then took the top step of the podium in the second bout following a bold final-lap double overtake around the outside into Brundle. Astin said: “The drafting isn’t as strong around this layout as the 300. It’s all in the corner exit.”
In a weekend defined by aggression and attrition, the Mega Mix event laid down the gauntlet, and the rubber, ahead of the British Touring Car Championship’s upcoming visit, when more modern Minis are on the bill.
Curley was in the thick of the Mini Miglia action
Photo by: Richard Styles
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– The Autosport.com Team
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