News Archive » Donington Park Race Report

Sunday 4 April 2004

Michael Schumacher’s first place for Ferrari wasn’t the only win for the marque today as the Scuderia Ecosse team took victory at Round Two of the British GT Championship at Donington Park. The Ferrari 360 GTC of Andrew Kirkaldy and Nathan Kinch was the first across the line after a rain-shortened race at the Derbyshire track.

Andrew Kirkaldy
“We started the race from way back in 16th after making the wrong call on tyres for qualifying yesterday so it was a case of getting my head down and making my way through the field. The car felt great and I was able to hand it over to Nathan in the lead. Unfortunately though the huge penalty* we have means that we slipped down to fourth during our pit-stop and we were going to need an outstanding drive from Nathan and a good amount of luck to get us back up to the top spot. Nathan did a great job and luck was on our side so I’m really pleased with the win, for myself and Nathan, and for the whole team who have worked extremely hard to get us here.”

After a storming drive, Andrew came in with a 12-second race lead and the fastest race lap under his belt. After the pit-stop, Nathan took to the track and began the fight back from fourth behind Khan, Cocker and Tomlinson. A stop-go penalty for Khan and a spin for Cocker whilst under pressure from Nathan cleared the way to second. A flying Nathan then caught and passed Tomlinson’s TVR on the last lap of the race as heavy rain began to fall.

Nathan Kinch
“The car felt really good today but it was very slippery out there, especially out the back of the circuit. There was a lot of oil about which meant that passing traffic through there was difficult but I managed to keep it on the black stuff. We worked hard today and, with that bit of luck thrown in, had a great start to the Championship for the team so I’m delighted for everyone.”

Tim Mullen started the race from an excellent third on the grid in the Ferrari 360 GT but was forced into the pits on the first stop due to a tyre irregularity. All tyres must be marked by an official prior to use but Tim’s rear right tyre’s markings had rubbed off so the tyre was deemed illegal and he had to pit for fresh rubber. Tim quickly got back into the swing of things and started to cut his way through the field. When he handed the car over to team-mate, Chris Niarchos, he was lying in a creditable seventh position.

Tim Mullen
“The car was good to get through traffic today which was a relief as I had a lot of work to do after the confusion at the start. I was starting to have problems with the gearbox before handing over to Chris so I knew he was going to have a tough time but nevertheless he did a great job today – a real determined drive.”

The car did indeed have a gearbox problem and Chris had to switch off the power almost every lap, as that was the only way to reset the transmission. This meant that he had a particularly busy race but managed to hold his nerve during the tricky final laps when the track was incredibly slippery and bring the Ferrari home intact and in the top ten. No mean feat for a man in his first year of GT racing.

Chris Niarchos
“We had a tough start to the race today but Tim did a good job to get us up into the top ten so I had to get out there and make sure we got a result. It was tough what with the transmission problem and the rain but I really enjoyed myself out there. I’m very pleased for Andrew and Nathan too as they did a great job today and I’m delighted the team has a win in the bag. This weekend has proved that the Championship is wide open so it looks like we’ll have a great season of racing.”

The victory was all the more gratifying for the team after a disappointing result in Round One yesterday. There was a light rain shower at the start of the race but the track seemed to be dry enough for slick tyres. Unfortunately the gamble didn’t pay off and both Nathan and Chris found themselves with hard to handle cars, which effectively eliminated any chance of victory. Once the track dried out Nathan’s pace was fantastic and he beat Donington’s N-GT lap record with a fantastic 1:10.759 on lap 23. The rain returned later in the race and it was clear that the Porsches were strong in those conditions but every time the track dried out the Scuderia Ecosse cars ran strongly.

Stewart Roden, Scuderia Ecosse Team Principal
“By the end of yesterday we were fairly downhearted as we knew we had two great cars and a solid driver line-up, but a couple of bad calls meant that we didn’t get the results. Today though was a very different story. It’s fantastic to start the season with a victory and I’m delighted for Andrew and Nathan who I think make a great partnership. All of our guys were awesome today and that includes all the guys on the team who’ve put heart and soul into their work and had very little sleep for the last few weeks! I’m still not convinced about the time penalty that car #35 runs with but I’m told that the driver classifications are being reviewed so we’ll see what happens there. In the meantime we’re enjoying racing in the British GT Championship for the first time, we’re delighted to go home with smiles on our faces, and we can’t wait to go racing again at Mondello Park in a few weeks time.

ENDS

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