News Archive » Normal Service Resumed

By Lindsay Morle
May 22, 2005, 16:52

Rounds 3&4 - Knockhill - 22 May 2005

Scuderia Ecosse returned to its winning ways at Knockhill today with victory for the Scottish pairing of Nathan Kinch and Andrew Kirkaldy, chased hard by their second-placed team-mates Chris Niarchos and Tim Mullen. Along with second and third place in yesterday’s race Scuderia Ecosse is now breaking free at the top of the Championship tables. Special mention goes to Chris Niarchos who was awarded ‘Driver of the Day’ for the pace he showed during his stint this afternoon.

RACE ONE
A rain shower before Saturday’s race had left a wet track but sunny skies so the teams had a tricky tyre choice to make on the grid. Of the front runners it was only the Embassy Porsche that started on slicks; the others choosing the more conservative intermediate tyres. Whilst the Porsche suffered at the start, it soon became obvious that slicks were the right choice as the track continued to dry, and the Embassy car was in the lead just ten minutes into the race. Chris Niarchos had a fantastic start from sixth on the grid and had stormed through to fourth place by the time the pit stops came along, overtaking Nathan Kinch along the way. Nathan had been involved in a battle with the Jordan/Caine Porsche and Chris took the opportunity to nip by whilst they were fighting it out.

Chris pitted first to hand over to Tim Mullen, soon followed by Nathan who came in to hand over to Andrew Kirkaldy. The Scots won the battle of the pit stops and came out ahead of the Niarchos/Mullen Ferrari. The next 15 minutes of the race saw Andrew hunting down Ben Collins, now in the Embassy Porsche, eating into his lead lap after lap. He got to within 2 seconds of the Porsche with 10 minutes of the race left to run before being handed a drive through penalty by the stewards, a penalty also given to Tim Mullen.

During the pit stops the team had taken advantage of a loophole in the British GT regulations. The organisers’ interpretation of the rules is that the pit stop is a 45 second driver change, then you can service the car. The team’s interpretation is that you do all the work within the 45 seconds. Although the team was aware it could attract a drive through penalty due to the differing interpretations it was decided it was a risk worth taking. During the morning practice session the team conducted a number of ‘drive throughs’ and calculations suggested a seven second advantage could be gained by changing tyres if at the worst a drive through penalty was given; if not it would mean a 25 second advantage. Following lengthy meetings with the organisers it was agreed there were two interpretations for the same regulation and on Sunday morning a lengthy bulletin was issued clarifying the regulation and closing the loophole.

After diving into the pit lane to take the penalty, both Andrew and Tim got straight back down to business, maintaining second and third positions all the way to the chequered flag, taking a good haul of points from a dramatic day of racing.

RACE TWO
After a very wet morning at Knockhill the skies began to clear on Sunday for race two, enough so for the majority of the field to take the start on slick tyres. It was a neat start and Andrew and Tim set about getting heat into their cold slick tyres; no mean feat on a damp track. Tim had a small ‘off’ at the chicane which put him down to eighth place so he had a lot of work to do to make it back up the field but he got on with it and was soon racking up fastest laps on his way back through. Andrew meanwhile was busy pulling out a gap from yesterday’s winner, Ben Collins. Tim pitted first and handed the Ferrari over to Chris who joined the race in third place. A few minutes later Andrew dived in to hand over to Nathan in the lead. Once the pit stops were completed it was a straightforward run to the flag and a fantastic 1-2 result for Scuderia Ecosse.

Nathan Kinch (#35):
“I’m really pleased with our results this weekend. We were a little disappointed yesterday to not get the victory but we soon remembered it is the Championship we are here for rather than the individual wins. Having said that it felt good to win today! It is especially important for us to keep the momentum going now as we’re straight off to Thruxton next week for another two races. We won there last year so let’s hope we can deliver a repeat performance.”

Andrew Kirkaldy (#35):
“It all went to plan for us today! The car felt good off the line so it was a case of getting heat into the tyres and building up a good lead prior to the pit stops. I’ve not raced here since 2001 so it’s good to come back and get the win at home. As Nathan said we were slightly disgruntled to miss out on the win yesterday but we’re feeling a lot better about that now. Thruxton should be a good event for us to as the car goes well there so I’m looking forward to next weekend!”

Chris Niarchos (#34):
“Saturday’s race was the best race I’ve had in ages; I’ve been trying to catch Nathan for a year and a half so it was good to finally do it! The team gave us the tools to do the job so all thanks to them and I can’t wait to collect my ‘Driver of the Day’ trophy which is going to take pride of place at home!”

Tim Mullen (#34):
“I’m pleased with the result today and of course the podium yesterday. I had a bit of a moment at the start of the race when I went off at the chicane on cold tyres. I picked up a lot of grass and mud so it took another five or six laps to clean up my tyres, then I was able to push and start to get back the places I lost. I enjoyed the battle and it was great to see Chris driving so well so I’m pleased but will be looking to go one better at Thruxton, just like we did last year!”

Stewart Roden, Team Principal:
“To win at our home circuit is a great feeling for the whole team. We’re all intensely proud of our roots so this is what it’s all about for us. We had a tough day yesterday but we’ve learnt that every point counts so we weren’t too disappointed not to win. Having said that it was a fantastic feeling to see the boys take the win today!”

What’s next for Scuderia Ecosse?:
The next two rounds of the 2005 British GT Championship will be held at Thruxton in Hampshire in just a few days time (28/29 May). Both Scuderia Ecosse driver pairings won at Thruxton last year so look out for some great action next weekend!

ENDS

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