BRITCAR: Brands Hatch Indy June 14th 2008

Britcar was back at Brands Hatch for the second time this season with a three-hour race around the tight Indy circuit. Qualifying saw Sean and Michael McInerney in the Eclipse Mosler take pole position. Half a second behind was the KRM machine, locking out the front row for the Moslers again. Starting from the pitlane, having missed qualifying due to having a complete transmission system refit, was the Topcats Mosler.

As the lights went green, Flux took a slender advantage over Sean McInerney to build up a six second the lead through the opening laps. Meanwhile the Topcats Mosler was purring through the field, up to 11th by lap six and fifth by lap 12. Henry Taylor then took Topcats into fourth after overhauling the TVR Sagaris.

When three cars found out that Paddock Bend couldn't accommodate them all side-by-side, a swift trip into the gravel trap ensued. The resultant safety car period bunched the field up and brought mixed blessings for the Moslers; Sean McInerney grabbed back precious time lost when lapping earlier backmarkers but Henry Taylor lost out - although he was at the head of the pack, that put him almost a lap down on the leaders who were in the middle of the bunch. When the green flags flew again, Taylor set of to reduce the deficit whilst Flux and McInerney went hammer and tongs through the traffic.

With just over an hour down, Taylor came in for the Topcats first mandatory pitstop. KRM and Eclipse pitted later, taking advantage of another safety car period. And it was the McInerneys who emerged first, two seconds ahead of Kevin Riley in the KRM.

The bunched field led to close racing, with a flying Kevin Riley squeezing the lead from Michael McInerney down the inside of Paddock Hill. Lapping Beaumont, who'd taken over in the Topcats Mosler, KRM were well placed as the race roared on to its latter stages.

Beaumont was followed into the pits by Riley for their last scheduled stops with 120 laps down, leaving the Eclipse Mosler out in the lead. Sadly, that lead was short lived; an alleged coming-together with a Corvette left McInerney sidling sideways across the grass downhill from Druids, a shattered brake disc herelding the end of their race.

Then it seemed the late-race Curse of the Mosler was upon us again - having inherited the lead, the KRM Mosler soon returned to the pits with a broken driveshaft. Repairs were made, but the time lost had cost them any chance of the race win.

Into the final 45 minutes and it was the TVR leading the field. But the Topcats Mosler was closing, never saying never in a race that that wasn't going to be over til the black & white hanky dropped. The gap continued to close up, with the final splash-and-dash pitstop potentially decisive.

Which it proved to be, but in a way no-one would have predicted. With the TVR pitted, Topcats took the lead and were prepared to pit soon. With only eleven minutes left on the clock, the safety car had been stood down - only for a Marcos to break down on Paddock Hill bend. That gave the race officials no option but to red-flag the race and declare a result as at the end of lap 184, which handed victory to the Topcat Mosler!

Unsurprisngly, both Henry Taylor and team owner/driver Andrew Beaumont were delighted. It was certainly a superb effort by the Topcat team to replace the transmission, start from the pitlane, battle through the field and take the win. With each of the three Mosler teams now taking a Britcar win, the scene is set for a Silverstone showdown in July - and I'll be there to cheer them on!

Photos (c) P J Cherry and Gary Harman from the Britcar website, Marc W on Flickr