Pirelli Gran Turismo Championship
Rnd#4, Winton Motor Raceway, June 14-15-18
Pirelli Gran Turismo Championship points leader Rod Wilson was forced to settle for second best at Winton during the fourth round of the nine round series, as despite setting the fastest qualifying time, the Maserati star was forced to watch Ferrari stalwart Dave Stevens grab victory in all three races - although not by much..
What a great weekend that was,Wilson beamed afterwards. We had some terrific battles raging on track, especially between myself and Dave, and also Jim (Manolios) and Ted (Huglin). I did everything I could to get around Dave, but just couldnt do it, the torque of the 430 was just too good out of the slow corners, although we werent far off, the Maseratis made a huge leap forward here with all the work we ve done, and with new gearbox software on the way from the factory, weve developed quite a handy package now.
Stevens drew first blood in the opening qualifier in cold conditions at Winton, with a best of 1:25.8663, three tenths faster than Wilson, with Roger Lago third in the 997 Porsche, although for the Porsche pilot who was looking to make a move on Wilsons championship lead, Q1 would be his final run for the weekend.
I hadnt been to Winton before and my lap times were improving with each session as I got more and more comfortable with the car,Roger confirmed. Id put in a good lap for third, and was on a flyer which may have put me off the front row when I had a spin coming onto the back straight and came off the circuit and hit the wall. Damage was pretty severe although mostly superficial, but its ended the weekend for us.
Sadly for Lago his spin had put him onto a very wet part of the circuit, the Porsche making contact with the wall, damaging the front spoiler and the floor of the front of the car.
Just two cars ventured onto the circuit for the second session, with both Maseratis looking to improve their best times, Wilson doing so on his fourth lap to improve Steven’s benchmark by a hundredth of a second (1:25.8507) for pole.
Off the start of the opening 15-lapper Stevens grabbed the lead with Wilson in hot pursuit. Behind them Steve Kepper held on in his 997 Porsche, with Manolios fourth into turn one. I knew I had to beat Ted into turn one,Jim said afterwards. That thing (Lamborghini Gallardo GT3) is just too quick in a straight line, so it was imperative. He looked for a way past, but I closed the door.Sadly for the Maserati pilot, his competitive run lasted just two laps, Jim coming to the pits on lap three with a bad vibration. With the dramas Rod has had with wheel bearings (two failures at Calder and another during practice), I wasnt taking any risks. In the end it was a loose wheel, so we rejoined and carried on.
By race end Wilson crossed the line just four tenths behind Stevens, with Kepper dropping off later in the race with severe understeer. I got the best out of the tyres early, but it was getting harder to hang onto as the race wore on, he admitted.
Huglin came home fourth in the gorgeous new Gallardo, but admitted to a niggling power problem. Were just not getting full throttle. Its an inherent problem with the new Lamborghini (a 2008 Reiter Engineering prepared car), that we cant fix, so well just battle on until they can find the solution.
Race one also saw another retirement from the round, with Nick OHallorans trusty Ferrari 360 Challenge finally dropping an engine.. That car is amazing,OHallorans engineer Pat Cahill smiled. By our calculation its done about 18,000 hard kilometres of competition and hasnt missed a beat. It was due for a rebuild at 10,000, but weve just kept pushing it.. Unfortunately for the team, the routine rebuild will now become a major overhaul as the newly ventilated engine is repaired. It threw two conrods out the bottom of the sump, one of which punctured the carbon floor, so it was a pretty major failure.
With OHalloran gone, this left Huglin free to battle Manolios who for race two was determined to get into the first turn ahead of the Gallardo. It didnt happen,Jim shrugged afterwards. That thing has got amazing torque and he just drove away off the line.
Up front Wilson was again all over Stevens, although this time the Ferrari managed to make a break early. We made a ride height adjustment after the first race because the tyres were starting to grain a little, Dave confirmed post-race, so it was much better over a race distance.
Behind the leaders Steve Kepper had a lonely run to third, with Huglin hanging onto fourth, with a Maserati Trofeo hanging onto his tail.
I have to say, Im sick of seeing that blasted yellow Maserati, Ted laughed. I’ve never driven so hard in my life and I still couldn’t shake him.
Sadly for Manolios, he was forced to face a similar situation in the final race with Huglin again getting the better of him, although this time, he found a way through.
It took until lap 14, but I managed to get him on the sweeper with a clean run, but when I went for the race line into the next corner, he t-boned me and spun us both around.Fortunately damage was relatively light and both cars managed to rejoin, although not without losing a lap to the leaders in the process.
Id actually had a problem up in the sweeper and Jim shot past me, Ted confirmed. For some reason I had an instant lack of power. Jim had been quicker than me through there anyway, so he made the move, but once back under power I thought Id save the spot into the next turn. Unfortunately though we made contact and that was that..
By the close of the final race it was again Stevens, the Ferrari driver making it three from three, again crossing the line with a Maserati glued to his tail.
Full marks to Dave, he deserved it,Wilson smiled, It was a great event and Im particularly pleased with the Maserati, weve found almost two seconds at Winton and have more improvements to come, so to be on the pace of the 430 and a driver of Daves calibre was particularly pleasing. I cant wait for the next round.
For third placed Steve Kepper, his result too was pleasing, a podium in just his second competitive event. I was hoping to match the leaders, but we struggled a little to come to terms with the Pirellis, which was just our inexperience. I was looking forward to racing against Roger (Lago) so it was a pity he went out in qualifying, but I had a ball regardless. Great event, great bunch of people and some great racing..
For long-time GT campaigner Ted Huglin it was all smiles. What a great event, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Spending 43 laps with a bloody Maserati glued to your tail is hard work, he laughed.. That was quite possibly the most fun I’ve had in a race car.. And as for the Pirellis, they were fantastic. Perhaps not as sharp over a single lap, but overall their durability and consistency was superb, I was very happy. All we need to do is find that missing power and I might be able to blow that little Trofeo off my tail..
For the PGTC competitors, its now a waiting game after the announcement on Saturday morning that resurfacing work at Adelaide International Raceway forced the cancellation of round five of the series, although series organiser Melissa Roberts did confirm that they are in discussions for a replacement venue. We need this all to happen pretty quickly so that we can plan the round, she said. That should all happen this week, and at this stage we have two good venues offering a similar date, so as far as were concerned, things are progressing as planned.
2008 Pirelli Gran Turismo Championship points
1. Rod Wilson - 2006 Maserati Trofeo GT3 (92 points)
2. Roger Lago - 2006 Porsche 997 GT3 Cup Car (66)
3. Jim Manolios - 2006 Maserati Trofeo GT3 (60)
4. Dave Stevens - Ferrari 430 GT3 (56)
5. Scott Lyddiard - Dodge Viper GT3 (41)
6. John Teulan - 2006 Ferrari F430C (35)
7. Ross Lilley - 2007 Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 (28)
8. Kevin Miller - Ferrari F430 Challenge (28)
9. Graeme Cook - 2000 Porsche 996 RSR (24)
10. Steve Kepper - 2006 Porsche 997 GT3 Cup Car (18)
11. Ted Huglin – 2008 Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 (14)
12. Russell Kempnich - Porsche 996 GT3 (11)
13. Nick O’Halloran – Ferrari 360 Challenge (4)
2008 Pirelli Gran Turismo Championship Calendar
Rnd#1 Wakefield Park, NSW (March 1-2)
Rnd#2 Calder Park, VIC (April 26-27)
Rnd#3 Queensland Raceway, QLD (May 17-18)**
Rnd#4 Winton, VIC (June 14-15)
Rnd#5 TBC**
Rnd#6 Calder Park, VIC (August 30-31)
Rnd#7 Queensland Raceway, QLD (September 27-28)
Rnd#8 Winton, VIC (November 1-2)
Rnd#9 Wakefield Park, NSW (November 29-30)**
** 1-hour endurance format
For further information, please contact Melissa Roberts at Pirelli Gran Turismo Championship on 03 9735 2588 or email:
http://www.granturismochampionship.com
Proudly supported by Pirelli, Trofeo Motorsport, The Ultimate Drive Day, IVECO Trucks and DYMAG.
