BGTC: Thruxton: CR Scuderia race two report

SECOND, THIRD AND FOURTH AT THRUXTON

The dramas continued at Thruxton today but the end result was much better this time around for the CR Scuderia team; the three CRS Ferraris finishing in second, third and fourth places. Jeremy Metcalfe, Luke Hines, James Sutton and Michael Meadows finished on the podium in second and third places and Paddy Shovlin and Michael Cullen came home in fourth place after Paddy made a great move to pass Hector Lester on the last lap.

All the CRS drivers got away well at the start of the race. James Sutton moved up from fifth to fourth, Luke Hines went from ninth to seventh and Michael Cullen made up a place to ninth. The drama started just a few laps in when Sutton was hit hard from behind by the yellow Aston Martin, the same one that hit Hines and Sutton in the pit-lane yesterday! The team had plenty of time to check the damage though as the race was then red flagged when Bradley Ellis crashed heavily in his Ginetta at the last chicane. The r est of the field reformed on the grid and waited for the restart.

The new race would be 30 minutes in length with the pit window opening after ten minutes of racing. The CRS drivers lined up in fifth (Sutton), seventh (Hines) and ninth (Cullen) and set off at a fantastic pace, determined to get in some good racing. Luke Hines did a fantastic job, moving all the way up to fourth before handing over to Jeremy Metcalfe to finish the race. Paddy Shovlin took over from Michael Cullen on the same lap and James Sutton handed over to Michael Meadows a few laps later.

With just a minutes of the race to go Metcalfe was running third, until Tom Alexander spun his Aston Martin in front of him, lifting him to second. Michael Meadows was right behind Metcalfe and Paddy Shovlin was on a roll; the Irish driver made light work of three Ferraris in front of him in just a few laps of racing.

The team was pleased with second, third and fourth but it was after the race when things got complicated. The no.40 T rimite Viper was penalised for speeding in the pitlane, as was the no.14 CRS Ferrari. The results were changed before the podium ceremony so Metcalfe and Hines were declared the winners, the Trimite car was second and third went to Cullen and Shovlin. Before the champagne was finished though the rumour went around that the results were about to change. After an anxious wait both cars were let off their punishment and the results stood as the original finishing order (are you keeping up?) so CRS took second, third and fourth.

With just four more races to go the CRS drivers are all on very even points close to the top of the table but the Trimite Viper is pulling away in first place. The Team Championship is still firmly within CRS' grasp so the fight will continue in just two weeks' time at Brands Hatch.

CR Scuderia Ferrari no.16: Luke Hines & Jeremy Metcalfe

LUKE HINES: "All in all it was a good race. I was fired up at the start, ready to fight my way up, and I was pleased to get through the field and get into the lead bunch before I handed over to my team-mate. Jeremy did a good job and gained more positions for us and it was good to get a solid second place."

CR Scuderia Ferrari no.14: James Sutton & Michael Meadows

JAMES SUTTON: "I got up to fourth at the start but then it got a bit eventful as I was hit by that yellow Aston Martin. After the restart I think I had my best stint ever in a GT car. It was very entertaining; the car felt the best it had all weekend and we were on full attack. Michael went out and finished the job off and we got another third place. We're racking up third place finishes now so we need to take that next step up the podium."

CR Scuderia Ferrari no.15: Michael Cullen & Paddy Shovlin

PADDY SHOVLIN: "The car was great today and I really enjoyed driving it. The tyr es had gone off by the end but it was still pretty easy for us to get by. CRS is really on the mark this year and I think we still have a lot to look forward too."

-credit: crscuderia.com