There was a quick turnaround for the start of the race, cars lined-up as per the qualifying results. The Gearzilla Mercedes was unusually on the back row of the grid, Rob reporting a lack of power in qualifying. Despite resetting the controller and re-programming the chip, this issue continued into the race - Rob fighting hard through the technical sections, but being left standing on the straights.
Our weather simulation threw up a single random weather for the 500 laps - and RCS64 picked a damp track. Tyre choice would be Intermediates or Softs.
The opening stages were incredibly close - Dean's McLaren, Simon's Audi and the Aston Martins of Mike and John battling out front. Rob tried to hang on, but was losing ground. James - the only Rookie on track in the first 20 minutes - did a sterling job with the Laps in Concentration Porsche 911. Any comparisons for him would be with the Rookies on the other teams.
After 20 minutes...
Shift Happens! - 98 laps
ASTCOM-One - 98 laps
AIM-9 - 98 laps
Écurie Escargot - 94 laps
Gearzilla - 83 laps
Laps in Concentration - 73 laps
Écurie Escargot had chosen the Soft tyre option, which gave more grip but didn't last anywhere near as long as the Inters. Making two more stops than everyone else in the first stint, they hoped the overall pit time would even out over the race as refuelling became the main factor. The Escargot's Rookie, Kevin, was on for this second twenty minutes, struggling to begin with, but eventually getting into a rhythm...
Stephen McCann took over the AIM-9 Aston and started to move ahead of Duncan in the ASTCOM-One Audi and Mike in the Shift Happens! McLaren. In only his fourth digital event, Mike was mixing it with far more experienced drivers and Dean would keep him on for a double stint. Matthew took over the Porsche from James and worked his way past Stephen A in the Gearzilla Mercedes. Eventually Oliver took the decision to pit the ailing car, look inside and a squirt of contact cleaner in the motor immediately seemed to do the job!
After 40 minutes...
AIM-9 - 188 laps
ASTCOM-One - 182 laps
Shift Happens! - 177 laps
Écurie Escargot - 159 laps
Laps in Concentration - 152 laps
Gearzilla - 144 laps
Disaster struck for the ASTCOM-One team in this third stint. With Simon M at the wheel and innocuous off was followed up by the Audi being clipped by a following cars and dumped on the floor. The result was a broken wheel and a long time in the pits. Despite every attempt at a fix, the car was retired and a 100-lap penalty given for a car change. The ASTCOM-One drivers would continue with a yellow Corvette C8-R.
Oliver took the opportunity to move up to fifth place, his Mercedes back on form and the driver looking forward to a double stint. Mike A was into the second part of his double stint and really flying - adding an extra even laps this time. Shift Happens! sat in second with a comfortable gap to third, where Rob has taken back just a couple of laps for Écurie Escargot. Ash was even quicker for Laps in Concentration, trimming the gap to five laps. At the front, Ollie banged in an impressive 92 laps to extent AIM-9s lead.
After One Hour...
AIM-9 - 280 laps
Shift Happens! - 261 laps
Écurie Escargot - 248 laps
Laps in Concentration - 243 laps
Gearzilla - 240 laps
ASTCOM-One - 111 laps
Oliver continued the recovery for Gearzilla in his second stint, moving ahead of Terry's Porsche and closing in on Jaxson in the Shift Happens! McLaren. Andy had already moved the Escargots Aston into second after some repairs were needed on the McLaren...
At the front, Steve matched Ollie's 92 laps from the previous stint - although was outgunned by Oliver (94) and Andy (95). By the end of the fourth twenty minutes, those were the top three teams - a remarkable recovery by Gearzilla, but still very close from second to fifth.
After 80 minutes...
AIM-9 - 372 laps
Écurie Escargot - 343 laps
Gearzilla - 334 laps
Shift Happens! - 333 laps
Laps in Concentration - 329 laps
ASTCOM-One - 180 laps
The pace at the front was frighteningly quick, so this fifth stint looked like it would be the final full 20-minutes. John was back in the Escargot Aston, but he was relying on the leaders experiencing some sort of trouble to be able to catch them. Stephen was driving the lead car magnificently, adding more laps to their already significant advantage.
The battle for third was really hotting up. Dean was back in the McLaren, Matthew turning a second stint in the Porsche and Mike McCann driving the Mercedes. Track time matters and Mike struggled to get into a rhythm, letting Dean and Matthew through. It was a great stint for Dean, putting the McLaren in third - nine laps behind second and eight laps ahead of fourth. At the back, there were more wheel issues for ASTCOM-One, now the Corvette had a loose hub... when it rains, it pours.
After 100 minutes...
AIM-9 - 469 laps
Écurie Escargot - 435 laps
Shift Happens! - 427 laps
Laps in Concentration - 418 laps
Gearzilla - 410 laps
ASTCOM-One - 232 laps
Only 31 laps to go, so this was going to be over within ten minutes - unless Mike D had any issues with the AIM-9 car. Along with the race win, he was after fastest lap - currently held by Oliver in the Gearzilla Mercedes. Oliver would have to sit and watch, Mike McCann remaining in the SunEnergy AMG GT3. He had finally found some form, but was never going to make up ground lost in the previous stint. Andy was protecting a decent lead and focused only on bringing the Écurie Escargot Aston home in second place - something the car promised last season, but was scuppered in every race by technical issues.
However, the fight was for the final place on the podium - Ash chasing down Kinsley. Driving for the first time tonight, Kinsley looked like he would just hang on until a very late off allowed the Porsche to slip by with just a lap to go! Jubilation for the Laps in Concentration crew and disappointment for Shift Happens! Huge credit to Dean and his team of Rookies - three drivers who first raced at the Barn just two months ago.
Did Mike grab that fastest lap? Yes - and on the very last lap of the 500!
This is the official result of the Barns Hatch 500...
You'll want to click on the image to enlarge it
And these are the stint stats...
Congrats to AIM-9 - Steve, Ollie, Mike & Stephen - on a great team performance with a very rapid car. And bravo to all twenty-four drivers on delivering an entertaining evening for our spectators!
And that's it for the first WHO GT Championship race of the year. Massive thanks to everyone who came along and made it such a great evening. Special thanks goes to the set-up and race control crews and to all those who stayed behind to help pack away.
We do it all again next month...
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