|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Return to
News page
15 April 2001
Harlow Clinch Second
at Damp Snetterton.
The Harlow Motorsport pairing of Adam Simmons and Terry Rymer finished an excellent second in GTO in a damp but hugely entertaining Round Two of the Privilege Insurance British GT Championship at Snetterton last Sunday.
Co-driving the team’s number 45 Porsche 911 GT3-R, Simmons and Rymer ran a calculated race that ensured a strong finish and avoided the pitfalls so often associated with wet conditions.
Adam Simmons, driving first stint in the #45 car, was having a much better time. "My strategy had been to run a solid race and bring the car home in one piece for Terry. He’s really good in the wet and I knew he’d be able to have a go. After the first round incidents (at Silverstone, when a damaged wheel and bearing sidelined the car) I was keen not to get any damage on the first or second lap." It was a close call on lap two, however, when he was lucky to be just ahead of Ashley Ward in the second TVR Speed 12. The large white car was unceremoniously set upon by the snapping hordes of much smaller Porsches, and came off second best. Quite who did what isn’t exactly clear (and there are differing opinions!) but the net result was retirement for the #12 car and a very irate Ashley Ward.
Only vaguely aware of what had been going on behind him, Simmons actually managed four laps without mishap, but Ed Horner in the second Parr Motorsport car was especially keen to deprive him of third place. "Edward tried to go round the outside once or twice, but it seemed to be a half-cocked effort. There’s no point trying to do it two abreast, because the person on the outside tends to go off. We came up the straight side-by-side. I was on the inside and as we went into the corner and the wheels banged together. Next moment, he was off."
The swap wasn’t quite as smooth as we’ve come to expect from the Harlow crew, but it was slick enough. "We weren’t sure about the weather," said Simmons, "so we’d brought in some "weekend warriors" to help with a tyre change if we needed one. It was a just a little slower than normal, that’s all." There was nothing slow about Rymer, however, but more on that anon . . .
The rewards if any were heading Terry Rymer’s way, but it was a close call. The ex-biker was raising a few eyebrows as he started collecting scalps, but his charge was put on hold by the safety car. Just before Paul Fuller called it a day the works TVR took to the gravel at the Bomb Hole. The marshals were seven laps trying to extract the black beast, by which time things had very nearly gone pear-shaped for Rymer. "It was so frustrating!" said Simmons "I get the feeling some of the other drivers don’t really understand the routine. Terry got stuck behind some cars out there that were not making any effort at all to catch up with the pack. We lost such a lot of ground." While things worked out well for some, it was not too good for others. "We were one of the others," said a disgruntled Simmons.
In truth there were not many that did benefit. Marino Franchitti in the leading GTO Porsche had seen the lead handed to him by Kelvin Burt evaporate from 30 seconds to just eight, but Rymer wasn’t hanging around to make calculations. As soon as the racing resumed, he was on a mission. Seventh in the class rapidly became fifth. Soon after that he swept past John Griffiths in the Eclipse Mantis to claim fourth. Next target was the Cerbera, and that fell victim on lap 32. Rymer was now just twelve seconds away from Franchitti, and the Scot appeared blissfully unaware of the threat.
For five laps the Harlow car took great chunks out Franchitti’s lead. Then, on lap 37, with the difference a mere 6.9 seconds, the Parr driver responded. "I caught sight of Rymer’s lights in my rear-view mirror just once," admitted the youngster, "but that was enough." After losing time to the #27 TVR, which defending aggressively despite being seven laps down, the gap stabilised at around seven seconds. "Even so, I wasn’t pushing 100%," insisted Franchitti, but we may never know. On the fortieth lap Rymer ran wide at the Esses.
"Terry caught the curb and ripped one of the radiators clean out," said Simmons later. "It’s gone completely — we never did find it! How the car finished, I’ll never know. In effect, he did the last four laps with one radiator missing." It was touch and go, though, but the chequered flag came just in time. With Rymer short-shifting to coax the car those final few miles he was seventeen seconds adrift when the hour came up, but delighted with the result.
After Silverstone, where Fuller & Fothergill had captured the Harlow spoils, it was good to see Simmons & Rymer taking their turn at Snetterton. They’d had the rough end of the stick at Silverstone in Round One, and Adam Simmons was especially pleased and relieved to see Terry Rymer crossing the line this time around. The fact that both Harlow cars have now collected points for second, and with another new pairing on the top step this time, the championship is already looking as though it could go anywhere this year. Consistent finishing may win the driver’s title in the end, but Harlow Motorsport is already looking a strong contender for the team trophy.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Pics: Miles Tripp |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Pic: David Stephens/Studio
21 |
|
|
|
|
|
