Top result at Monza after dramatic afternoon
By Lindsay Morle
Jul 10, 2005, 19:00
Le Mans Endurance Series – Round Two 10 July 2005
Nathan Kinch and Andrew Kirkaldy took a hard-earned second place in the highly competitive GT2 class of the Le Mans Endurance Series at Monza today. Starting from second place on the grid, Kirkaldy ran comfortably during the opening laps of the 1000km race but had to pit before the end of his first stint with a tyre problem. Back out on fresh rubber he set about making up for the time lost during his unscheduled stop but just over half an hour later he had to pit again with the same problem.
At the second stop the team took the decision to switch to a harder Pirelli tyre and Nathan Kinch rejoined the race with a lot of work to do to make up the lost ground. A strong stint from the 23-year-old Scot saw him fight his way up the field to sixth position. The drama continued when Kinch was pushed off the circuit by Barbosa in the Rollcentre Dallara but he managed to pit and rejoin the race after his trip through the gravel.
The next stage of the race saw Kirkaldy back out in the Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari during a time when many of the GT2 cars were beginning to struggle. Kirkaldy double-stinted the tyres and, along with the misfortune of others, he hauled the Ferrari to within two seconds of the leader.
Kinch took over the wheel for the final stint ready to fight for the lead but after a gruelling afternoon of racing the Scot had to back off when the car developed a yet undiagnosed engine problem so he had to back off and settle for second.
In a race of such high attrition - just 50% of the GT2 runners were classified – the Scuderia Ecosse team was delighted to come through with a podium finish. As Kirkaldy commented, “We were so quick here all weekend but we had every drama imaginable!” With the TVRs failing to finish the LMES Championship is now wide open and Scuderia Ecosse is looking forward to continuing the fight at Silverstone in a few weeks’ time.
1. Pompidou/Lieb (Porsche GT3 R) Sebah Automotive 5:04:00.119
2. Kinch/Kirkaldy (Ferrari 360 GTC) Scuderia Ecosse + 2 laps
3. Collin/Felbermayr Snr/Felbermayr Jnr (Porsche GT3 RS) Seikel Motorsport + 4 laps
4. Lambert/Lefort/Palltala (Porsche GT3 RSR) Ice Pol Racing Team + 4 laps
5. Petersen/Mathai/Lueders (Porsche GT3 RS) JP Racing + 7 laps
6. Daniels/Gooding (Porsche GT3 RS) James Watt Automotive + 10 laps
7. Nielson/Thyrring/Ehret (Porsche GT3 RSR) Sebah Automotive + 20 laps
Not Classified:
Nattavude/Kunplome/Vutthikorn (Porsche GT3 RS) Tech 9 Motorsport DNF
Groppi/Moccia/Rockenfeller (Porsche GT3 RS) Autorlando Sport DNF
Cocker/Sugden (Porsche GT3 R) GruppeM Racing DNF
Marsh/O’Young (Porsche GT3 RSR) Noble Group-GruppeM Racing DNF
Hughes/Kane (TVR T400R) Team LNT DNF
Rosa/Drudi/Babini (Ferrari 360) GPC Sport DNF
Hynes/Pearce/Tomlinson (TVR T400R) Team LNT DNS
