FIA GT Monza 19/10/2003

Podium finish for Paragon

The Paragon Porsche-backed Porsche 911GT3RS scored a superb third place in the final round of the FIA Championship at Monza (Italy) over the weekend (18/19 October).

It was the second podium finish of the season for the Paragon cars and was a superb result for the team at the conclusion of a debut season in international GT racing. "It was an excellent way to finish the year," said Mark Sumpter.  

Unfortunately, the regular driver line-up changed at the last minute when Sumpter was forced to stand down due to family illness a couple of days before the race. At very short notice, Mike Jordan contacted Rob Barff, who jumped at the chance of joining the team for the race weekend.  This was the first time that the team had competed at the famous Italian circuit and they spent the free practice and qualifying sessions working to tune the cars to the circuit. 

That meant the Jordan/Barff car started 11th on the grid, two places ahead of the team's other car for Godfrey and David Jones.  Jordan started the race and had a scare at the first corner when another car half-spun in front of him. But Mike then attacked throughout his hour-long stint and worked up to seventh place by the time he handed the car over to Rob. An excellent pit stop gained them two places and that soon became fourth when one of their rivals crashed out.  

Having kept the car in fourth in his 50-minute stint, Rob handed the John Guest car over to Jordan for the final hour. "I got my head down and drove flat out all the way," said Mike, who moved into third place when the works-supported Porsche he was closing down hit engine trouble.  So, after nearly three hours of flat out racing, the Paragon car was third in the N-GT category and earned a deserved trip to the podium. 

Unfortunately, the car of the Jones brothers went out before the end of the first hour with a spin into the gravel.  "Monza is a fantastic circuit with a great atmosphere," said Jordan. "This is a result we should have had some time ago, but it is a great way to end the season."