Britcar GT Snetterton

Sumpter and Slater take second at Snetterton 

 Mark Sumpter and Adrian Slater claimed another top result in the Britcar GT Championship when they took second place in the Snetterton four-hour race at the end of August.  Their Paragon Porsche-entered Porsche 911GT3RSR was on target for victory after a mighty contest with no less than three Moslers when a minute lost in their final pit stop left them second at the flag.

 The four-hour race was all about fuel strategy, with the leading Moslers needing six fuel stops, one stop more than the Porsche and the Paragon team knew that this was their trump card as they went head to head with the more powerful Moslers.  From the start, Sumpter slotted into third place and for three hours they traded places with the Moslers as the fuel situation developed. Strong stints from both Sumpter and Slater kept the Porsche firmly in contention and heading into the final hour everything looked good as the Paragon team prepared for their fifth and final fuel stop.

 Unfortunately there was a problem with the wheel arch inner lining over one of the rear wheels and they lost an extra minute fixing the problem before sending the car back into the race.  It was then a sprint to the finish and the Eclipse Motorsport Mosler was just 24s ahead at the flag, leaving the Paragon team to rue the minute lost in the pits. But Sumpter was still pleased with the result.  "The race was good fun and we were happy with our result," said Mark. "The Eclipse team has had a terrible season so far, so we were pleased to see them win," said Sumpter.  The Britcar GT season continues with the six-hour Silverstone 500 on 3 October.

(Images courtesy of P J Cherry)