INGSport show the Dutch some courage at Brands.
INGSport Racing were invited to take part in the British round of the prestigious Dutch Supercar International double header event held on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit. An offer of the chance to put the INGSport team and in particular the new BMW Z4 GT3 up against some of the best GT teams in Europe was an opportunity not to be missed.
The three day event held in glorious sunshine was this seasons 6th round of the hugely popular Dutch Supercar Challenge Championship and Friday saw most teams taking full advantage of the free practice time available. Team director Ian Lawson was first to take the car out on track on Friday followed by frequent guest driver and Brands Hatch expert Kevin Clarke who got his first taste of the mighty Z4 GT3.
With preparation complete the team faced qualifying on Saturday morning and a steady but very respectable 4th row 7th place was achieved.
Lights out for Race 1 followed at 3pm and the huge grid of more than 30 cars thundered into Paddock Hill bend for the first lap. By the time the cars reappeared on the start straight Clarke had already made up 2 places and as Paddock Hill approached for the second time the huge crowds also got their first taste of the incredible sounding Z4 as Clarke took a third scalp into turn 1. INGSport and Clarke had shown they were not here for a picnic! However the next 25 minutes of racing was, in rugby parlance, brutal. The Dutch Championship regulars were in no mood to tolerate the interloping Z4 and appeared to show their displeasure with some questionable manoeuvres. As the pit stop window opened 25 minutes in to the race the INGSport crew called their man in. Clarke was the first driver to make the mandatory 90 second pit stop and it was clear to the waiting crew that the affectionately nicknamed “Thor” had taken some heavy blows to each corner in the opening laps.
After a slightly longer pit stop to check the extent of the damage, the Z4 re-entered the track 21 seconds behind its schedule. As the other cars all made their stops and the race order started to settle again, it was clear that Clarke needed to use all his experience and skill to keep out of further trouble, which he did, this resulted in a trouble free run to a very creditable 4th place finish and, most notably, only 19 seconds behind the winner. What could have been!
Saturday evening saw the whole team assisting in repairing what they could and patching up what they couldn’t. By the time the sun rose on Sunday morning the BMW Z4 was looking at its intimidating best once more. Round 2 was about to follow.
Race 2 got underway at 11am prompt and thanks to another great start from his 8th place grid slot Clarke was able to watch the mayhem unfold in front of him as the leading Dodge Viper and Volvo V8 cars wiped each other out at turn 6 on the opening lap. The 3rd placed Corvette went wide to avoid the melee and rejoined at the back. A by now very wary Clarke threaded his way through the carnage and this time escaped untouched. The leading cars had suffered terminal damage and the resulting safety car was in circulation for a lengthy 15 minutes while the mess was swept up. After the safety car had departed the race restarted and quickly Clarke was leading by a reasonable margin. The pit stop came 27 minutes in and on this occasion the INGSport team showed their worth and nailed it perfectly to within a tenth of a second of the required 90.
The second half of the race was less kind to Clarke as lap after lap he was forced to cautiously battle his way through the slower back marker traffic. On several occasions the time lost was sufficient to allow the 2nd placed Corvette to gain valuable ground and, inevitably, the huge horsepower advantage of the big Chevy pushed pass Clarke to take the lead on the penultimate lap. None the less, a well deserved 2nd place is something the team are very proud of and rightly so. Once again the INGSport BMWCC Z4 had shown its class on the International stage.
Team Director Ian Lawson said after the race, “Kevin and the team have done a fantastic job bagging a 4th and 2nd here this weekend and it’s been a real privilege to race in such a prestigious event. The huge crowd has been so supportive of the BMW Z4, it is clearly a favourite with them and thanks also to all the fans and followers of INGSport for your support”.
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