FIA EUROPEAN GT3 CHAMPIONSHIP
Tonbridge racer Phil Quaife scored a well deserved third place podium finish today in
Phil driving with fellow Brit, Tom Ferrier, in a Tech 9 Motorsport Porsche 997 GT3 Cup car, arrived in the capital city fresh from driving in the Porsche Supercup at
The street circuit location for the racing proved to be challenging for the large field of GT3 cars and with around 40 cars on track, it was difficult to find a clear lap to post a quick time in qualifying. However Phil enjoyed his first experience of driving in these conditions.
In the first race of the weekend Phil was behind the wheel of the Porsche racer for the initial part of the race, inheriting third on the grid after a Lamborghini was not able to take the start. Shortly after the race began in earnest the second placed racer hit a wall and Phil was lucky to avoid being caught up in this, as the car slewed across the track, narrowly missing the Tech 9 car. This accident brought out the first of a number of safety car periods and with its severity it took a number of laps to clear up. During this, the first pit window opened and Phil, along with many of the field, pitted for the mandatory driver change.
Ferrier was quickly back out on track and with the speed of the Tech 9 crew jumped a further place to effectively lead the race, although a number of cars had not pitted for their mandatory stops. The track conditions were continually changing in the race. Phil had opted to start on dry tyres and when Ferrier took over the driving he put on fresh slicks as well. However rain soon fell and the Tech 9 entry made a further stop for wet tyres. Unfortunately the team had a small problem with the pit equipment which slowed the stop and put Phil and Ferrier down the order, dropping them to ninth at the chequered flag.
A number of cars were unable to take the start of the second race, with numerous accidents during the course of the weekend sidelining entries. Phil took the wheel for the start of the race lining up in 15th and with organisers opting to start it under the safety car, the field toured in position until the end of the opening lap. Racing then started in earnest, but after nine laps an accident brought out the first safety car period with Phil in ninth place. With the pit window opening and the safety car out on track the team opted to pit for the mandatory stop. Ferrier took over driving duties and the Tech 9 crew took the right decision by changing the tyres to wets with rain starting to fall. Ferrier was soon back out on track. Ten minutes before the end of the race Ferrier had improved to fifth place and by the chequered flag had taken fourth place. A 30 second penalty for a pitlane infringement by the second placed Ascari entry dropped them down the order and the Quaife/Ferrier pairing were happy to inherit the final podium place.
Phil was pleased with the outcome and said, “It's been a good weekend, although not without its challenges. I loved the street circuit atmosphere, but with such a big field you needed eyes in the back of your head, as there were so many incidents during the sessions. The performance differential is lessened with this type of circuit and wet weather conditions, so it really suited the Porsche and also put more focus on driver ability.
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