The Ginetta G57 once again proved its performance capabilities today (28/05/2016) with overall victory and second position in the four hour V de V Endurance Championship at Paul Ricard today.
Strong all weekend, one of the six-entered Ginettas topped every one of the timed sessions over the course of the three days, with a full lockout of the top three grid positions for the race. An incredible lap by Mike Simpson saw him secure pole position for himself and teammate Simon Murray by some margin after setting an impressive 1:56.782s lap time.
Starting from the front row, it was Tomlinson who was the early leader, having passed Murray on the opening lap. Winslow and Muston also found their way around the pole sitting car as spin dropped him well down the order early on, setting him up for a fight back through the pack. Although he picked up a handful of positions, it was down to Factory Driver Mike Simpson to bring the car home with a result.
Jumping on board after two hours – and re-joining in a lowly P19 – he well and truly got the hammer down and picked off 14 spots to move up to fifth by the time the race reached the final hour. His last fuel stop saw him fall back down to eighth but with thirty minutes to go; he was in fourth and bearing down on the leaders, who still had to make another stop.
Elsewhere, a storming opening stint by James Winslow meant the #99 Nova Race entry was in the race lead by the mid-point in spite of an extra pit stop for new tyres. Fresh off the back of two Michelin Ginetta GT4 SuperCup victories a week ago, Hibbert wanted more of the same, but Simpson had the bit between his teeth, and, feeling confident, began to close the gap as the race entered the final hour.
With 25 minutes left to run, both Hibbert and the car in second position stopped for fuel, handing an opportunity to Simpson. Flying around the Paul Ricard track, he hammered into the lead just as Hibbert made his way back down the pit lane to rejoin the race.
As the flag came out, an elated Simpson powered across the line to take his first V de V victory of the 2017 season, much to the joy of the Simpson Racing team. Nova Race crossed the line to take second overall and in the PFV class, whilst the Pegasus Racing entry of Neal Muston and Craig Jarvis finished third in the PFV class following an eventful race.
In the #32 car of Tomlinson and Robertson, a strong start saw them take the lead off the line but a busy refuelling station under an early safety car saw Tomlinson lose time, whilst a quick stop to check his tyre pressures dropped him further down the order before the first driver change. Not long into Robertson’s stint, he was handed a stop-go penalty for a pit lane infringement and then forced to make an unscheduled – and lengthy – pit stop. Although amongst the strongest performers all weekend, the car finished fourth in class, but with plenty of crucial development information to take back to Leeds.
An incredibly strong performance from Sanders and Fielding saw them running consistently inside the top three and on for a podium. At the halfway point, Sanders handed over to Fielding with a minute in hand, but not long after the driver change a mechanical issue forced him to pull off the track, and unable to be recovered to the garage, into retirement.
The teams and drivers now look forward to the fourth round of the season which once again take place in France, this time at Dijon from 23 – 25 June.
