NEWS
12.10.09
Another Drivers Club pupil on the podium at Silverstone
Following Chris Cappuccini’s VdeV class win at Ledenon a fortnight ago, fellow Drivers Club pupil Simon Dolan and his coach and co-driver, Sam Hancock, had to settle for second place in the final SPEED Series round at Silverstone on Saturday after a fuel problem with only three minutes of the three hour race remaining robbed the team of certain victory.
With Sam having qualified the car in second position, just 0.170 seconds shy of pole, the reigns were handed to Simon to take the opening stint of the race.
Making his now customary good getaway, Simon held second for the first 30 minutes, before dropping to third after an intense battle. A small trip-up while lapping a back-marker would later cost Simon 20 seconds and although he ultimately handed the car over to Sam in 5th position, the pair were still very much in contention.
Despite a one lap deficit to the leader it wasn’t long before the former Le Mans Series champion had made up for lost time, returning the #47 Jota Sport-run Ligier to second place within the first 45 minutes of his stint. Hancock was by now the fastest man on the track, reducing his minute plus gap to the leader by 1-2 seconds per lap and setting the fastest lap of the race in the process.
With the leader's advantage rapidly evaporating, the team were then handed a slice of good fortune when a Safety Car period with just 45 minutes left bunched the field, reducing their deficit to a matter of seconds. Once clear of the lapped traffic at the re-start, it wasn’t long before the lead similarly fell.
Half an hour remained when Hancock set about establishing an advantage of his own. And with a 20 second gap later secured, he needed only to cruise to the chequered flag where a first Series victory would await. But with just a handful of laps remaining, the fuel pressure began to drop. One slow lap later and it was clear that the car would not last the distance, prompting a final top-up. With the rules requiring all drivers to evacuate their cars while refuelling, it was anything but a splash-and-dash, costing the team nearly two minutes.
Incredibly, such was their margin before the problem that Hancock still emerged for the final tour in second. He duly reeled off the final few miles to secure the runners-up spot and third overall in the championship for himself and Simon.
“Obviously we’re all pretty disappointed,” said Sam. “We’ve been in the position to win a few times this year but never that close, just a few laps from the finish. Having said that, it’s been a great debut season in this championship both for Simon and I and for us as a team. We’ve been really impressed with the organisation and it’s reinforced our belief that this is the best training ground for those looking to drive prototypes in the LMS and Le Mans 24 Hours, which was highlighted by Simon’s recent LMP2 testing pace at Snetterton. We’re currently evaluating our options for 2010 but we'd very much like the team to return to the Speed Series, possibly with an expanded line-up.”
The squad returns to action in the penultimate VdeV round at Magny-Cours, on October 23-25.