It was a 1-2 for CR Scuderia at the season finale
CR Scuderia’s first British GT season drew to a close at Donington Park today with an emphatic 1-2 victory for the team. Luke Hines and Jeremy Metcalfe took their second win of the year, bringing the team’s tally up to six, and they were followed home by the triple race-winning pairing of Michael Cullen and Paddy Shovlin. James Sutton and Michael Meadows retired with a technical problem just after the half way mark after being on for an assured podium finish.
The final standings see Jeremy and Luke take the runner-up spot in the Driver’s Championship with Michael Cullen just behind them in third, and Paddy Shovlin in fourth. Along with first place in the Teams’ Championship it has been a fantastic first year of British GT racing for CRS.
It was Luke, Paddy and Michael Meadows who took the start of the two-hour race and they all gained positions when the lights went green. There was a good amount of overtaking in the opening stages, in particular on lap 13 when Luke breezed past the no.2 Viper and into the race lead. Once the order settled Luke was first, Paddy was third and Michael was right behind him in fourth.
The safety car was deployed 47 minutes into the race and all three CRS Ferraris pitted whilst the race was under caution. At the 59 minute mark the green flag waved and the race was back on. Jeremy was in the lead in the no.14 Ferrari, followed by the Jones brothers’ Ascari. Michael Cullen was in third and James Sutton in fourth. Just a few minutes later though James’ race was over when he had to pull off the track with an engine problem.
“It’s a terrible shame,” said James. “Michael and I were looking good to beat Simonsen and Lester in the championship but unfortunately a technical problem ended our run.”
The order held until the very end of the race when the Jones brothers suddenly retired, putting Michael Cullen up into second place, completing a 1-2 for CRS.
“I’m really happy to win the final race of the year,” said a very happy Luke Hines. “I enjoyed the opening laps as there was a lot of pushing and shoving. It was good to take the lead and bring it all the way to the pit stop in first place. The whole team has worked really hard this weekend so I’m delighted for all of them.”
“That was a tough race,” continued Metcalfe. “The car felt so good though that I was able to hold back at the end and preserve fuel. Luke did a great job at the start. The team has been great all year and I want to thank them for a fantastic season.”
Joining Luke and Jeremy on the podium were Michael and Paddy, who both thoroughly enjoyed their run to second place, and indeed their first season in the British GT Championship. Michael was caught by Allan Simonsen in the dying moments of the race but there was no way the Irishman was going to make way for the Dane.
“Simonsen got by me on the last lap at Brands Hatch so there was no way in the world he was getting past me today,” smiled Michael. “This team is fantastic, they’ve all worked hard all year but above all else it has been a lot of fun!”
CRS Team Principal and 2006 British GT Champion, Chris Niarchos, was at Donington today to see his team finish off the season in style.
“I couldn’t be happier with the progress we have made throughout this year,” said Chris. “With a new team and new drivers it has been an incredible year one. We’ve had our ups and downs; we’ve all made mistakes and we have all learnt from them. During the latter half of the season we made big improvements as a unit and the results show that for themselves. We’re looking forward to 2009 and the next chapter in the CRS story. We’ve made our mark and, as a team we will only get stronger, so we are looking forward to the years to come.”