18.08.2003 VELOQX MAKE SUCCESSFUL RETURN TO BRITISH GT CHAMPIONSHIP AT THRUXTON
Having decided not to relax during the holiday period that most of their fellow FIA GT Championship contenders are currently enjoying, Brackley-based Veloqx Motorsport continued their development work over the weekend and re-entered a series as a one-off that the team secured victory in last year, namely the British GT Championship.
Seizing the opportunity to continue to progress with several new developments that will find their way on to the team’s two FIA GT race cars, Veloqx’s Ferrari, race number 88, was quickest during all of the test sessions and secured pole position during qualifying on Saturday. Starting for the team was Tim Mullen, who dominated the first period of the race yesterday by pulling away from the chasing pack by some two seconds per lap.
However, due to a safety car incident, Mullen’s lead was significantly reduced by the time he pitted for the mandatory driver change. Therefore, Andrew Kirkaldy re-entered the race more than half a minute behind the front runners in fifth but, like Mullen, drove superbly to enable the team to take an eventual second place, just two seconds behind the winner after 75 minutes of close racing.
“Although disappointed not to win the race outright, finishing so close to the victor was a great reward for the team during what was otherwise a perfect weekend,” commented Steve Hagger, Veloqx Motorsport’s Chief Mechanic. “The car worked extremely well with no reliability issues whatsoever. Both Tim and Andrew’s performances were outstanding, with Andrew securing fastest lap time and again during the second half of the race. We went to Thruxton to test some new developments but also provide spectators with some great racing. We were most definitely successful on both fronts. It is now time for us to continue our work in the FIA GT Championship and we will take the additional knowledge gained at Thruxton with us to Sweden in September.”
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