Peter's return to the beautiful Spa-Francorchamps circuit near Liege in Belgium was something of a last minute affair. Having driven the Reflex Racing Ginetta of Derek Holden for a few laps of Castle Combe several weeks ago "to see if I liked it", Peter wasn't expecting to be driving the car again so soon, let alone at one of the world's most challenging circuits, in a field of more than 80 cars!
"Derek called me the week before the race and offered me his seat alongside Tom Ferrier (Ginetta Championship front runner and European Touring Car star). I had to scramble to get things sorted but the chance to drive a competitive car at Spa is not something I can turn down easily!"
Travelling out early on the Friday meant Peter would be able to acclimatise to the car in the general practice session scheduled for the late afternoon. With so little time previously in the car, every lap would be a bonus, but also it would allow the team to assess the car's set up and fuel consumption for the event.
There was a major surprise in store on arrival at Spa...the sun was shining from a clear blue sky, with temperatures well into the mid twenties! "I couldn't believe the weather - it didn't feel like Spa at all! Every time I've come here, it was raining or been misty. I even left my sunglasses at home this time!"
The free practice in fact did not get underway until 7pm, and with the sun close to setting, dew was starting to fall, making the track slightly slippery. Peter completed two runs in the number 111 car, the second being a 30 minute stint which would be similar to what he would drive in the race. "The car was fine, no real problems other than a slight brake imbalance and a malfunction on the dashboard display, and I was able to lap around the 3:06 mark, even with all the traffic. I had to be a bit cautious as it got darker, also because parts of the track were pretty treacherous, particularly Blanchimont and the new tarmac at the Bus Stop chicane (which was modified this year)."
The traffic would in fact have a major effect on the weekend. In the free practice, there were more than 130 cars on track, ranging from AC Cobras, Porsches, Jaguars and other heavily modified cars, most of which were more powerful than the Ginetta, but significantly less agile in the corners. "They would blast past along the straights and then we'd catch them under braking, and then be held up behind them through the corners, which kills our lap time completely."
Nevertheless the session was a helpful familiarization for all the drivers and after running through the usual preparatory checks on the cars, Reflex Racing were able to get back to the hotel for a good night's sleep, ready for official Qualifying which would take place at 8:30am on Saturday.
Once again the weather was out of character, the forecast indicating temperatures even hotter than Friday. In the deep shaded valleys of Spa, Saturday morning was still cool as the cars took to the track for Qualifying, Tom Ferrier taking the first stint in the 111 Ginetta. He quickly got down to a 3:04 lap (in fact the team recorded a 3:02 on the stopwatch but this was not replicated on the official timesheets) which was enough to qualify the car within the top 15 (out of more than 80 cars).
Peter then took over and for the first three of four laps was frustrated by traffic, particularly in the twisting sections of Les Combes, Malmedy, Rivage and critically at Stavelot where the agile Ginetta needed to carry speed through the corner to be quick all the way through Blanchimont and to the Bus Stop. Nevertheless, he put in a laptime of 3:07, reporting that the track was a lot grippier than it had been on Friday evening. An MG engine then expired at Rivage, dumping a long oil slick there and causing several cars to spear into the barrier, temporarily red flagging the session. When the debris had been cleared away, the session re-started, but it was not clear how many minutes remained.
"I went out again and concentrated on finding space to get a clear leap in," Peter said. "Although running alone means you can't slipstream the faster cars on the straights, at least you won't be held up on the corners. The car felt great, slightly understeery on the fast corners but nothing extreme. I put in what I felt was a very clean quick lap almost straight away, certainly much quicker than anything I did on Friday even though I had to be a bit careful on the remains the Rivage oil. Well, at least it was a clean lap right up until the Bus Stop..!"
Under braking there, the car just suddenly snapped sideways at the rear and slid broadside into one of the tyre "bollards" marking the first part of the chicane, damaging the steering and bodywork. Peter was unhurt and returned the car to the pits, his session over. "I was initially very annoyed with myself, because I thought I must have simply made a mistake, but the more I thought about it, the more I couldn't see how the car could have spun that way, so early in the braking zone."
It was only when the team dismantled the car back under the awning that the probable cause was identified. The oil breather tank on the right-hand side of the car had overflowed, and oil could be seen spattered all down that side of the car and onto the rear wheel. The likelihood is that oil got onto the rear right tyre causing to lose grip under braking. "With all the space there is at the Bus Stop, it's just unfortunate that we hit the bollard. I want to say a big thanks to the Reflex guys, particularly Ed and Derek, who worked so hard to repair the car for the race."
At the end of Qualifying, the number of cars on track decreased and several other cars improved their times, including the Ginetta of Ed Morris. This left the Ferrier/Cate duo 19th on the grid, and second of the Ginettas.
The one-hour race would start on Sunday at 9:20am. The race rules require a mandatory pit stop and driver change. In the case of several cars, including the Reflex Ginettas, refuelling would also have to occur at this pitstop halfway through the race. The organisers had arranged for a "traffic light" system to indicate to the drivers on track whether the official refuelling pumps were free (green light) or busy (red light) to avoid waiting in line and losing valuable time.
Overnight the weather had reverted to standard Spa: rolling clouds, mist and patches of blue, with frequent light rain showers leaving the track surface wet. "Although I have driven many laps of Spa in the rain, I didn't really want to be introduced to the Ginetta's wet handling characteristics here at Spa with 80 other cars around me."
The Ginetta championship will use new Dunlop wet tyres next year, as the single "dry" tyre they run this year has not worked well in the rain. However, Peter and Tom elected to race the car on this year's "dry" tyres, because it appeared that the track would dry significantly through the race. It meant that the first half of the race would be tricky, and as Peter drove around the warm-up lap, it was clear there was a lot more spray than was apparent from the trackside.
As the lights changed to green, and the grid rocketed down to Eau Rouge, Peter stayed out of trouble, cars slewing and sliding all around. Into the second lap, chaos broke out at the top of Eau Rouge as Ed Morris lost control on the kerbs and spun just over the brow. "There was no time for warning flags: we just had to take avoiding action and it didn't help that a slow car was also exiting the pitlane on the right!"
With no harm done, this incident left Peter as the leading Ginetta, and a steady few laps picking off the those ahead saw the 111 car climb to 16th place (where it should have qualified if Tom's time had stood). A quick half-spin at Malmedy "due to a slower car on the exit" dropped him back several places and into the clutches of a fast-starting Derek Holden, who was co-piloting the Chris Everill Ginetta.
"I had to be pretty robust with Del," Peter smiled. "He tried to bottle me up behind another car into Des Fagnes and I only just got through. I knew I had to stay ahead of him because he wasn't planning to refuel (his car having been fitted with a larger fuel tank)." Peter was able to pull away and re-pass the cars ahead, despite some over-ambitious moves on their part in the braking zones as the track started to dry.
Finally the team signalled Peter to come in towards the 30 minute mark, with Tom waiting in the pits to take over. However, as Peter came around to the pit entry at the end of the lap, the refuelling "traffic lights" were not functioning, and as there were no cars ahead, Peter took an extra lap in order to build up a bigger cushion to the cars behind. This was to be a fatal decision...
Whilst the nimble Ginetta was quick through Eau Rouge, a following Morgan blasted by towards the end of the long Kemel Straight which follows. "The Morgan was clearly more powerful, and the guy was driving it to the limit everywhere, but ultimately he had to brake much earlier than us and didn't have the mid-corner speed of our car. I was anxious to be past him before the end of the lap though in case he dived into the pits and we'd be stuck behind him in the re-fuelling line. Going down into Pouhon, I moved out to the left of the Morgan, just waiting for him to brake early again and we'd be through, but the guy decided to play stupid and he turned across on me as he braked, leaving me with nowhere to go. I got on the anchors and tried to avoid him but just tapped his rear corner as he came across, which spun as both off into the gravel. The racing line avoids the first apex: there was no reason why he had to cut across me like that and it screwed up both our races".
To add insult to injury, the Morgan was able to eventually restart, although well down the field, whilst the Ginetta, though clear of the gravel trap had a steering problem, probably due to a stone in the steering rack. It meant an aggrieved Peter had to stand and watch the rest of the race from the wrong side of the barriers whilst the team wondered what had happened.
"It's a horrible feeling to be stuck out there, especially when you know your team-mate is waiting for you to come around, but apart from sitting behind the Morgan, I don't know what I could have done differently. It's a shame our race ended this way, but on balance, this has been a good introduction to the Ginetta on a track I love."
"I want to thank everyone at Reflex Racing, especially Derek, for making this race possible, and I'm looking forward to putting things in place for 2005 as soon as possible, in order that I can get back behind the wheel and set up the car a little more to my liking, particularly in the wet!"
