SIR Chris Hoy gave an outstanding performance at Spa in round eight of the 2014 British GT Championship at the weekend.
Along with his Nissan team-mate, 2012 GT Academy Europe winner Wolfgang Reip, he took a second-place podium finish at one of the world’s toughest race tracks – having only seen the circuit for the first time on Thursday.
Spa-Francorchamps, the home of the Belgian Grand Prix, is high on the list of favourite tracks for racing drivers the world over. Renowned for its rollercoaster-like layout, it boasts some of the best corners in motorsport, including the daunting Eau Rouge and the fearsome Blanchimont.
“I was blown away by the circuit,” said Sir Chris. “Seeing Eau Rouge in the flesh, so to speak, is a bit like seeing velodrome banking for the first time. It’s a lot steeper than it looks on TV. The first time you drive towards Eau Rouge with your foot flat to the floor is a real eye-opener. It isn’t just Eau Rouge though, there are some amazing high-speed corners and it really suits the GT-R.”
Things got under way first thing Saturday at a damp and misty Spa, and choosing to err on the side of caution, the team started his Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 on wet tyres but ultimately the track was just dry enough for slicks. It was a tough initiation for Sir Chris but between him and Reip – aka Wolfie – they kept the GT-R on the black stuff and finished the race in 14th place. Everything would hang on the result of race two.
Reip was on starting duty for the second of the day’s two races and after a fantastic performance in qualifying he started from third on the grid.
“Bob [Neville – team boss] told me to push like hell at the start so that’s exactly what I did,” said Reip. “I took second place going into the first corner and then I just had Alexander Sim’s BMW in front of me. I got a better exit out of Eau Rouge, so the added momentum helped me to pass him on the straight before Les Coombes. He stayed on my bumper after that but we pulled out a 16-second gap to third place during that run.”
‘Tense’
The Safety Car came out after the pit window opened, bunching the field up again and taking away that hard-earned buffer, but once the driver change was complete it was Sir Chris who led the race, and when the race went green he held on to first place. Then another Safety Car came out, giving him a little breathing space before what turned out to be a four-lap dash to the chequered flag. As the race went green, Sir Chris had the entire field on his tail.
“Those final laps were pretty tense,” said Sir Chris. “Being in second was a new experience for me. You don’t think about what’s behind you, and the less excited you are, the easier it becomes. I kept it simple, as I’m still learning and it’s not second nature to me yet.
“What an incredible place for us to get our first podium. It was a real sense of relief for me. Wolfie did an amazing job, the team were all great and we have had some bad luck this year so this was our big chance.”
The weekend’s racing at Spa also provided Reip with a fantastic warm-up to the Spa 24 Hours, which takes place in just two weeks’ time.
“This was my second-ever race meeting at Spa and I got a podium finish,” he said. “The first time I came here was for the Spa 24 Hours last year and I got a podium then too. Let’s hope I can make it three out of three at the end of the month!”
While driving the NISMO GT-R at the Goodwood Festival of Speed last month, Sir Chris crashed into straw bales on the Molecomb corner, fortunately climbing out unhurt.
Darren Cox, NISMO’s Global Head of Brand, Marketing & Sales, said: “Chris showed us all how to go from zero to hero today. After his slip-up at Goodwood – which happened at a corner that has caught out vastly experienced drivers before – the doubters got all excited, but he has proved everyone wrong today. He still has a long way to go, but to show up at Spa for the first time and perform like that is exactly what we expect from our drivers. It goes without saying that Wolfie did a brilliant job, just as we would expect a GT Academy winner to do.”
