British Endurance Championship – Round 3, Snetterton
There was no way that this wasn’t going to happen; on his home – and favourite – track, Bonamy Grimes, partnered by Johnny Mowlem , claimed a popular victory in the FF Corse with Red River Sport Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo.
Race 1
Grimes had already laid down a marker in that qualifying session, annexing pole by 0.165 over Gambrell, the pair having the best part of five seconds over Dom Malone’s Porsche.
As the front-runners held position into the first corner as the red lights went out for the rolling start, behind them, as the field piled into the Wilson hairpin. The Safety Car was soon deployed, and the field was neutralised for three laps. Once the race resumed, Grimes and Gambrell pulled out a considerable gap.
The pit stop window opened after what seemed just a few laps of racing, and with a sequenced format, the Challenge/GT/Ginetta/TCR contingent had the first six-minute window, with the second sequence going to the Trophy and Cup runners. Grimes was the first in, handing the Ferrari to Johnny Mowlem, simultaneously with pit lane starter Dom Malone, who’s progress had been thwarted.
Another safety car was deployed for a car making heavy contact with the barriers (driver ok!). With multiple pit stops taking place, the Safety Car picking up the leader was impossible, so the top three overall, – Gambrell, Mowlem and Malone, were line astern midfield in the pack when the field was let loose with just four minutes of the race left to run.
For the win, this was novice Gambrell’s courage and confidence against Mowlem’s skill and experience – Gambrell had yet to be overtaken on track in a Britcar race, let alone fend-off a pursuit in traffic, and Mowlem had probably had to cut through a pack of racing back-markers dozens, maybe a hundred, times before.
Gambrell forced his way through several cars, while Mowlem bided his time until there was a semblance of a gap in the traffic, hauling the Ferrari up to the back of the red Porsche around Coram, and moving alongside as they crossed the line to start the final lap and the gap was less than one and a half seconds when Mowlem finally took the flag.
Bonamy Grimes commented, “What a race when we got going. Yeah, it was really good. I hope everybody’s okay in the various safety car incidents, but it was a shame it wasn’t green all the way because we’re so close. It’s a piece of paper between us [and the Porsche], so it’s really great. Really great race. We get to go again this afternoon, so we’ll try again!”
Race 2
It was a little easier for Bonamy Grimes and Johnny Mowlem in the second race of the day, the FF Corse with Red River Sport Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo, taking a convincing win after attrition put paid to some significant contenders, in a race that saw the previous result in the classes turned on it’s head.
Race start, Grimes followed by Gambrell, with Malone now third, Grimes confidently built the gap to Gambrell by 5 seconds to hand over to Mowlem with Gambrell’s Porsche not returning from it’s mandatory stop, a holed radiator being diagnosed.
Yet more on track breakdowns and incidents, with a lot of clearing up to do, the Safety Car was deployed, and with just 11 minutes of the race left, further racing was in doubt, and so it ended – a five-lap run-down to the flag under caution with Mowlem winning by nearly a quarter of a minute over Dom Malone. This was a famous victory for the pro/am partnership, particularly for Bonamy Grimes, a local man in front of guests from his old Diss scout group.
Johnny Mowlem commented, “I really enjoyed the first race, and Bon did a great job in both races. We knew with the extra penalty with the Porsche driving on his own, I had to make up about 18 seconds in my stint. So, I was really fired up. It’s a shame to finish under safety car, but it’s a really good result and Bon just drove beautifully. The FF Corse team did a fantastic job this weekend. We’ve come back, learned from some of the errors we’ve made in the in the last couple of races, and we’ve also had some bad luck, so it’s nice to come here and start winning again. We’re just going to go for as many wins as we possibly can get now.”
Team Principal Ed Barton-Hilton said, “We are delighted to achieve such a result, especially at Snetterton, Bon’s home circuit, and in the British Endurance Championship, where Bon, Johnny, and the team, have had so much success in the past. They continue to push us in the pursuit of perfection and we learn a lot from their extensive race experience and dedication. It’s a partnership we cherish, and we are devoted to delivering them many more victories.”
Text: Steve Wood; photos: Steve Jackman, Chris Valentine, Stevie Borowik and Paul Cherry
