A scintillating lap helped Tim Bridgman and Trackspeed claim pole position for round eight of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship at Rockingham on Saturday before a mechanical failure put paid to his hopes of a second victory in 2011.
On a weekend that saw most of their championship rivals also encounter problems, Bridgman and team-mate Gregor Fisken demonstrated the sort of pace that should have seen them claw back vital points as the season enters its final stages.
In qualifying at least Bridgman was in imperious form en route to the #2 Porsche’s first pole position of the year thanks to a lap 0.337 seconds faster than his nearest challenger during the second session. That Rockingham is regarded by fellow drivers as a difficult circuit to exploit made the time all the sweeter.
Tim Bridgman: “Our car can be a bit sensitive when the track is still green but essentially it was great out of the box at Rockingham. Once the rubber went down in practice we were able to really push so I was confident going into qualifying, especially after Gregor had gone third fastest in the first session. My first lap was probably the only time so far this season that I’ve had a clear track in qualifying and fortunately I was able to exploit that, as the next two were compromised. Set-up wise the team did a great job.”
But Bridgman, whose prowess in changeable conditions had helped the #2 car record its first victory of the season at Brands Hatch earlier in the year, would be denied a shot at doubling his tally ahead of Sunday’s opening race when a rare mechanical issue struck during warm-up, forcing he and Fisken to withdraw from the event.
“Naturally we’re both very disappointed because the pace was clearly there to score a couple of big results which would have got us right amongst the championship battle. But that’s racing sometimes and at least we can go to Donington later this month knowing that the car is in good shape. Now it’s just a case of finishing the season on a high and making up for the frustration here.”
The three hour British GT race at Donington Park takes place on September 25 ahead of Silverstone’s season finale the following month.
For more information visit www.timbridgman.co.uk
Photo: Jakob Ebrey