MotorsTV UK Official Blog

Hi all

Apologies for not posting sooner but we’ve had a busy couple of weeks so thought I’d save the blog for after Adria.

As I said, it’s been a couple of weeks since I was last here and since then two FIA GT3 races have come and gone. The first was at Silverstone at the beginning of May and to be honest we weren’t as competitive there as we’d hoped.

The nature of the championship means that it’s important to have all the cars equalised. It’s intended to make for closer, action packed racing without the manufacturers getting involved in an arms race of sorts, which keeps grids packed, the costs low(er) and the result unpredictable.

CRS Racing’s pair of brand spanking new Ferrari’s 430 Scuderias didn’t arrive in Dover docks until the Wednesday prior to the race, meaning we had no time to test, set-up or explore the car’s limits. Not ideal. So we turned up at Silverstone just hoping to get some millage on the car. In qualifying it was clear that we were desperately short of testing with all the teams using the new Ferrari – including Kessel who build the cars – struggling.

To their credit, the FIA Performance Balancing Bureau recognised this and allowed the Scuderias to run larger restrictors, effectively increasing our power. It certainly helped but had the adverse effect of also increasing fuel consumption and we struggled with fuel pick-up issues throughout both races. Still, we were the first Ferrari crew home which boded well for the following round in Adria.

We’d tested at Silverstone the week after the race there and found a really good balance and plenty of extra pace. It was just what we needed and headed to Italy full of confidence. The results of the team’s hard work were instant, the car running much better in free practice where I was 5th and 3rd in the two sessions, despite this being my first visit there.
It set us up nicely for qualifying where we were again fast and I managed to put the car 3rd on the grid for the second race.

The opening race didn’t go exactly according to plan though. Robert Hissom, my team mate, had put in a decent first stint and we were well set as he came into the pits. We’d had a problem with the brakes for the entire weekend though and, thanks to the high temperatures in Italy, the brake fluid boiled as the car sat there. It was one of the only times I can remember seeing the disks glow in daylight. Anyway, I went out, turned into the first corner and sailed straight on despite my left foot and brake pedal hard to the floor. A lap later we were out for good after hitting a patch of oil and beaching the car in the gravel trap, along with a Porsche which had just done likewise in front.

Still, our pace was good and I felt confident starting from third in the second race which was to be run at night. I made a good start and maintained third for the first two laps, hustling the leaders. Then, on lap three, the car developed a misfire. It was minor at first but I could see from the dash read-out that the battery voltage was getting lower and lower. In a desperate bid to save the battery until the pitstop, I turned off the headlights, not something I’d normally recommend at 150mph but necessary to at least get us somewhere near the pit window. It did initially help but it wasn’t long before the volts continued to tumble and the train of cars behind continued to grow. 25 minutes in I had to pit to at least see what the team could do. Sadly it was terminal, the alternator having packed up and with it our chances of a solid points haul.

Now, you’d probably expect me to pretty glum about it all, but to tell you the truth it’s one of those occasions when you have to take the positives and move on. The car was competitive all weekend and we had the pace to qualify and race in the top five. The championship moves on to Oschersleben in mid-June where I’m confident we can trouble the podium again.

Phil.

Hi everyone

For those who don’t know me, a quick introduction. I’m Phil Quaife, a racing driver from Tonbridge in Kent who this year will be driving one of CRS Racing’s Ferrari 430s in the FIA GT3 championship, starting with the Silverstone round this weekend. I’ve already taken a class win in the Dubai 24 Hours for Aston Martin earlier in the season after finishing fifth in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB in 2008, so hopefully I’m in for a good season.

I’ll start my opening entry with a confession; I’m completely new to this blogging malarkey. The consensus of opinion seems to be to just tell you all what’s going on both at home and on-track so that’s what I’ll be doing over the coming season here on Motors TV who, you’ll probably have gathered, will be showing GT3 highlights throughout 2009.

So, to the new season, and what a year it promises to be. I know this is going to sound a little biased but really, the FIA GT3 Championship looks like being a classic. I can’t think of another championship in world motorsport that’s got 11 manufacturers competing in the same class, let alone another sportscar series!

They’re rapid bits of kit too, take it from me! Having been confirmed at CRS three weeks back, I had the chance to drive last season’s GT3 Ferrari at Paul Ricard, and boy, was it quick! The team are also running a GT2 430 this season which they let me have a go in and that was mega.

The team take delivery of the 2009 spec car this week, which is just as well considering the first race is this weekend! Our short preparation time is hardly going to help but we’ve at least got one or two aces up our sleeve. For starters, the team know all about running GT3s at Silverstone having won there in the British GT championship en route to the title last year. I also took my first Carrera Cup pole position there last season as well as gaining plenty of experience on the GP layout throughout my junior motorsport career.

As with most GT racing, driver changes take place during the race. One thing to bear in mind about this championship however is that one of the team’s drivers is a pro and the other an amateur. It’s designed to keep the racing close and unpredictable, not to mention placing a lot of emphasis on strategy. This season I’ll be joined by Robert Hissom, a very talented American amateur who I partnered at Dubai in a Jaguar last season.

Okay then, I guess you’re about up to date with the life and times of Phil Quaife for this week. I’ll be at Silverstone tomorrow testing a Radical SR8 on the GP circuit. It’s been a while since I was in one of those so it should be blast, plus it’ll sharpen me up for the coming weekend’s two races. I’ll let you know how it all goes next week.

PQ