Ben Barker and the GR Racing team arrived at round four of the FIA World Endurance Championship on a high after their best-ever result at Le Mans but, despite again showing great pace at Monza, the combination would leave Italy empty-handed.
Having fought their way back to claim a fantastic fourth in the GTE-Am class in the most famous endurance race of them all, Barker and his team-mates were confident that the fast sweeps of the Autodromo Internazionale would also suit the #86 Porsche 911 RSR, and the Briton underlined that belief by posting the second fastest time of the opening practice session and following that up with top six positions in the following two sessions. With the short qualifying session requiring all GTE-Am teams to count the times set by their Bronze-rated driver, however, Barker was largely powerless to affect the proceedings, but he need not have worried, as team owner Mike Wainwright ensured that the strong showing continued.
“We showed strong pace right from the opening practice session, frequently lapping just tenths off the fastest times, and Mike was amongst the top five Am drivers in FP3, which boded well for the rest of the weekend,” Barker commented. “Qualifying was also one of our best yet for Mike, who setting a time good enough for P8, just 0.5secs from P3, which looked to set us in good stead for a positive race.”
Buoyed by his qualifying performance, Wainwright took the start in optimistic mood but, almost immediately, the team’s afternoon took a turn for the worst as an errant Ferrari collected the #86 at the second part of the opening chicane, turning the black-and-orange machine around and dropping it to the back of the field. Although Wainwright underlined his ever-improving pace by closing the gap to the pack, the first mandatory pit-stop showed the true extent of the damage to the Porsche — and just how lucky it was to still be in the race.
Although the team managed to repair the car, it took time to do so, and the #86 returned to the fray some 14 laps down. Determined to make the most of the track time, if only to reward the crew for their unstinting efforts, Wainwright, Barker and third driver Riccardo Pera pressed on for the remaining five hours, with Barker again showing his ability as he produced the fastest Porsche laps for the third race in a row and went quicker than anyone else in the class, just as he had at the 24 Hours last month. With Pera also amongst the fastest laps for Silver-rated drivers, there was much for the GR Racing team to reflect positively upon heading into the final two rounds of the season.
“Mike was very unlucky at the start, but he got going and showed very strong pace to come back and close the gap to the pack,” Barker noted. “However, in the first pit-stop, the crew noticed that the end of the hub had been sliced off and Mike was extremely lucky that the wheel didn’t slide off during his stint.
“The repairs cost us 14 laps, so the race was effectively finished for us very early on, but we drove to the flag regardless. With Riccardo driving a fantastic race, and Mike doing as well as he did, it makes it even more frustrating to not get a podium which, without the damage, I think would have been completely feasible. Not be rewarded with silverware hurts, but we know where we stand heading into the last two races. The team is entirely capable of getting some good points — and a podium would be just reward for everyone involved with GR Racing.”
Round five of the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship takes place at the Fuji Speedway in Japan over the weekend of 9-11 September.
