Ben Barker and the Gulf Racing team were in the hunt for an FIA World Endurance Championship podium on the series’ return to action at Spa-Francorchamps, only to be denied during the closing stages.
Having not been active since February’s round at The Circuit of the Americas in Texas, and with the rescheduled Le Mans 24 Hours next up in mid-September, the trip to Belgium’s spectacular Ardennes region served as a shakedown for many of the teams and, with Gulf Racing not having taken part in the previous weekend’s European Le Mans Series race at the same venue, saw Barker and co-drivers Mike Wainwright and Andrew Watson with some ground to make up.
Despite that, the Gulf team were pleased with the progress it made through free practice and headed into qualifying in optimistic mood, especially having seen Wainwright improve his personal best for the circuit by nearly three seconds. The timed session proved to more frustrating, however, with team owner Wainwright finding himself catching traffic throughout his run and unable to bolster Barker’s best effort sufficiently to move the #86 Porsche 911 RSR off the final row of the grid.
“Having not raced or tested in the six months since Austin, we thought we’d be getting rid of the dust in practice, but it proved to be better than we expected,” Barker admitted, “Even though there was still a little work to do to perfect the balance of the car, there was nothing wrong with its pace – as Mike was able to show with a great lap. However, the high hopes we carried into qualifying were dashed by the sheer number of cars on track when Mike was out there, which left him unable to set a representative time to pair with my own effort. On expected pace, we could have been fifth in class, but it wasn’t to be.”
In typical fashion, the Ardennes ecosystem could not decide whether it should remain wet or dry for the weekend, and Saturday’s six-hour race began with the heavens open. Despite the tricky conditions, Wainwright proved productive during the opening stint, gaining places to provide Barker with a solid platform to build upon as he took over during a necessary pit-stop as the track began to dry. With sections of the 7km circuit still retaining water, the Cambridge native initially had to drive with caution until he got some heat into the tyres, but thereafter was able to quickly close the gap to the cars ahead of him, eventually producing a sequence of moves worthy of any highlight reel.
“Although I was running eighth at the time, I found myself right on the back of the group battling over third place,” Barker grinned, recalling the moment. “Determined not to stay there for long with the Gulf Porsche going so well, I pulled a switchback move at Pouhon that accounted for three cars, passed Jonny Adam’s Aston Martin at PifPaf and then cut back again at the next corner to move to the head of the group. The boys in the garage didn’t see any of it on the monitors and wondered what the hell had happened!”
Once free of the traffic, Barker hunted down the class leaders to eventually take top spot and remained there for the remainder of his stint, eventually handing over to Watson as the rain returned. Even though the Irishman was able to comfortably hold on to a top two position, the Gulf team’s fortunes slowly began to change, particularly with the timing of safety cars that, first, saw the #86 slip down the order having pitted for a return to slicks under normal race conditions, and then trap Wainwright behind the wheel just shy of his mandated driving time and force another racing lap before the switch back to Barker could be completed. To ensure that any dreams of a podium were dashed, a damper failure then cost the team three laps in the pits, demoting it to an unrepresentative tenth in class at the chequered flag.
“It was cruel for the race to end that way,” Barker sighed. “Everyone – from the drivers to the pit crew – had performed as well as anyone throughout the weekend and to be denied like that is gutting. We were among the fastest in the wet, close to the pace in the dry and running an alternative strategy that would have seen us complete one fewer pit-stop than our rivals – and it was all working out until the closing stages.
“However, despite the result, it was great to get back behind the wheel and, while there are still areas to improve before Le Mans, we can go there with confidence having led here for an hour and run in the top two for another couple. It will be strange doing the 24 Hours without a crowd at the Circuit de la Sarthe, but it’s still one of the best races in the world, and it’s fantastic that it’s still on the calendar.”
