British GT figures like FCY, dislike interruptions
British GT paddock figures welcomed the adoption of the full-course yellow procedure into the championship at Oulton Park, but lamented the regular interruptions in the season-opening round.
Both hour-long races featured lengthy FCY interventions, one of which filled the final 25 minutes of the second contest. Views on the procedure were broadly positive as organiser SRO moves to align British GT with other categories in its portfolio, including
GT World Challenge Europe. The entire field was allowed to complete their pitstops under FCY in the opener when a car needed rescuing just prior to the pit window.
Barwell commercial director Chris Needell said: “It’s absolutely the right thing to do. We showed in that race immediately that it allowed it to be a fair race and safe.”
Garage 59 boss Andrew Kirkaldy agreed: “It’s the right thing to do for the series, bringing it in line with European racing. The only issue we’ve got at the minute is people getting used to it. There’s always going to be a bit of teething trouble, but generally it was implemented OK.”
However, there was disappointment at managing just 23 minutes of green-flag running in race two. Twotime champion Andrew Howard said it was a consquence of the “worst possible conditions”, with rain in race one and a drying track in the sequel that only just reached a threshold for slicks being viable.
“Days like today are just tough – I think it is the nature of the track and the conditions,” reflected Howard, who set fastest lap in the brief window of dry running.