Electrical problems thwart Tilley’s charge in GT Cup
THERE was no doubting the pace of Grahame Tilley’s Mercedes AMG GT3 in the GT Cup at Oulton Park in Cheshire – but hopes of a strong finish were wiped out with early electrical problems, writes Peter Scherer.
The 70-year-old Leicester driver said: “We did the morning warm-up and I think I was about third quickest and really enjoying it, but then we started to have problems during qualifying.
“It went into limp mode so we pitted, cleared and reset it, but after a few laps it did it again.
“I did manage to get a few laps in and was fifth quickest.”
With input from one of the AMG engineers, hopes were high that the problems had been rectified for the first of the two races.
It started well with Tilley managing to avoid a first corner incident to plunge down the Avenue to Cascades in second place.
“It wasn’t long before it started to go into limp mode again, with error messages on the display,” said Tilley.
“I kept going for the reset and was still doing pretty well. I felt good but had to reset two or three times.”
Tilley remained in a strong second, but after four laps Steve Burgess’s Radical RXC was closing in.
“I then realised that it was running on the battery as the alternator had failed and the charge was just going down and down,” said Tilley.
“Then on lap five I went to change down for Old Hall Corner and it wouldn’t, then the engine just died and I had to pull off.”
The Triple M crew tried to source a replacement alternator to get Tilley onto the grid for the second race, but their search was in vain and it proved to be another premature end to a promising weekend.
“Despite not finishing, I was fairly pleased with my own performance and pace,” said Tilley.
The team will be hoping for better fortune when the GT Cup visits Silverstone on July 30/31.