Race Report – Britcar Dunlop GT & Production Championship** Rounds 1 and 2, Snetterton, 7/5/16

Race 1: Moss Grows on Howard’s Way

Steve Wood reporting 
photo credits: Chris Valentine

 Mike Moss's BMW E46 M3
dominated qualifying
and won Race 1 outright

It was clear from the outset, from the Saturday morning free practice 

session, through qualifying, that the sharp-end of this race would be 

about three cars – the Mike Moss/Tom Howard BMW M3, the Lotus Europa of 

Fabio Randaccio and Nick Randall, and lone driver Ruben Anakhasyan in 

the Century Motorsport Ginetta G50, who qualified within just over a 

second of each other, and around four seconds ahead of the rest of the 

pack, led by Del Shelton’s BMW M3 E36.

Howard blasted away from pole, but could only hold a tenuous lead over 

Randaccio, who was hoping that the misfire that plagued qualifying was 

now fixed. It wasn’t, and by lap three, the Lotus, now more than six 

seconds shy of leader Howard, was pitbound. It would return to the track 

sporadically during the race, but was retired half-an-hour in.Anakhasyan 

bided his time, having inherited second place, and by the time Howard 

pitted the BMW, around 29 minutes in, the black Ginetta was nearly half 

a minute adrift. Once Anakhasyan had taken his mandatory stop, the gap 

between the leading two had been reduced to 18 seconds, and started to 

come down to the tune of four seconds a lap, as Anakhasyan mounted a 

challenge to Mike Moss, who had relieved Howard in the leading BMW. The 

race wasn’t long enough though, and after 50 minutes of racing, despite 

carving great lumps out of the lead, the Ginetta was 7.515 seconds 

behind the victorious Moss car. ”It’s good to be pushed” admitted Moss, 

adding “but he needed a couple more laps”.

Quad-bike champion Chris Murphy's
Aston Martin Vantage GT4

Behind the lead battle, the two BMWs of Geoff Steel Racing had disputed 

honours, the E36 of lone driver Del Shelton squabbling with first-time 

novice Rob Hudson’s E46, despite a bit of an off for the newcomer, who 

then took the chasing Chris Murphy’sAston Martin Vantage. UK-based 

Brazilian pro-driver Adriano Medeiros took over the BMW from Hudson 

during the mandatory pit-stop, and clawed back to finish fourth overall 

behind Shelton, completing the Class 1 podium, with Moss and Howard on 

the top step.

There were two Honda Civics in Class 2; the stunning Synchro Motorsport 

Type R, expertly fabricated by Honda employees in their own time in a 

corner of the Swindon factory, dominated in the hands of Alyn James, 

whilst Simon Green and race returnee Trevor Keates gave all they could 

an older road car-cum-trackday machine-cum quickly converted racecar.

Ruben Anakhaysan took the honours in the GT class of the race, with 

Chris Murphy, in the Whitebridge Aston Martin Vantage second, whilst not 

classified due to a misunderstanding of the refuelling regulations was 

the beautiful and newly acquired BMW GT4 of Neil Garnham and Rob Young.

Race 2: Ruben Races to Victory

Rubin Anakhasysan had a commanding
solo drive to win Race 2

The glorious hot weather had taken its toll on the day’s undercard, 

producing a late-running programme, and with the 18:30 curfew looming, 

the second Britcar GT and Production race was going to be truncated at 

around 35 minutes.

The grid lined up in the finishing order of Race, with the same starting 

drivers. The Hoffmans of Henley team had at last fixed the misfire in 

the Lotus Europa, found to be a blocked injector, and would be starting 

from the back of the grid. Probably mindful of the shortened race 

length, Fabio Randaccio had no time to waste and was off like a robber’s 

dog, from the red lights going out up to the braking area at Riches 

passing four cars, and by the time he got round to the start/finish line 

for the first time, had seized the lead from Tom Howard’s BMW M3.

Howard had no answer for the GT-class Lotus this time, and pitted early 

for the Moss Motorsport team to investigate a handling issue, dropping 

down the order and allowing Ruben Anakhaysan’S Ginetta G50 to take 

second place.

The Lotus Europa of Fabio Randaccio and Nick Randall was
dogged by problems all weekend

The race seemed to have barely started when, due to the known 

foreshortening, the teams began making their mandatory pit stops. Nick 

Randall at last got some race time in, relieving Randaccio in the Lotus, 

but woe befell the jinxed machine yet again, for within three laps an 

alternator failure left Randalll stranded out on the circuit, leaving 

Anakhasyan to cruise to a comfortable win when the flag fell after 33 

minutes of racing, nearly 14 seconds ahead of The Hudson/Medeiros BMW 

E46, which took the Class 1 honours ahead of Geoff Steel stablemate Del 

Shelton’s BMW E36 (both benefitting from the expert pit-stop timing of 

ace Geoff Steel spannerman Will Fields, who guided them out of the pit 

exit with old-style “come/hold/go” gestures), and the Moss/Howard E46, 

which had a steady race after the earlier perceived issues.

Alyn James bagged useful championship
points with two Class 2 wins

Alyn James had the bit between his teeth in the Synchro Honda Civic Type 

R, the site of the touring car giving Chris Murphy’s Aston Martin 

Vantage a run for its money being something never seen outside of a 

Britcar race. James took the Class 2 victory, whilst quad-bike champion 

Murphy was the runner-up in the GT class, and the Simon Green/Trevor 

Keates pairing found a bit more pace in their old-style Civic this time, 

posting a second place in Class 2 again.

It had been a successful day for Ruben Anakhaysan, taking a nice haul of 

points away from the inaugural rounds of the Championship. “In the first 

race it was tough, and I needed a few more laps, but the second race was 

a bit easier, not so hot” he said afterwards.

Rob Hudson also came away with an armful of trophies from his first 

racing weekend, the highlight being the class win in Race 2. “I’ve been 

doing trackdays, instructed by Adriano, for three years. This result is 

blinding for me, but I’ve still got a lot to learn, and I’m looking forward to the rest of the season” he grinned.

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