Round 12 6/7/8 October 2000 - The Final Showdown

After the high of scoring maximum points at Spa and going 11 points clear in the championship the intervening 2 weeks to the final round went by surprisingly fast. The fact that we had our biggest Gold Track day of the year may have had something to do with that. Coincidentally the day was on the Grand Prix circuit at Silverstone, the venue for the 12th and final round of the championship. Perhaps less strangely Cor decided to bring along both the Mantaras for a little "pre-event familiarisation". This took the form of bedding in brakes and generally checking systems prior to the official test day 2 days later. Everything went well and it was the first time 2 Mantaras had ever been on track together.

Testing Friday 6th October

The weather was cold and damp as we prepared for the first session at 10.00a.m. By the time Cor set off for the first laps of the weekend the track was dry and with a long lap and the cold conditions it left little time to sort out the car and find a good race set up. Unfortunately we were having a problem with electrics. We had had a misfire at Spa in the race and had not been able to trace it. However Cor set a 1 min 54 sec lap before handing over to me. As seems to have become a regular feature for me this year I managed 1 lap before a red flag halted proceedings. My nickname of "One Lap Lockie" was not to be denied! With several more stoppages we really did not achieve much although the team and engine builder were continually making adjustments to improve the car.

The second session started at 2.00 p.m. with Cor going out first to check the refitted full power shift. This is fantastic as not only does it make gear changing even easier but also very much quicker saving maybe 0.5-0.7 seconds per lap, quite a margin over a 60 minute race. It also feels fantastic as you accelerate at full throttle and once at the rev limit simply pull the gear lever back without lifting off the power or using the clutch. The electronics then interrupt the ignition for around 30 milliseconds and you are into the next gear and back onto full throttle. Before you know it you are at the rev limit in the next gear and grabbing for the lever again!

After a couple more stoppages Cor handed over to me and I set off round the GP circuit. It is an excellent circuit for GTs. Coming out of Luffield in second gear it is flat out all the way through Woodcote taking 6th gear not long past the exit and hitting around 160mph before braking for Copse. Becketts Complex is the next real excitement entering at maximum revs in 5th gear, leaving the braking as late as you dare before going through the lovely series of swoops and blasting out onto Hanger Straight for the run down to Stowe Corner, touching 170 mph before braking. Other highlights are Club Corner and Bridge, both high g-force corners with good potential for gain.

Once again stoppages caused delays but once they had been cleared I was off again but was still suffering a slight misfire. This turned into an ignition cut out on my third lap, but I managed to restart and nurse the car back to the pits. More detective work ensued but with no conclusive result. This left us with no choice but to abandon the new car and resort to old trusty for the race. This seemed a bit drastic but without being 100% sure we had found the problem we could not take the risk.

Qualifying 7th October.

Saturday dawned with black clouds and rain. This in itself was no problem as both Cor and I are quite happy playing with 600 odd horsepower in the wet! No, the problem was that there was so much water around still at the 11.15 a.m. start of the first session that everyone was aquaplaning dangerously. In fact some teams did not venture out at all and we very nearly came to grief. Cor came through Woodcote, changed to 6th gear at about 150 mph, hit a puddle and was sent into a series of five 360 degree spins down the pit straight! Luck was with us as Cor struggled with the car and brought it to a halt 3 inches from the pit wall nearly at Copse Corner. No shortage of excitement with Memec Marcos Racing International! No harm was done to the car at least but the session was at an end and I still had to qualify.

The second session was at 2.45 p.m. and the rain had really slowed allowing the puddles to clear but still leaving huge clouds of spray behind all the cars. We decided to start with Cor in the 10 minute GT only session, then I would do minimum laps to qualify, finishing with Cor in the car again as the session seemed to be drying out as time went by. This worked well and as we thought the session dried. Two laps from the end Cor put us on pole while the Lister went out to see if they could topple us off the top spot. They could not so we were set for a pole start to the last race of the season and the most important race of my career to date.

Race Sunday 8th October.

I was feeling really quite calm about the whole thing. Many well wishers were dropping by to say their bit and it was much appreciated. I had 45 guests in the Gold Track hospitality suite to greet and look after with help as ever from Andy Curtis. Melindi was doing her usual amazing job of looking after me and all the guests while no doubt feeling a tad nervous in the background. Channel 4 interviewed me saying the pressure must really be on. But strangely I did not feel that much pressure. At Snetterton and Spa we had had to win but here a top six finish would do the job.

The time approached and I settled in to the car still feeling good. No one had had any dry running and so as it was now dry we were all on slicks straight out of the moulds. Cor instructed me to weave and warm up the tyres on the lap round to the grid. The weather was cold and we had curiously hard compound tyres on the car (I found out later) but the long and the short of the story is I managed to spin on the way round to the grid! I was gently weaving the car in the first part of the Becketts Complex and doing it gently I thought when suddenly the car swapped ends and I was on the grass. I could not believe it! An observer said later there was fluid coming out but whatever it really was an embarrassing moment. However, we all make mistakes and the recovery from them is the key. I got going and arrived on the grid covered in grass and mud with less than 3 minutes to go before the off. I can only imagine what everyone thought especially my main rival who was sitting next to me on the grid! With no time to check or clean the car I was on my own and got down to concentrating on the job. Round we went on the formation lap, the pace car pulled off and we approached the red lights at round 50 mph. The lights went green and I stuck to my plan: STAY OUT OF TROUBLE!!! They passed me on the left; they passed me on the right. One or two leant on me quite hard but I stayed out of the way and finished the first lap in 8th place. This was points wise 6th as I had a GTO and a non points scoring GT car ahead. The tyres came in and I gently picked up the pace. I went back past the GTO car and homed in on the Lotus. This I also passed with ease and set off after the next in line, a Porsche. I gave chase setting good times but the car was not handling well so I decided to play the safe game further and sat in 5th till the pit window opened. This was a crucial part of the race. I had done the right job keeping out of trouble and keeping the car in the points where we needed to be but it could still all be thrown away with a bad pit stop. Well, it was the best pit stop of the year and Cor shot out of the pits to -12th place! This looked horrible but was distorted, as many ahead had not yet made their stops.

Over the next 20 minutes the order sorted itself out and we were in 5th spot. This was well within what we need for the championship win as it was in 4th points scoring position with one GT car ineligible. We only needed 6th so it was now just a matter of reliability. Now I was nervous and could hardly bear to watch. This would be my first championship win after 13 years in the sport, 9 of those in racing although always with a tiny budget.

The minutes ticked by and Cor went up another place. He was chasing down the Lister but then decided to play safe as well and settled down to a run to the flag. But there was more drama to come. Black clouds were forming and rain was feared. The team had practised tyre changes getting down to an amazing for GT 22 seconds, but it was a complication we really did not need. Supporters were all around and Barrie Williams among them. He suggested a quick call to Turweston airfield to see what they could tell us. No rain yet was the answer but not long after another call revealed rainfall soon to arrive. And so it did. With 5 minutes to run it was spotting at Stowe. Then all over and finally down it came. Now these cars have more power than grip at the best of times but on slicks in the wet they really are no joke. But if ever the man to get it home Cor is the one! Round they went for another slithery lap and then a good decision from the Clerk of the Course. The red flags were out, the race stopped and on count back to the previous lap we were still in 4th place on the road but 3rd in the points, 5 more than we needed to clinch the title. The Marcos pits and garage erupted with shouts and whoops. Cor had made up a board with "British GT Champion 2000" on it. Talk about tempting fate or was it just confidence on his part? Anyway we did it and no one can take it away from all those who have made it possible.

Calum and Cor celebrate.
Above : Calum (left) and Cor celebrate

I must dedicate this championship to Cor and his team. They have worked tirelessly all year through thick and thin and despite everything that has happened they have put a car out but most importantly a car that has made the finish every time. A serious achievement not matched by anyone else in the championship.

All my thanks goes to them but of course to Memec and Valtra Valmet without whose support it would not have been possible anyway. I could not have done it without the unstinting support from Melindi who has worked ridiculous hours alongside me and suffered my stress and bad moods! Andy Curtis has worked with the team on the race weekends and supported me fully. All my friends both within and without the racing world and all my supporters who have sent in their congratulations from all over the world. Thank you all.

Not only have I won arguably the most competitive year of the GT category to date but also the RAC have awarded me the famous Tourist Trophy where my name will join some of historys greats. It started in 1905 and John Napier took the honours. Next up was Charles Rolls of Rolls Royce fame. In 1930 Nuvolari was the winner. Stirling Moss won it a total of 7 times once with Tony Brooks at Goodwood. Peter Collins and Innes Irelands names adorn the Trophy with Graham Hill winning it in 1963/4. Denny Hulme also took it twice in 1965/66 while 5 times Le Mans winner Derek Bell won in 1973. Tom Walkinshaw who engineered those stunning LeMans winning Jaguars won in 1974/81/82/85 when it became Touring Car orientated.

Next stop may be the Zandvoort 500 on 28th October but failing that it is off to Daytona for testing in early January and again for the race a month later where I will be racing with Cor and his team.

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Above : The view, ultimately, the field got of Calum's LM600 in 2000

Many thanks for this report and all the others throughout the year to Melindi and Calum.

Congratulations to Calum, too, of course for taking the title from under the nose of the seemingly all conquering Listers. Finally, of course, congratulations to Cor (for his stunning drives) and his team for putting together such a great car, to enable Calum to take the championship.

You can follow Calum's activities in 2001 on his website, but you'll hear how he's doing right here!

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