MONDAY 30 AUGUST 2010
UNLUCKY WEATHER AND SET UP DRAMAS HAMPER RACE RESULT
IN 2009, Allan and Hector were on fire at Snetterton, disposing the opposition and taking the round win. A year later they were back but with the updated version of their race car – the Ferrari 430 GT3 Scuderia – and were looking to repeat the performance.

Snetterton is a classic UK track and setup is vital, especially when you are carrying an extra 25kg of success ballast, something the Avon tyres don't enjoy.

Practice got underway with a specific task at hand – trying to replicate how the Ferrari would handle towards the end of the race as the tyres became worn. That was achieved by using some really old tyres which lead to a satisfactory race setup.

The weather had by now closed in and that cut short the time to get a good qualifying setup in place. But as luck would have it the skies changed for the worst (or best if you like dry weather) and as Allan drove out he could feel that it was going to be tough to get pole.

It was vital to get a lap in quickly for fear of a red flag curtailing further qualifying activities. That put the Danish sportcar star in 4th place. A quick pit to make a setup change and out again, moving to 3rd, 2/10 second off pole. That was the best Allan could do and his face said it all.


Understeer woes made for a tough weekend

"I had a huge amount of understeer so there was nothing I could do other than get off the gas and wait for the grip to return. Second row isn't great but we'll just make sure we get a good start and push early in the race.

Hector was out in the next Q session, posting 10th fastest and suffered the same disappointing run dictated by understeer.

Race one got away well for Hector jumping quickly to 6th on the first lap before falling back into the clutches of faster traffic. He would pit after 23 minutes in 9th. Simonsen exited pitlane with 37 minutes remaining after a perfect stop.

The car was now handling perfectly, borne out by Allan setting a new lap record (1.07.894) and lapping in 4th place. Now the #12 Ferrari was ahead on the tale of one of the grunty Mosler's.

It was action a plenty – the #12 Ferrari suddenly went for a gap that the Mosler had left open.

Allan had got a run on the 430 and closed to take advantage of the gap as well. But the Mosler wasn't going to led two cars through and the Dane lost his from bumper as a result.

It was of little consequence, as Allan soon disposed of them both, moving to 2nd, which is where he finished. More points and more ballast!
Now it was Allan's turn to start the race but as he started his outlap the dreaded qualifying understeer had returned especially in right handers – it was going to be a long 37 minutes indeed.

His first 3 laps were a huge struggle, staying in 3rd. Typically Allan could make a strong break on the field but not so this time. Had their been a faulty batch of tyres? It seemed unbelievable that the same problem was back again.

And here, dear reader, is why Allan is a pro driver. By forcing the rear tyres to degrade, he could reel back the balance and achieve better times. This is something he'd learnt over the past two seasons, with Hankook, in the tyre testing programs.

Soon he was back in 2nd and pitted handing to Hector who would finish the race in 6th. That meant a balast reduction in ballast of 20kg for Brands Hatch at the next round.