A pole position margin of 2.6 seconds does not usually bode well for a race, particularly one scheduled to last for 180 minutes. But those hardy few who stayed at Snetterton last Sunday to see the revived Autosport 3 Hours were rewarded with an exciting and unpredictable contest.
Not for the first time in our sport, one key ingredient was a change in the weather, even though the rain caused one member of Autosport’s party (a former staffer it might be added!) to suggest an early departure could be in order. A wet track meant the TVR Griffith of Harry Barton and Ollie Reuben couldn’t benefit as much from its V8 power and helped those in more nimble cars. And the two consistently outstanding performers around the 200 circuit – closer in spirit to the layout used in previous iterations of the race dating back to 1957 – were Oli Webb (above) and Nigel Greensall.
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A current pro proving to be quick in a historic club event is perhaps not a surprise, but drivers like 32-year-old Webb always bring an added sparkle; it’s great to see them get to grips with cars so far removed from their usual ‘offices’. And he was driving a two-litre Porsche 911! Rarely has such a car been so brilliantly driven (Andrew Jordan at the 2015 Goodwood Members’ Meeting perhaps), and nobody could have expected a machine that qualified 8.6s off pole and was 17.5mph down through the speed trap in practice to lead for so much of the race.
Webb thrust the car up to third early on, but it was strategy that gave the 911 a genuine chance of victory. Webb made the first of the car’s pitstops, when he handed over to owner Guy Ziser, during a safety car that arrived just as the pit window opened. The TVR and frontrunning Lotus Elans did not, handing the Porsche an advantage of well over a lap when the others finally stopped.
Greensall, with impressive commitment in such conditions, began an outstanding charge (in the Elan started by rookie Ben Snee) that got him onto the same lap. He was poised to take the lead when he made his second stop and handed back to Snee.
Source: Autosport