Celárek Holds Sirén by Half a Second at Roy Hesketh
Adam Celárek's Chevrolet Corvette survived a sustained late charge from Kasperi Sirén's Lotus Elan to win the 50-lap Championship opener by 0.522 seconds. meisterJaeger completed the podium after a race in which the front and the fighting pack behind it were seldom still.
A narrow decision
At ROY - GTC60 IV Round 1 - Roy Hesketh, the opening Championship race was settled with precious little to spare. Adam Celárek brought the Chevrolet Corvette 1963 SCCA home first after 50 laps, but Kasperi Sirén's Lotus Elan 26R remained close enough throughout the last portion of the afternoon to turn every lap into a defence. The official margin was 0.522 seconds, a notably small separation after such a distance.
Celárek had set the quickest lap of the race, a 1:11.633, yet the decisive quality of his drive was not merely speed. Sirén was in immediate reach over the final fifth of the race and never gave the Czech driver the latitude to make a conservative ending of it. The Corvette had to be placed with care and purpose until the chequered flag. Sirén, equally, had the satisfaction of taking the Lotus to second place over the full distance, a result which carried the unmistakable sense that the victory had been contested rather than conceded.
The lead settled late
The battle for the first three places had taken several forms before Celárek finally established the order which would stand. meisterJaeger had been involved at the sharp end from the outset, despite losing a place after an early incident at Quarry Curve and another at Beacon on lap eight. The German nevertheless recovered his position in the leading argument and went to the front on lap 14.
For a long stretch Sirén and meisterJaeger ran in close company, their Lotus Elans rarely separated by much through the first two-thirds of the race. Sirén gained the advantage on lap 34, only for Celárek to move ahead on the following lap. It was the critical alteration of the race. Sirén pursued the Corvette to the end but could not prise open the final opportunity, while meisterJaeger completed all 50 laps in third.
Thus the first podium of the campaign presented three markedly different machines: the forceful Corvette ahead of the two nimble Elans. Celárek's victory was a valuable opening statement, but Sirén's second place was close enough to ensure that no broad conclusions could responsibly be drawn from it.
Masse restores his afternoon
Behind the leaders, Florian Masse produced the most conspicuous recovery. His Ferrari 250 GT SWB 'SEFAC Hotrod' was running 15th when an incident at BP Bend on lap two dropped him to 23rd. From there Masse rebuilt the race patiently, picking through a crowded middle order to reach sixth at the end of the 50 laps.
His progress brought him repeatedly into the busy group formed around Potatohedron's Lotus Elan. From lap 28 into the forties the Frenchman and the American traded the advantage several times: Masse moved ahead before lap 31, Potatohedron reclaimed the place a few laps later, and the Ferrari again found its way in front during their continuing contest. Neither driver was allowed a quiet lap.
Masse's sixth place therefore owed much to his ability to resume the attack after the early setback. It was not a charge conducted in empty air. The Ferrari remained in traffic and under contest until the final stages, yet emerged at the head of this compact group.
A crowded final group
The concluding laps also brought together Rolf Biber's Sunbeam Tiger MkII, Nat Stevenson's Lotus Elan and Potatohedron, with Masse their persistent reference point. From lap 41 to the finish, the four were covered by little more than three seconds at their widest. Places changed within the group, especially between Masse and Stevenson, while Biber and Stevenson also exchanged the advantage in the late running.
Biber eventually reached the flag seventh, immediately ahead of Potatohedron in eighth, with Stevenson ninth. Max Solmyr made it five Lotus Elans in the top ten by taking tenth, while Dingo's Porsche 904/4 GTS and FMG's Mercedes-Benz 300SL secured fourth and fifth respectively. The variety of machinery gave the order a particularly agreeable period character: big Corvette, light Lotuses, Porsche, Mercedes, Ferrari and Sunbeam all had their part in the first serious contest of the season.
The Roy Hesketh result leaves Celárek with the first victory recorded, but its more enduring impression was of a field unwilling to settle into fixed stations. Sirén was still close enough to make the winner work to the end, while behind them Masse's recovery and the changing order of the pursuing group promised that the next meeting would not lack contenders.