Double F1 victory takes Giles to top of GP series

Briton Ian Giles dominated the opening two rounds of the third FIA Thoroughbred Grand Prix Car Championship at Silverstone and Monza last month, with superlative performances in the ex-Riccardo Patrese Brabham-Cosworth BT49D.

The Oxfordshire film director pulled off an audacious overtaking manoeuvre to relieve Bob Berridge (RAM 01) of the lead on home soil, holding a comfortable advantage, despite a deflating front tyre in a frantic last lap dash.

Giles snatched his second pole position from Italian Ermanno Ronchi’s similar BT49 in a highly charged final few minutes of qualifying in Italy. The Hadfield Racing duo started the race cautiously however, and had to fight their way past Berridge and John Fenning in his distinctive ex-Alan Jones Williams FW06.

While Giles broke free and judged his pace perfectly on a very slippery track, Berridge and Penning capitalised on a mistake by Ronchi, and battled all the way to the flag. Their order changed several times on the last lap, but Berridge just managed to nose ahead of the 1960s Formula Junior star.

Supersports ace Richard Eyre wound up the exMichele Alboreto Tyrrell 011 en route to a strong third at Silverstone, ahead of the Lotuses of Steve Hitchins and defending champion Michael Schryver, and Mike Wrigley on his first outing in the Tyrrell 012 which was crashed so spectacularly by Martin Brundle at Monaco in 1983.

Lotuses also completed the top six at Monza, Schryver and Hitchins being led home by Spaniard Joaquin Folch, whose ex-de Angelis JPS-liveried 87B is run by Classic Team Lotus.