2010 RAC Tourist Trophy
The 2010 RAC Tourist Trophy was an auto race held at the Silverstone Circuit, Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire, Great Britain from 30 April–2 May.
The event, the second round of the 2010 FIA GT1 World Championship season, was among the first to use the revised 5.900 km (3.666 mi) Arena layout of the Silverstone Circuit that was completed in early 2010.
[2] The British manufacturer Aston Martin dominated much of the early event, winning pole position in Qualifying with Darren Turner and Tomáš Enge's Young Driver AMR entry before Hexis AMR swept the top two spots in the Qualifying Race, led by drivers Frédéric Makowiecki and Thomas Accary.
This, as well as a time penalty for a Hexis Aston Martin, promoted initial third-place finishers Jamie Campbell-Walter and Warren Hughes of Sumo Power Nissan to the race victory and the award of the Tourist Trophy.
Sumo Power and Swiss Racing left Abu Dhabi without earning any championship points.
Besides the adjustments made to the balance of performance, four entries also enter Silverstone carrying further ballast due to their success in Abu Dhabi.
5 Matech Ford which won the Championship Race in Abu Dhabi will carry 40 kg (88 lb), while the No.
6 Matech Ford following its heavy crash in qualifying at Abu Dhabi and the continuing recovery of its driver Natacha Gachnang.
Nonetheless, two cargo planes were able to land in Luxembourg on the morning of 22 April and two charter flights arrived in Austria later that day, allowing the race to continue as scheduled.
Vitaphone drivers Michael Bartels and Andrea Bertolini previously shared the win in 2006 while Peter Kox won the event in 2005.
3 Swiss Nissan of Karl Wendlinger came into contact with one another at the Brooklands corner, leading both cars to spin to a stop but eventually resume.
8 Young Driver Aston Martin, driven by Stefan Mücke, went to the top of the time charts with a lap of 1:59.694 where it would remain until the session ended.
On the final lap of the session, Jos Menten in the Reiter Lamborghini climbed out of the bottom seven times, staving off elimination.
[14] For the first time in the FIA GT1 World Championship, qualifying reached the second session, with the sixteen remaining cars running for fifteen minutes.
As the qualifying session ended and the cars completed their final flying lap, Darren Turner, who only brought the No.
7 Young Driver Aston Martin to the circuit in the final five minutes, earned pole position with a lap of 1:58.808, over four tenths of a second ahead of the No.
The Hegersport Maserati meanwhile, although briefly continuing, was forced to enter the team's garage several laps later with engine problems.
7 Aston Martin during the team's pit stop and retained the race lead but minutes later officials announced drive-thru penalties for the No.
Turner would eventually claim the fourth position in the final two laps but would miss out on a podium finish for the race end.
Hexis driver Frédéric Makowiecki led the field across the line for the race win, ahead of his teammate Clivio Piccione in second place, with the No.
At the start of the race Hexis' Jonathan Hirschi led into the first corner, followed by teammate and polesitter Frédéric Makowiecki and the fellow Aston Martin of Darren Turner.
During the second lap Hirschi ran wide at the Stowe corner and allowed Makoweicki to take over the race lead, while Warren Hughes took fourth place from Jos Menten's Reiter Lamborghini.
8 Young Driver Aston Martin was forced to make a pit stop to replace a tyre punctured in the earlier incident while the No.
