SPA 6 HOUR MEETING

Oliver had another very successful weekend at the annual 6 hrs of Spa-Francorchamps meeting in Belgium. He led the 6 hrs race in the AC Cobra that he started from 12th on the grid. “I had to start off slowly to preserve the tyres because they get very hot with the hevy fuel loads. About 45 minutes into my stint I could start to push and I worked my way up to the lead”, commented the 20-year-old GT star. His work did not pay off as the car was retired with a fuelling problem later in the race.

Bryant was also sharing a Light-weight Jaguar E-type with Jon and Jason Minshaw. The car had some problems early on and when Oliver started his stint, the car was lying 13th and the heavens had begun to open over the Belgian circuit. The car was sent out on Avon wet tyres and the rear roll bar was disconnected. This gave the car a great balance and Oliver was the fastest man on the circuit for his two and a quarter hour stint. He unlapped himself from the leading Ford GT40 3 times on his way to finishing 5th overall.

Oliver also shared a BMW 1800ti with his father in the UT2C touring car race. Oliver brought the car home first in class and a fine 3rd place overall.

He the jumped into the Morgan +8 and battled with Simon Hadfield's Chevron B8 before a clash with a backmarker ended Hadfield's race and brought out a safety car. Oliver pitted but father Grahame was held at the pitlane exit and lost valuable ground. The race win had been stolen but the pair were credited with a 4th place finish much to Oliver's disappointment.

The British Sports and Saloon Car challenge delivered a rewarding victory for the Bryant pairing. Grahame started from pole and the Sunbeam Tiger of Chris Beighton and Jon Finnemore got the jump and led from the start. The Morgan was called in for a drive through penalty due to excessive speed at the start. Grahame was called in to serve his drive through and the car dropped to 6th place. Grahame pitted 10 minutes later and handed over to Oliver who resumed to the track with the bit between his teeth. He carved through the pack aggressively setting fastest lap after fastest lap going on to take the win from British GT teammate Keith Ahlers.

The final race of the weekend was the 2hr GT & Sports Masters Endurance race. Oliver claimed pole position on the last lap of a damp qualifying session by 2 seconds from Barry Williams in a similar Cobra. Oliver started the race and was immediately challenged by the powerful Cobra of Steve Hitchins. The car blasting past on the Kemel straight on the opening lap. For an hour the 2 cars battled fiercely before Oliver outfoxed Hitchins and moved into a dominant lead with the less powerful red and gold Cobra. Oliver pitted and handed over to Grahame who resumed the lead before losing out to Peter Horsman's Lotus 17 once rain started. Grahame pitted after half an hour to hand the car over to Oliver for the final stint. The rear anti-roll bar was removed and Oliver charged back through the field battling with the Lotus 17, now being driven by Gary Pearson. Oliver edged ahead as Gary ran wide on the ultra-slick surface and proceeded to pull out a gap and win by 9 seconds.

A fantastic end to a successful weekend and thanks must go to Spirit Automotive for their great work running 5 cars throughout the weekend. Next year, Oliver aims to win the 6hr race after the disappointing retirement from the lead this year.