Hines in the driving seat

2:50pm Friday 11th July 2008

Comments (0)   Have your say »

MOTOR RACING

HARLOW-born racer Luke Hines has spoken of his 'fantastic season' in the British GP Championships and his desire to one day race in the world famous Le Mans 24 hour, writes Alex Sexton.

fine run of form has seen Hines, racing in a Ferrari 430 GT3, move up to second position in the curent standings, alongside driving partner Jeremy Metcalfe.

The highlight of the year saw the 26-year-old come home first in the third round at Knockhill.

Five races and one podium later, and Hines has found himself chasing down the leaders who are only 25 points ahead.

Talking of his stunnning performances in the 490bhp supercar, Hines said: "It's been going really well, the team has been brilliant, especially as it's their first year. We have had a few good results and the one win.

"I was hoping for more wins but the Vipers just push us into second last time out at Thruxton."

Next up for the Ferrari team is a trip to Hines' home track of Brands Hatch - and the Essex man is confident of a good result.

He added: "Brands is a Ferrari circuit, different tracks suit different cars.

"It's my home circuit and I have had good results there in the past, I know the track like the back of my hand."

Hines,of Sedge Green, Nazeing believes that new rules concerning how cars are restricted for competitiveness has put Ferrari in a worse position than most teams, and as such could be restricting their hunt for the title.

He said: "The car is very good - the problem is the equalisation.

"The FIA equal the cars and they have taken the restrictor off the Viper and now they have an extra 10mph over us on the straights.

"Ferrari have suffered due to this but it's our first year and we can't rattle any cages."

This didn't stop an impressive win at Knockhill for Hines, when he held his nerve despite a string of safety cars putting his first place under intense pressure.

"Knockhill was great," he said. "There was lots of damage and smashes, but I just kept my nose clean out in front.

"I got the message about the safety care and a healthy lead and been lost, suddenly I had a Porsche right behind me! But he sped in the pit-lane and just stayed out in front."

Speaking of his future Hines added: "GT works well for me.

"There is more of a carrer in GT than in Touring Cars. I'm hoping that Le Mans will be next year, but that depends on talks, it's very expensive for a team to race there.

"Hopefully though, I'll be in the right place to get picked, I've started making a name for myself at GT3"

The Ferrari driver still hasn't given up hope of clinching the title and further attracting attention to his name.

He said: "I think it's going to be close. Brands should be a good result and hopefully the Viper will fail to finish.

"We're going to work hard and keep going, it should be a tight finish."