DEBUT PODIUM FOR ARMSTRONG

Official Porsche Press Release 31st March 2001 - Former British Ladies Rally Champion Barbara Armstrong came through to secure third place in Saturday’s Michelin Porsche Cup sprint event. This impressive debut was made more remarkable by the fact that this was the Scot’s first ever circuit race.

Driving the Parr Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 Armstrong came through the fifteen-minute race with a near-faultless performance. The original start had been delayed by problems with the previous event, but then had to be restarted when the Jaguar fire tender stalled on the grid.

The sight of red flags around the circuit came as something of a blessing to Armstrong. She had made an forceful move off the line, sweeping past Mike Salmon to be fourth into Copse, but had then spun wide on her way through Maggots and ended up just missing the gravel. Now towards the back of the field she returned to the grid fearing a restart from the back row. "I’d never done this before, and I didn’t realise you could go back to your original grid position," she explained. "Then I saw someone else weaving through. Right, I thought, I’ll follow him! It was great. It was like I’d had a dress rehearsal for the start."

If anything, her second start was better still. In a repeat of her earlier manoeuvre she swept past fifth-placed Salmon down the main straight, and was fourth as she completed the opening lap. Then, running wide on the exit of Woodcote she took to the grass, allowing Robert Babikan through on the inside. However, his initial lead of over two seconds dwindled rapidly, and by the end of the next lap Barbara had regained the slot.

The move on Babikan proved decisive. The rally ace was never troubled again. An advantage over fifth of more than five seconds could have made hers a rather lonely race. Perhaps being the only car on her part of the track suited Barbara’s rallying style, because she then began to eat into the gap to third. As the race entered its final lap Barbara had narrowed the margin significantly. "I could see the two ahead of me battling for second," she said, " and I was just waiting for one of them to make a mistake. When they did I said ‘Get in there!’. It was amazing"

Armstrong crossed the line in a comfortably third position to record her first podium finish in her first circuit race. "It was fantastic," said Paul Robe, Parr’s team manager. "I’m really proud of her. She took a few chances but responded really well to the chase. It’s something she’s never had to do before as a rally driver. The way she kept pushing was very impressive. I’m over the moon, and it places her in an excellent position for the next race."

Grid positions for Sunday’s feature race were determined by the sprint race result, so Barbara took up her position on the formation lap with only one car directly in front of her. Having faced her first standing start ever on Saturday, the former rally champion now prepared for another novelty – the rolling start. "It was OK really," she said, in her usual relaxed manner. "It was just something else I’d never done before." Bearing down on the first corner at Copse, with the pack tightly bunched around her, she selected the wrong gear. "I got third instead of fifth and had to start all over again!"

In fact, she had only dropped a handful of places, but now found herself back behind her old sparring partner from Saturday’s race, Robert Babikan. It was something of a replay, but once again Barbara got the better of the one-time series champion. "He went wide as we came down into the hairpin at Abbey. I tucked up the inside, but then he came back and duffed me. There’s yellow paint all down the side of the car! I’m sorry, but it’s given the guys some more work to do."

Having been down to 7th by the end of the opening lap the determined leading lady of British rallying was pulling away again and running a very respectable fifth. In the end though, it was all for nothing. Some while earlier Barbara had came up on a slowing car and, unsighted briefly, had done the natural thing and overtaken. It was only a matter of moments before she caught sight of the waving yellow flags, but by then the deed was done. "It was a heat of the moment thing," explained Paul Robe. "The stewards had no alternative but to exclude her. I know she was upset by the decision, and that was understandable, but for the safety of the marshals all drivers must observe the yellow flags. We have no complaints. It doesn’t detract at all from her excellent result on Saturday. I’m very proud of her."

It was certainly an eventful debut for Barbara, but one that also impressed many of those experienced in such things. As Jock Simpson, commentator, journalist and Porsche enthusiast said afterwards, "if she’s this good in her first race, what is she going to be like when she really gets going? The rest of these guys better watch out!"