British sports car racer Joe Osborne made history yesterday (September 21st) at the Nürburgring 1000km race in Germany, becoming the first driver of any nationality to drive for two teams in one Blancpain Endurance Series race, with the 25-year-old leading his PRO-AM MP Motorsport Aston Martin into the start of the race, and replacing Stephen Jelley in the PRO class Oman Racing Team Aston Martin at the end of the six-hour epic.
Shortly before the start of the Blancpain Endurance Series finale, a monsoon descended upon the challenging Nürburgring GP Circuit, joining dense fog that had lingered in the picturesque Eifel Mountains overnight. It was around this time that Joe was approached by David Bartrum, the British Team Principal of Motorbase, the engineering team behind Oman Racing, to seek out his availability.
Fellow British racer Stephen Jelley was ill with a gastric complaint and could not take part in the event, and with three drivers required to race in the event, plus hopes of the nation of Oman resting on Ahmad Al Harthy taking part in the final round of the season, Bartrum nipped down the pit lane to speak with Joe.
“Motorbase required a third driver to be able to race. David approached me and asked if I would be able to drive the car and to check with my team. Yep, that was fine, and that was literally it. I did the opening two hours in the MP Motorsport Aston, had a break, then took my seat pad with me, jumped in their car and did best part of two hours in it.”
The achievement, a first in the four-year-old Blancpain Endurance Series, evokes motorsport memories of Martin Brundle’s similarly spirited display at Le Mans in 1990, when the British ace took over and won in the #3 Jaguar XJR-12 after an electrical issue in his own #1 Jaguar suffered electrical issues. While it would be impossible for Joe to get the car into contention for the overall race lead due to earlier damage, the BRDC SuperStar got stuck in, and overcame an ill-handling car to finish 32nd.
Joe continues: “It’s really cool to be the first to do that. I get on with David and despite never having raced for him; I’ve always respected him. That’s the good thing about GT3; there are always opportunities to drive – sometimes in the same weekend! There was no contract, just a mutual understanding that I would respect the car and do a good job. To be fair to SRO, I’m surprised they let me do it; it’s obviously really good they did though and great to help Aston Martin Racing have another car on the grid.”
It was an act that was recognised by Bartrum, and Joe’s display caught the experienced team owner’s eye.
“I owe Joe one for that drive today. He stepped into the breech and delivered a top job for us. He got in the car and just got on with the job in hand. I didn’t even need to speak to him on the radio; he knew what was required. I’d say there’s definitely a credit in the book for Joe; I’m good like that, I store these things away and I hope to repay him soon.”
After starting the #38 MP Motorsport Aston Martin from 21st on the grid of in excess of 40 GT3s, Joe negotiated the tricky conditions with aplomb, moving up to eighth at the two-hour mark to hand over to team-mate Richard Abra. With a potential PRO-AM title in his grasp, Joe was confident he did all he could to help get the car into contention.
“I was really happy with my stint. It was chaos out there, but I avoided the spinners and the contact and got to a point where I got traction and could make up places. We were on the front foot from then on and Richard (Abra) did a good job and pulled us up a bit further and took the fight to the other Pro-Am boys.”
Underpinning the PRO-AM entry was the final driver in the MP Motorsport line-up, Mark Poole. The gentleman driver has shown good pace throughout the 2014 Blancpain campaign, but on an unpredictable track that caught out experienced endurance racing stars such as Bernd Schneider, Alexander Premat and Harold Primat, Mark struggled to get the best from the car in the final two hours, something Joe appreciates, given he was on track in the Oman Racing Aston at the same time.
“Mark had a really tricky stint. I was out there in the Oman car at the same time as him and it was really difficult; wet tyres on a drying track, feeling like rubbish, and then having to go to slicks on a still damp track. It was impossible at times to keep the car on the track. You’ve got to go out there and drive hard to have any chance of going forwards, which is what Mark did. Once he got settled into the stint more he put in some really good times compared to the other gentleman drivers and I’m proud that we got a top fifteen finish in those conditions. Obviously we wanted to win and to get the title, but we knew it was a stretch. Perhaps that shows how far we’ve come that we take a seventh place in a race like and feel we could’ve got more.”
Seventh place in PRO-AM for MP Motorsport wasn’t enough to secure a top three position in the final driver’s standings, but Joe, Richard and Mark did enough to comfortably take fifth place in the highly competitive PRO-AM class in their debut season in the top European GT3 race series.
Reflecting on the past twelve months, Joe is happy with the performance of his fellow drivers and team.: “Looking back to the start of the season and where we hoped to be, it’s been a good year. We haven’t had one mechanical failure this season, and when you consider that includes the Spa 24 hour race and a six-hour race at the Nürburgring, that’s not normal. The boys at Prodrive and AMR have been great, really great! Driving with Richard and Mark was an enjoyable experience and I think we’ve all moved on as drivers.”
He continues: “My performance this year has been pretty good I think. Across the BMW with Triple Eight and the Aston Martin here with MP Motorsport, it’s been good to be a leader. It’s hard work, but I relish the stress and the choices; I like working with the Team Manager to make the calls and progress a car through a weekend. I don’t mind the responsibility at all; I love it in fact. Now I’m looking to secure similar opportunities for 2015.”
With the British GT and Blancpain Endurance Series campaigns now wrapped up, Joe can enjoy some rest after a season that has seen him race across Europe almost fifteen times, before preparing again for an exciting 2015. More details on the British ace’s plans for 2015 will be revealed in the coming weeks; please follow Joe on Twitter and Facebook to keep apace with these updates.