Joe Osborne capped an impressive 2014 season of racing with a double podium result in the final weekend of the Blancpain Sprint Series, the Baku World Challenge in Azerbaijan. Racing with Ryan Ratcliffe in a Triple Eight-prepared BMW Z4 GT3, the duo took a pair of runner-up finishes in the Silver Cup class on the challenging streets of the Azeri capital.

Osborne aided Triple Eight’s rapid progression at the event, coming from a sizeable deficit to the Silver Cup competitors in the first two wet practice sessions to being frontrunners in the dry qualifying with the BRDC SuperStar at the wheel.

After Ratcliffe had gone 26th overall in his session, Osborne initially posted a 1:33.743 lap of the Baku Street Circuit to go fifth overall. The Olney-based racer progressed yet again but suffered with traffic on the tight and twisty concrete-lined confines of the middle sector.

Staying out on track proved to be a profitable gamble and a lap of 1:32.437 was duly delivered, which secured Osborne tenth overall and pole-position for the Silver Cup class. The session was brought to an abrupt halt with Osborne on another quick lap when a class rival hit a concrete wall.

It took almost ten minutes to clear the wreckage and the team elected to keep Osborne on the same tyres as the wear of the Pirelli rubber was minimal, despite the number of laps run on them. Unfortunately this meant they were cold and with only six minutes left on the clock and the track now packed, the opportunity to improve was limited. After going eight-tenths slower in sector one than on his previous best, Osborne pitted and finished the session second in class, P20 overall in the thirty car field.

Sunday brought sunshine and the Caspian Sea coastline provided a sparkling backdrop to the day’s events. Osborne started race one and immediately lost out by sticking to the track through the opening sequence of corners, with several rivals straight-lining the chicane and profiting from the illegal move.

This was a short-term win for the drivers as Osborne’s pace was such that he re-passed several on the run to turn three and the British ace passed David Fumanelli’s BMW on the outside in the run to turn four, but quickly found himself braking into an ever-decreasing piece of tarmac; at the same time the Zakspeed Mercedes of Andreas Simonsen was coming across the track from the left and the pair collided, knocking Stef Dusseldorp’s SLS GT3 into the path of the kerb-hopping Dominik Baumann, who was arriving ‘hot’ into the tight chicane.

A lengthy safety car period was required to clean up the mess, but Osborne continued despite missing a left wheel fairing and the battered BMW soldiered on to the pit stops where Welsh racer Ratcliffe took over and took seventeenth at the flag, second in class.

The Main Race took place just after lunchtime in Baku, and the 60-minute sprint didn’t lack energy, once again seeing Triple Eight’s rivals gaining from cutting the first chicane. Ratcliffe, starting 16th following a retirement ahead between the races, was understandably cautious and dropped down the order to 21st place.

Triple Eight’s BMW was once again driven into by a Mercedes, this time the GT Russia SLS of Alexey Vasilyev, and after causing initial concern due to broken bodywork rubbing on the Pirelli rubber, Ratcliffe continued to the handover with Osborne, in 20th place overall, second in class.

Straight out of the box Osborne delivered a 1:32.9 and kept apace with the overall race leaders who exited the pits ahead of him. A spin for the Corvette of Daniel Keilwitz and a retirement for Miguel Paludo’s BMW gave Osborne ample opportunity to progress, that he did, moving up to seventeenth on track after six laps in the Z4.

A game of cat and mouse evolved during Osborne’s stint, with the British ace fighting to first catch, and then pass ex-British Formula 3 champion and F1 test driver Marko Asmer’s Mercedes, ironically, the team-mate of Vasilyev.

With a damaged car there was little Osborne could do to overcome the GT Russian Mercedes and he settled into his stint, picking up places as those around him made errors and took unnecessary risks. Osborne secured thirteenth at the flag and ensured a second successive runners-up place finish in the Silver Cup was secure, just a handful of seconds off the class winning Mercedes.

“I really enjoyed my first ever street circuit race. Rubbing against the wall in pursuit of a fast lap is good fun. Qualifying should’ve seen us get into the ‘Super Pole’ shoot out, but we are a new team to the championship and didn’t understand the tyre well enough to judge what it could do when the session went green again.
 
“The first race was so very nearly perfect. In all honesty, the move on the first lap was going to work well, but the Mercedes took my track and left me with no room. Race two was not straightforward either; we had a really damaged car and then had to manage the tyre that was rubbing against the chassis. I had some good battles though and really enjoyed racing in such a high quality field of drivers. It would be good to come back in the future.”
 
The double podium marks an impressive year that has seen Osborne become an established face in International GT racing, competing for the Blancpain Endurance Series Pro-Am title until the last round in the Aston Martin Vantage GT3, and aiding Triple Eight’s development and understanding of the BMW Z4 GT3 as its lead driver in British GT.