Blue for Black JC-W, OUT!! AND IN!! Jamie Campbell-Walter has signed to drive the Creation Sportif team DBA4-03S in the Le Mans Endurance Series having left the Lister Storm team just three weeks before the start of the 2004 FIA GT Championship season. His place at Lister has been taken by Tom Coronel, who has been signed for two years, and Campbell-Walter is now free to show what he can do in cars other than those designed and built by Laurence Pearce. Springfield High The two had a very close relationship, almost like father and son, but last year cracks were starting to appear. Nicknamed Homer and Bart for their antics that included a punch-up in Sebring, both realised it was time to go their separate ways and have thankfully parted on good terms. Pearce will run in the FIA series again, is delighted with his drivers, and will also run the Lister Storm prototype in the Le Mans Endurance Series with Coronel and Nathan Kinch. Great Expectations Campbell-Walter, in the meantime, fully expects to win races in the DBA. Hyanari Shimoda was faster than Tom Kristensen in the wet qualifying session at Spa last year in the car, and the Japanese won at Oschersleben with Andy Wallace. The DBA could have won the FIA SCC championship had a brake problem not sent the Japanese into the barriers after Jan Lammers had already become embroiled in a choice between hitting a competitor or the barrier. The timing of JC-W's split from Lister is odd, coming just weeks before the opening round at Monza on March 28, at which he was supposed to have driven with Paul Knapfield. "I don't want anything controversial written about this," said the 31-year-old, who appreciates that team manager Laurence Pearce "has been good to me. Laurence and I have had a fantastic relationship over the last five years. We have won two championships together and had a great time. The relationship has just come to an end." Take your partners…….. However, since winning the FIA title with Julian Bailey in 2000, he has not been given a proper shot at winning the FIA GT title. In 2001 he had a succession of co- drivers, including the superbly quick Coronel, Richard Dean and Mike Jordan. He took three wins, but could do nothing against the consistent finishing of Christophe Bouchut and Jean-Philippe Belloc who took the title at the Spa 24- hours. In 2002 he shared with gentleman driver and team backer Nicolaus Springer. In the most unlikely of circumstances they took victories and the chase for the title to the final round at Estoril. After Pearce's team tactics and some stunning drives by JC-W, they came within feet of taking the title, losing out under a safety car at Estoril after Claude-Yves Gosselin spun his Viper at the first turn as the black Lister was about to lap Bouchut's co-driver Vincent Vosse. For the 2003 season, Jamie shared with Nathan Kinch, a youngster with talent but little experience though they did score victory at Anderstorp. This year he was paired with Paul Knapfield, another driver with speed, but not the professional that Jamie may have been hoping for. The championship is steadily attracting more professional drivers, and to have the best chance of winning the title, only top-line peddlers will do. My Way Jamie has always taken great care not to say anything bad about Laurence or about the team which works so hard and is genuinely appreciated. There is no doubt that Campbell-Walter has developed with them and learned an enormous amount, but he could also be forgiven for wanting to break out of the environment with which he has become so closely associated and show that he can perform in other cars too. In November last year he tested the Corvette C5-R at Sebring, the first time that he had properly driven the Florida circuit as the prototype was not ready for the 12- hours in March, and had never driven a left hand drive racing car. Perhaps that is what sparked his desire to "find pastures new" as he put it. |
Andrew Cotton |
