SOUTHAMPTON'S Ricky Cole and co-driver Pete Le Bas finished the motor racing season on a high note, with a superb victory in the British Racing and Sports Car Club's Donington Open.
The race was divided into two one-hour segments with a fuelling stop in between.
Cole brought the Xero Team's Corvette C5 home with a 66-second lead after the first half and Le Bas finished the job, tucking himself behind the Eclipse TVR of Griffiths and Ryan for a convincing 53-second aggregate victory.
Xero had qualified second on the grid after a wet session on Saturday morning and conditions were still damp and greasy for the race itself. Although Le Bas lost places when he went in too deep at Redgate first time round, he'd pulled back up to second place by the time he handed over to Cole.
The cars ahead had already pitted so Cole was in a strong position despite problems with the Corvette's brakes.
The driver change had taken place with the safety car out on the track and within a few laps of it going back in, Cole took the lead and began pulling away to lead by over a minute when the cars came in for their refuelling stop.
Cole said: "The brake pedal was deteriorating and making passing back markers difficult."
He lost the lead briefly after one of the Vipers cut inside and caught the front of the Corvette.
After that incident, Cole put in a number of fastest laps and fought back to second - only to lose out to the TVR on the last of the pit stops, which saw Le Bas climb back in the car for the final stint.
With a comfortable aggregate lead, he didn't need to take any chances although he survived one anxious moment when he tried a pass on the TVR going through the chicane and ended up spinning. After expertly regaining control, he settled for second on the track.
It was an impressive performance by the men in the Corvette in a strong field which included some seasoned campaigners in Ferrari, Porsche. BMW and TVR Tuscans.
It capped another good season in which Le Bas and Cole have made the podium in the British GT Championships.
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