Bradley Ellis made a brave return to racing just a week after his neck-breaking shunt at
Thruxton, but was disappointed not to be challenging for
FIA GT3 European Cup success with the Matech Ford GT40 at Oschersleben.
The Briton suffered a compression fracture to his sixth vertebra after a dramatic off in the British GT round at Thruxton, but defied expert opinion to get back into the cockpit of the Ford in an effort to maintain the championship challenge he and co-driver Alex Mortimer set up with double victory at Monza earlier in the year.
Despite Ellis' impressive recovery and determination to get back in the race seat, the pair endured a challenging weekend that left them without points. Since the Monza success, the Matech entry had been saddled with a further 70kg of ballast, taking its total to a whopping 140kg and the penalty was more than a burden as the pair struggled with the excessive weight.
However, although Mortimer was taken out at the first corner while leading round five, and brake failure ruined their round six chances, Ellis remains third and Mortimer forth in the title fight.
Just four days after being discharged from hospital, Ellis was cleared by doctors to take the wheel of the Ford, as practice provided a first chance for both drivers to familiarise themselves with the challenging Oschersleben circuit. Following overnight rain, a damp track then greeted Mortimer for qualifying, where he finished fifth fastest before the sun emerged, and temperatures rose to deliver a quicker second session, where Ellis managed the tenth fastest time.
The sun was still shining on Saturday afternoon as the lights went green for round five and Mortimer made a brilliant start from the third row to take the lead in to the first corner. However, chaos reined entering Hotel corner and, on the outside from turn one, Christopher Haase's Lamborghini made contact with Marcello Zani's Aston Martin, sandwiching the Italian against Mortimer.
