Belgium podium joy for Hynes (From Stroud News and Journal)

Belgium podium joy for Hynes

MARC HYNES was back on the podium on Sunday at the world-famous Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium after six hours of driving in the gruelling Spa 1000kms sports car endurance race.

Marc, a former British Formula Three Champion, finished second in the race's GT2 class driving a TVR 400R for the LNT team.

Ahead was the team's sister TVR, meaning the British manufacturer achieved a dream one-two result. This is the first success for TVR at International level.

Tetbury based Marc said: "I think the conditions spooked quite a lot of drivers but it didn't really bother me too much.

"In a lot of places I got stuck behind more powerful cars. At the end, it was nip and tuck if we were to get ahead of one of the Ferraris so I just went for it.

"It was a race of endurance for not just the cars but also the teams and the drivers.

"This is a major result. The team knows that the TVR lacks the outright pace of the Porsches and Ferraris in GT2, but we're getting closer and now we've also proved we've got the reliability.

"It's great to be back up on the podium."

Marc completed the car's opening stint, but was later drafted in to complete a double 90-minute stint at the end to help make up some of the ground lost during the middle stages of the race by one of his team-mates.

Driving conditions throughout were perilous with 26-year-old Marc experiencing not only a damp track surface but also thick fog as he rounded the Spa circuit at speeds close to 170mph.

The Spa race followed a month after Marc had made his sports car racing debut, when he drove the TVR in the Sebring 12 Hours event in America.

There, he was challenging for another podium finish but his car retired with a mechanical fault.

Marc is one of Britain's leading motor racing drivers. In 1999, he beat Jenson Button to become British Formula Three Champion and before that won the prestigious Formula Renault and Formula Vauxhall Junior titles.

He has also tested Formula One cars with the Williams and BAR-Honda teams.