“We’re delighted to be running our fourth-straight year of British GT at full capacity, particularly now that we’ve found the perfect balance with 17 entries in both the GT3 and GT4 categories. I think the strong field adds a high level of competition to the series, which is important for the drivers and teams. We’re really pleased with the global growth of the GT category, especially here with British GT, which is probably the best national championship in the world.”
These were the words of SRO chief Stephane Ratel at last week’s media day at Brands Hatch, and there is a real feeling that there is a complete absence of hyperbole in them. The 2015 British GT Championship makes its traditional start on Easter Monday (practice and qualifying on Saturday), and never before has its name been more appropriate, with no fewer than 25 cars being British marques. Our look at the Class of ’15 begins with GT3.
The most striking aspect of the entry for this weekend, and indeed the whole season, is the numerical domination of the Aston Martin marque, with seven of the 18 GT3s and six of the 16 GT4s being Vantages. Just two years ago, the corresponding grid at the Cheshire circuit saw only two of the 33 cars hailing from Prodrive; and such is the demand for this car that Oman Racing Team are able to field three GT3 Vantages for the season opener.
“Though we still have our BTCC commitment, we’ll be concentrating more of our efforts into GT3 this year, particularly after such a great performance in 2014,” said Team Principal David Bartrum. “It suits how we operate; the team is comfortable with it as a workable, rewarding package and the budgets stack up favourably for us. We will be looking into some European outings too with these cars and what we would like to aim for is a Le Mans entry in the future.
“Because it’s done the greater mileage now, we’ve switched last year’s winning car to the other side of the garage and re-liveried it. Ahmad Al Harthy and Daniel Lloyd carry the Oman livery onto the fresher of the two cars as our Silver/Silver pairing. There are a lot of Astons on this grid this year, which says something about its suitability to the rules as it were, so we don’t expect to have it easy.”
After two seasons of coming within tantalising reach of the title, Al Harthy is back to lead the team that bears his country’s name and will have high hopes that the freshness, youth and speed of his new partner will provide the edge needed to prevail. But while youth wasn’t on his side, the Omani racer’s previous partner Michael Caine had both speed and vast experience, so it will be interesting to see how Lloyd progresses. An obvious incentive for the Yorkshireman to succeed this year is his recent selection to the AMR Evolution Academy, which dangles the carrot of a factory drive for its best-performing graduate.
Joining this pairing for the full season will be Rory Butcher and Liam Griffin – the young Scot likely to benefit greatly from the ‘luxury’ of a year-long partner – while the third car will be entered on a race-by-race basis, its first occupants being ex-Kinfaun AMR man Phil Dryburgh, who partners with the suddenly-available BTCC star Matt Jackson.
As Bartrum says, the opposition is strong, and perhaps nowhere is it stronger than the #9 TF Sport Vantage of Derek Johnston and Matt Bell (aka Team Toon). Johnston has proven himself to be a very rapid Am driver, but by his own admission still needs to work on his temperament. “I tend to beat myself up when I make mistakes and that can affect my concentration for the next part of the race,” he told DSC at the NEC in January. “So in Matt I’ve not just got a bloody quick teammate, but also a patient driver coach who will iron those kinks out over the course of the year. We get on great together – he was one of the first to come and talk to me when I joined the British GT grid – and when the opportunity came along for us to work together, we both went for it immediately.” Although still only 25, Bell is already something of a veteran GT driver and is undoubtedly one of the strongest and quickest drivers in the BGT field. He too is a member of the Evolution Academy, which can only act as further impetus to succeed. Regardless, he and Johnson are amongst the favourites as the season kicks off.
The Geordies’ stablemates this season are Andrew Jarman and Jody Fannin in the Eurostar-liveried #27 Vantage. Jarman ended his inaugural season in BGT as GT4 runner-up after a strong and consistent run (with no retirements) that netted two wins, while Fannin took the 2012 GT4 title alongside Warren Hughes.
Although Fannin (also an Evolution Academy member) has raced in GT3 since his GT4 days, the big question mark over this pairing is the level of experience at this level; but both are level-headed and steady, which is a very good starting point for a partnership in its infancy.
Andrew Howard and Jonny Adam return for another season in the Beechdean GT3 Vantage – their fourth as a pairing – and begin the year in confident mood. “Our testing at both Monteblanco and Oulton Park has gone very well with the new Avon slick tyre for 2015,” said Howard. “The championship looks very competitive this year both in GT3 and GT4. As a team, our goal is to have two consistent races this weekend and start our championship off in the best way possible.” The duo’s title challenge faltered in the final stages of the 2014 season, but there is no doubt that a second title for Howard is well within the realms of possibility.
The final GT3 Aston comes from 22GT Racing, which makes a surprise return to the grid in the hands of Mark Farmer and 2008 BGT Champion Jon Barnes. “It has a brand new chassis, but essentially the engine, gearbox and all other running gear is the MP Motorsports car from a year ago,” said Farmer at last week’s media day/test at Brands Hatch. “This is a new venture for me with a new car and even after four days testing I’m just finding my way with it. When you can’t see the slow bloke in front of you, you know you’ve got your work cut out..! We’ll not learn a huge amount from today but any time spent behind the wheel is valuable. It could take a little while for us to get up to speed, but the Aston Martin seems to be the package to have. Certainly for me there’s a lot more grip and power than what I’m used to. Given his return to the series, Jon will be a great asset and will probably do most of our running today.”
While the Aston marque has gone from strength to strength, others haven’t fared so well in British GT3. There are no Audis in 2015, no Porsches, no Nissans, no Bentleys and, astonishingly, only two Ferraris. One of these, the #21 Rosso Verde 458 of hector Lester and Benny Simonsen, will again be seen only on a race-by-race basis – although it is always a pleasure to see them – while the other can most certainly be considered among the pre-season favourites for championship honours, as Gary Eastwood and Adam Carroll continue their partnership into a new season with FF Corse.
Although Eastwood is a genuinely friendly character, and seemingly as far from a stereotypical racing driver as you can get, there is no doubt that there exists a tough and ambitious core beneath the overalls; “Being on the podium during last year more than expected gave us a glimpse of what we could achieve,” he said. “Unfortunately it wasn’t our year to take the title but it was great fun trying! Adam, FF Corse and I come into 2015 with every belief that we can lift the title. We will be giving it 100% commitment from the starting blocks at Oulton through the season to the final at Donington. There is as in past years a very strong line-up of driver pairings, teams and cars making for some very strong competition and challenging races; but that is what British GT is all about, not for the faint hearted! We’re in it to win it and if we didn’t think we could we wouldn’t be there.” Nobody knows a Ferrari like Anthony Cheshire’s team and the car is guaranteed to be strong. Carroll meanwhile made it look as though the Ferrari was built around him, so if luck is on their side this year, who knows what might happen?
A trio of BMWs will certainly have something to say about FF’s title ambitions though, with Barwell and Triple Eight fielding very strong pairings.
2014 Champion Marco Attard returns to defend his title with Alexander Sims in the #1 Ecurie Ecosse Z4. Always self-effacing, Attard has proven himself to be a fiercely determined and quick driver who thrives in the pressure-cauldron of GT racing, while Sims is just blisteringly quick and will again be the benchmark for the rest of the Pro drivers. “You look at the quality of last season’s grid and think it can’t be any more difficult than that, but I honestly believe retaining the title this year is going to be a real challenge!” said Attard. “The level of PRO/AM partnerships and teams is amazing and Avon has also introduced a new tyre. Its characteristics are different to the previous spec and it lasts longer too, which we’re expecting to play into Aston Martin’s hands. And there are a fair few of those!
“We tested at Oulton last week and, although that was my first proper run in the car since last season, everything felt great. It was fantastic to be back in the BMW and we got through everything we needed to, including plenty of mileage with the new tyres. We won there last year and that’s certainly the plan again.
“Obviously I’d love to retain the title, and I think we’ll be at the sharp end. But I really want to do it for Alex who contributed so much last season. The fact he missed a round and still finished third says it all really, and we’re both incredibly motivated, along with Ecurie Ecosse and Barwell Motorsport, to get the job done.”
Perhaps nowhere will the challenge be greater than from their own pit garage, as Jon Minshaw and Phil Keen switch brands for 2015 to race a Z4 under the handy “Team Russia by Barwell Racing with Demon Tweeks” moniker. Notoriously media shy, this very rapid duo formed a potent partnership during their days at Trackspeed and it is difficult to see them doing anything other than carrying their race-winning form into the new season. They topped the podium three times in 2014 but lacked points-scoring consistency throughout the season, which ultimately wrecked their title hopes. An improvement on that front this season could be key.
The 2014 season started in unfortunate fashion for Lee Mowle and Joe Osborne after a practice crash saw them miss the two opening races, but the Triple Eight pairing are both optimistic and realistic as they begin this year’s campaign; “We want to win British GT this year,” said Mowle. “But, our first battle is to be the fastest BMW in the series and that won’t be easy. We have a new team that combines enthusiasm and experience and I believe can master the challenge presented. As for Joe and I, we’ve both made steps forward with our performances too. For me doing the Dubai 24 Hour race was really important and it got my race season up and running much earlier than normal. I think we’ll be competitive at Oulton even though on paper it doesn’t suit the Z4 as well as perhaps the Aston, but I’m confident we’ll be in the mix after this weekend.”
Osborne added: “I’m really excited to be back in British GT this year. Combining this with Blancpain Endurance will give me a lot of time in the Z4 and that can only be a good thing. Together, Lee and I are a strong combination and we have unfinished business in British GT. The Z4 has a lot of strengths that we have to exploit, and I’m sure we’ll have a really competitive package to fight for the victory.”
Osborne also had words of praise for the series organisers’ decision to revise the qualifying procedure for this weekend, which will see GT3 and GT4 classes qualify separately; “It’s great to see that SRO has split qualifying for Oulton. It makes logical sense and they should be applauded for listening to the needs and wants of their customers. It’s a tight track for anyone, especially in qualifying. Qualifying has, in the past few years, been a hairy affair (with the mixed classes combined).
“The move to separate the classes should prevent fast contacts, which is possible between GT3 and GT3 cars, and it brings the series into line with other multi-class series across the world. It’s nice to see a sensible move like this being made before a serious accident occurred.”
The revised procedure is possible owing to a new provision in the championship regulations, which states that: “The Organisers reserve the right to amend the qualifying format via a team bulletin on event or during the season.”
The Ginetta G55 GT3 has had a troubled history to date, with the car’s undoubted speed being blunted by a history of unreliability and often bizarre misfortune. Things could well be different in 2015 however, with Team LNT confident that great strides forward have been taken with the car since last year.
“Mike (Simpson) has proven the speed of this car, but it’s about balancing ourselves as a crew as best we can,” said Steve Tandy, who shares the #32 car with Simpson. “After the four test sessions we’ve run we believe the reliability should be there now and we’ve had every support from Laurence and the people at Ginetta in preparing this package for the new season. We also have the second LNT car on the other side of the garage to compare with, which will be interesting. We have to run the same ballast and other adjustments here today as we ended 2014 with, which is a little strange. I’m not sure whether that’s how we will have to present the car at Oulton Park but I guess it’s the same for everyone.”
That second car will be piloted by Rick Parfitt and Tom Oliphant, who both graduate to GT3 after a season-long partnership in GT4 that began in frustrating circumstances but which culminated in a win at Donington.
“The goalposts have moved a bit this season because we’re in direct competition with the championship’s big guns,” said Oliphant, who grew up within earshot of Oulton Park. “But Rick and I make for a very balanced team and we’ve also done a lot of testing with the GT3 over the winter. Both Ginetta and Team LNT have been fantastic and really helped us understand the car. Mechanically it’s not all that different to the G55 I raced last season, although the additional aero and grip means you can extract a lot more. Learning to push harder and use that potential has been key.” Both racers are very quick and they won’t be waiting around to get themselves noticed.
Nor will the young drivers in the two Von Ryan McLaren 650s that debut at the Cheshire circuit this weekend. Only one of the four drivers has BGT experience, but he makes his GT3 debut with his 2014 GT4 title trophy still gleaming on the mantelpiece; “I’m fortunate to have been able to step up to GT3 for this year and to land a drive like this is fantastic,” said Ross Wylie. “I tried several other GT3 cars over the winter, which all had their own characters, but this is a very serious package. The 650S is like nothing else – everything is thought out, right down to the fine details. For example, the steering wheel is tiny, like an F1 car or a prototype’s, and links to a very sophisticated delta / mapping display system on the dash; everything from which is immediate and enables you to sharpen your focus as a driver. It’s a very technical car as a result though, and it does take some time to get used to. It takes a little longer to set up but once you’ve got it right stringing together a good lap is just incredible. The aero package is particularly advanced.”
Wylie pairs with 20 year-old Andrew Watson, who switches from Ginettas after five wins in the 2014 GT4 Supercup championship. The second car, meanwhile, will be shared by Pro/Am pairing Salih Yoluc – possibly the series’ first Turkish driver – and Euan Hankey; the two having been part of Optimum Motorsport’s SP3 winning crew at the recent Dubai 24 hours.
And how good is it to see a brace of Mercedes SLS AMG GT3s back in the series? The first is fielded by Preci-Spark for the ever-present Jones brothers in the only Am/Am entry – expect the 2009 champions to feature more in the two and three hour races than in the sprint races – while the second sees the debut of RAM Racing in the series. Alistair MacKinnon returns to the series for a full-season alongside Lewis Plato, as Dan Shufflebottom’s team continues its welcome resurrection.
“Testing has gone well,” said Plato. “Our long distance runs have been very successful and we are getting good longevity from the Avon tyre. We have not had as much practice with qualifying runs, however we hope to get more on the Saturday morning before qualifying.
“The car is brilliant, it has been running faultlessly through testing and we’re close to getting the most out of it. As for Oulton Park, I have always qualified in the top two and have won three races there so it’s a place I’m happy to be returning to.”
“Like Lewis, the last time I raced here I stood on the podium and it would be great to repeat that,” added MacKinnon. “We’ve had some great test sessions and we’re as ready as we can be, I just hope we manage to get two dry races and don’t get caught up in any trouble. The Ram Racing team have proven to be one of the top teams in Europe and I’m looking forward to contesting their debut British GT Championship race with them.”
So there we have it. A GT3 field reduced to ‘only’ 18, but which is once more bursting at the seams with quality, talent and potential. GT4, meanwhile, seems finally to be coming of age; perhaps not in its originally envisaged form as an all-amateur class, but more as a stepping stone for ambitious young racers making the move to GT racing.
An unprecedented (for this series) 17 cars comprise the class, although we will have to wait until Rockingham in May to see them all on track together. The GPRM Toyota GT86 of Stefan Hodgetts and (for Oulton at least) former Trackspeed racer Richard Williams will be running in the Invitation class for this weekend’s meeting, but should be fully homologated in time for the next round, while the RLR Motorsport Ginetta G55 of Anna Waleska and Rob Garofall will miss the first two races.
Of the remaining 30 drivers in action on Easter Monday, only 10 were in BGT4 last year, indicating just how attractive the class is becoming (and also how successful the series has been in ‘graduating’ drivers up into GT3).
With Ross Wylie now with Von Ryan, 2014 co-champion Jake Giddings finds himself with a new partner and new team but with a familiar car as he joins Kieran Griffin (brother of Motorbase’s Liam) in the #47 JWB Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage GT4. Giddings impressed hugely with his speed and racecraft last season on his way to the title, while Griffin spent the year getting to know his car in the Aston Martin GT4 Challenge, taking three wins from seven races for JWB.
“I grew up racing in family-run teams and that’s definitely something I identify with at JWB; we clicked straight away,” said Giddings. “It’s reasonable to accept that we might take a couple of rounds to find our feet but I’m feeling very motivated to help push them forward throughout the year. Kieran has plenty of talent, as demonstrated last season, although the quality and quantity of this year’s GT4 field has improved on 2014.
“The car has been fully upgraded to this year’s spec, so I’m eager to see where we fit into the pecking order.”
Taking the fight to Giddings and Wylie throughout 2014 was the Twisted Team Parker Ginetta duo of Ade Barwick and Bradley Ellis, and they return for a second full season with the aim of improving on their third place in the final standings. And the omens are good, with the pair racing for BGT rivals Optimum in the 24H series and taking two class wins from two races so far (Dubai and Mugello). There is no reason to suppose that they cannot at least reproduce their form from last year which yielded two wins.
Paul McNeilly and Jamie Stanley also return unchanged for a second season in the class in a Fox Motorsport G55. Their partnership grew stronger throughout the course of the 2014 season, with more than half of their eventual points-haul of 95.5 coming in the final three races. If they can carry on where they left off, they will again be at the pointy end of the title race.
Arguably the fastest car of 2014 – and also of the previous couple of seasons – was the Lotus Evora GT4, with the ISSY Racing version of Oz Yusuf and Gavan Kershaw taking a win and several other podium finishes in a campaign ultimately undone by poor reliability. If that factor can be improved upon in 2015 then this car and driver pairing could be real contenders for the title. “We’re feeling pretty good about it all,” said Kershaw. “Ossy has spent a lot of time testing over the winter with his Radical and has upped his speed to a point where he should feel much more confident and consistent at the limit of the Evora’s performance, on which basis we should be a more comfortable pairing. GT4 is very well subscribed this year – and of course we have the two UltraTek Evoras to compare ourselves to. They’re running blue and white livery, so we had to change ours really to differentiate us – and seeing as Lotus F1 seems to be sorting itself out at last we decided to go Black and Gold! I’m looking forward to getting stuck in to be honest. With the way British GT is attracting new drivers as a career step though there are a lot of young guys on this grid this year – that could be interesting in the early laps…”
Those two other Evoras mentioned will be two of three cars being fielded by Stratton Motorsport, but will run under the UltraTek Racing banner. Despite being led by ex-WTCC and current Blancpain Sprint ace James Nash (British GT record: one race, one win), this is very much a development project for two of the three other drivers, Richard Taffinder and Tim Eakin, who have just a season in the Aston Martin GT4 Challenge behind them. Jamie Wall completes the quartet. Of particular interest for this weekend is the fact that a certain Martin Plowman will be subbing for Nash, who is on Blancpain duty at Nogaro.
The third Stratton car is a Vantage for the only sister pairing to have ever entered BGT, that of Jade and Chloe Edwards. Jade had a part season in an Optimum Ginetta in 2014, while Chloe makes her series debut in GT4; but make no mistake, neither driver will be making any play of their gender – they want to be known purely as racers.
With Parfitt and Oliphant having made the move to GT3, reigning Team champion Century Motorsport fields just one car in 2015 – a G55 for 2014 regular Aleksander Schjerpen and newcomer James Birch. Schjerpen had a steady season with Morton Dons last year, with several podium finishes – not aided by the extra ballast the ‘exotic pairing’ had to lug around – while Century alumnus Birch has an impressive racing CV in several series. “I’m delighted that we are returning to British GT4 this year with such a strong line up,” said Team Principal Nathan Freke. “We signed Aleksander a number of weeks ago when we visited him in Norway for a weekend of fun in the snow at his circuit, Valerbanen. James returning to the team is great and really shows the quality of our team that drivers continue to return to achieve their goals with us. Having won the Teams’ Championship last year, it’s very much our intention to retain that title again this year with our strong new driver pairing.”
And that’s where the familiar names end.
Stepping into the title-winning Beechdean GT4 this season will be the depressingly young – a combined age of 34 – duo of Jamie Chadwick and Ross Gunn, who have also been accepted onto the Aston Evolution Academy programme. “It’s brilliant to be joining the championship-winning Beechdean Aston Martin Racing team, and to be racing in British GT this year,” said 16 year old Chadwick. “I drove the car last year and immediately felt comfortable and we’ve worked hard since then to put together the best deal with the best people.
“With the Beechdean Aston Martin Racing team, Ross as team-mate, Jonny [Adam] as coach and BGT champion Andrew [Howard] as mentor, plus that fantastic Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT4 car, I’m confident that we have a formidable combination. It’s going to be a challenging year ahead but I’m up for it and looking forward to doing my very best!”
Also making its Aston debut will be Academy Motorsport, with drivers and team making the move across from Ginetta racing. Matt Nicoll-Jones this year stays on the pitwall to allow Will Moore, Dennis Strandberg, Chris Webster and James Harrison to work the steering wheels; “This is a great way of celebrating the team’s 10th anniversary,” said the Team Principal. “We’ve followed the progression of the Vantage GT4 closely and feel it offers the ideal platform as we enter our second decade of top level competition.” It would perhaps be unrealistic to expect podium finishes in the opening few races, but might we be in for a surprise or two?
The sixth and final Vantage GT4 will be shared by terry Langley and Mike Hart and will be fielded by Team Parker under the Quantamatic Racing banner. Both drivers come to the BGT after a season of Caterham racing – Hart taking the Supersport title – and may need some time to get to grips with the much heavier Aston. Or perhaps not.
Two more Ginettas and a singleton Porsche round out the GT4 entry, with David Pattison and Luke Davenport sharing the #56 Tolman Motorsport G55, while Graham Johnson and 2014 Michelin Clio Cup champion Mike Robinson campaign the #50 car under the somewhat onerous “Professional Motorsport World Expo racing with Optimum” banner.
“I am delighted to welcome David and Luke to the Tolman Motorsport team,” said team owner Chris Tolman. “I have known David both personally and professionally for some time and believe that together with Luke, they will make an excellent pairing which will provide both the pace and the experience that GT racing requires. Our future plans include GT3 campaigns in British GT and Blancpain series following on from the GT4 programme and culminates with our ultimate goal, competing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2020.”
The Porsche is the ex-Team Parker Racing 911 GT4 of former Supercar Challenge racer Graham Coomes and BTCC team boss Shaun Hollamby, with the car entered under the AmDtuning.com banner.
“I’ve been keen to get into GT4 as it offers serious racing with proper machinery at an affordable level,” said Hollamby. “I’d done single seaters until 1990, then worked in F1 TV for ITV for a while before getting back into racing through VW Cup and the Dunlop Sport championships. After which I had a proper transition into higher level racing in the BTCC, which has been my focus until now.
“AmD is a performance tuning specialist and we have a strong Porsche customer base so are more than comfortable with the 911. This one came up for sale and we were aware of its performance last year with Dan Cammish so we jumped on it – someone needs to keep a Porsche on this grid..! Graham and I have known each other a long while and have wanted to get a sound package we could work at together but was a runner straight out of the box. The GT endurance format is a big draw for us as we wanted to get into a co-driving situation. Coincidentally we both went to the same school, though not actually at the same time; we share the same ideals in our racing. We did the Race of Remembrance at Anglesey as a taster. It was an eight hour race and we liked the friendly atmosphere in the paddock. We’re really looking forward to learning the car, getting up to speed and unlocking more of its potential, but for now it’s all quite new and exciting for us. We did a one day test at Snetterton and I was 1.5 seconds off Cammish’s best there last year, Graham being a further second off that. We seem to be running quite a hefty weight penalty however, which I believe is the BOP relative to the end of last season’s performance.”
Once more the BGT looks like serving up a fascinating season, and it is highly unlikely that any one car or team is going to zoom off into the distance in either class. As ever at this stage of proceedings there are a large number of unknowns – not least how the almost equally sized classes will get on together – but the signs are there that Benjamin and his team will have a firm handle on proceedings. Throw in live TV at most of the rounds and one could almost think that the series’ time has finally come. Let’s hope so.
MH/ML
