Adam’s charity drive
British GT ace Jonny Adam has unveiled a new, one-of-a-kind helmet design that highlights and supports the work of cancer care charity, Maggie’s.
The current GT3 points leader will wear the new helmet for the first time at Snetterton this weekend, before it is put up for auction this August at the biennial Drive to Maggie’s charity driving tour. Every penny raised will go directly to supporting the charity’s vital services.
Adam intends to continue wearing the helmet until the end of the season.
Maggie’s is a charity that offers free practical, emotional, and social support to anyone affected by cancer. Its centres provide a safe haven where patients, families, and friends can access a wide range of expert advice, workshops, and a supportive community.
The special Maggie’s racing helmet is supported by the Asset Alliance Group, whose CEO Willie Paterson is also an active supporter of Maggie’s and a longstanding backer of Adam.
That link saw Adam support the inaugural Drive to Maggie’s event in 2021 by treating supporters who donated to the cause with a high-speed passenger lap at Knockhill.
“Cancer affects so many lives, and having seen the positive impact that Maggie’s has on individuals and their families, I hope this partnership inspires others to get involved and contribute to this vital organisation,” said Adam.
35 cars travel to Snetterton as BGT reaches half distance
The 2023 British GT Championship campaign hits half-distance this weekend at Snetterton where a pair of 60-minute sprint races take centre stage on Sunday.
The fourth of seven weekends, as well as rounds five and six of nine, features a 35-strong entry as well as intriguing championship tussles in both classes following the events of Donington in late May when James Cottingham and Jonny Adam (GT3), and belatedly Ian Gough and Tom Wrigley (GT4) collected their second wins of the season.
They’ll now serve the maximum 10-second Pitstop Compensation Time in Sunday’s first race.
In terms of entry additions and tweaks. The GT3 field sees a new-look Team Abba Racing challenger, as Richard and Sam Neary have upgraded their Mercedes-AMG to Evo specification.
Elsewhere, Orange Racing by JMH’s McLaren returns after skipping Donington, and reigning two-time GT4 Pro-Am champion Matt Topham makes his GT3 debut alongside Marcus Clutton at Enduro. Greystone GT’s Mercedes-AMG – featuring 2022 Snetterton winner Callum Macleod – has also been repaired in time following its accident three weeks ago.
In GT4, Toro Verde has had a driver shuffle which sees Ian Duggan and James Townsend now split across the team’s two Ginettas. Joe Wheeler continues to pilot #80 alongside Duggan while Mike Simpson makes his first start since 2021 in the brightly coloured #86 G56.
Both races will be live on Sky Sports F1 as well as SRO’s GT World YouTube channel.
British GT Silverstone and Donington results now final
Results of the Intelligent Money British GT Championship’s races at Silverstone and Donington Park are now final following the outcome of a National Court Investigatory Hearing.
An appeal was submitted by Raceway Motorsport and accepted by Motorsport UK as an Investigatory Hearing following the disqualification of its #56 Ginetta at Silverstone on May 7. This prevented series organisers, SRO Motorsports Group, from distributing GT4 points scored at Rounds 3 and 4 as well as allocating the class’ Pitstop Compensation Time that should have been served at Donington Park on May 28.
Today (June 9) the National Court rejected Raceway’s appeal. As such:
The provisional Silverstone GT4 result has been finalised without change and associated points officially allocated. Optimum Motorsport’s Charles Clark and Jack Brown scored their first victory of the season from One Motorsport’s Ed McDermott and Mikey Broadhurst, and Academy Motorsport’s Erik Evans and Matt Cowley. Raceway’s #56 Ginetta remains disqualified after failing to heed a black flag.
20, 15 and 10 seconds of unserved Compensation Time has now been added to the elapsed Donington race times of Silverstone’s overall top-three finishers. This moves Clark/Brown from first to second behind new winners Ian Gough and Tom Wrigley (RACE LAB). Evans/Cowley remain sixth while McDermott/Broadhurst drop from seventh to eighth.
Clark and Brown now lead the GT4 standings by 26 points from Gough and Wrigley, while Cowley and Evans are a further four back in third.
Silverstone’s GT3 result was not subject to the Investigatory Hearing’s outcome and had already been used to calculate championship points as well as Compensation Time, which was served as intended during Donington Park’s pitstop.
Donington’s GT3 and GT4 top-three will now receive Compensation Time in the order of 10, seven and five seconds during the first of Snetterton’s two 60-minute races, which takes place on June 18.
Isotta out testing
While most of the sportscar racing world had its eyes firmly on the Le Mans 24 Hours last week, the Isotta Fraschini Tipo 6 LMH Competizione (a future FIA WEC Hypercar challenger) was out testing in Spain.
The car completed two days of development work at Motorland Aragon at the hands of Marco Bonanomi and Jean-Karl Vernay. It presented the Michelotto Engineering crew that has been running the car a chance to get some endurance running completed.
Over the two days, the car completed around 700km. Significant attention was paid to improving the “dialogue between the electronic and the hybrid system”.
“It was a pleasing first two days of testing and a pleasure to come back driving in a prototype, especially an LMH,” said Vernay after the test.
“I had a great feeling with the car, its base is really good, and I’ve been really impressed being able to complete so many laps. It was a lot of fun driving this beautiful car and working with Isotta Fraschini and the Michelotto Engineering crew, I can’t wait for the next test!”
34 cars for GT Open at Hungaroring
The International GT Open season heads to Hungary for the third round of the season at the Hungaroring this weekend, with a grid of 34 cars set to do battle.
On the list is new entry from Czech team Mirage Motorsport, which brings a 2016-spec Mercedes AMG GT3 to the Am class. Meanwhile, Al Manar Racing and Liqui Moly Team Engstler return to the championship after appearing at Portimão and skipping Spa.
After the endurance race at Spa-Francorchamps last time out, the title races are beginning to take shape. In the overall standings, Optimim Motorsport’s Sam De Haan and Charlie Fagg have taken the lead, thanks to their win in Belgium. However, the gap to the second is just 5 points to the Motopark Mercedes duo of South American duo Diego Menchaca-Marcos Siebert, who have one win and two podium finishes so far.
NASCAR Garage 56 Camaro arrives in Kent
The Le Mans 24 Hours Garage 56 Camaro ZL1 run by Hendrick Motorsports is on display this weekend at Brands Hatch during the American Speed Fest event.
The ZL1, which finished the 24 Hours, has already arrived at the circuit.
Special delivery… 😍
Welcome to Brands Hatch @nascarg56 💪
All set for a special display at American SpeedFest 10 Powered by Lucas Oil this weekend 🇺🇸
🔗 https://t.co/I2MuLZccf8 pic.twitter.com/UFVEDwvfbg
— Brands Hatch (@Brands_Hatch) June 15, 2023
Image credits: Isotta Fraschini, British GT & GT Open
