Category: British GT

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British GT – GT4: HHC and Dean MacDonald/Callum Pointon take GT4 Opening Race Honours

HHC Motorsport made a dream start to life with McLaren by winning their first race as a partnership courtesy of Dean MacDonald and Callum Pointon.

The duo were a feature at the front for the entire race having managed to split the leading Multimatic Racing Ford Mustangs of Jade Buford and Scott Maxwell, the Mustangs having been dominant on Saturday during qualifying.

Maxwell and teammate Seb Priaulx would go on to have dramas that would drop the fast Ford back through the order during the second stint as Maxwell went through the gravel after contact and Priaulx spun into the wall while on a comeback trail.

Buford and Chad McCumbee also dropped back as Mustang dominance on Saturday gave way to all-conquering McLarens in Race One on Monday morning.

The Tolman McLaren of James Dorlin and Lewis Smith took second place after an eventful run that included contact with the sister car of Jordan Collard. Collard and Lewis Proctor would retire from second on the penultimate lap after catching fire while challenging for the lead.

The second HHC McLaren of Luke Williams and Tom Jackson was third ahead of McCumbee and Butford, while Josh Price and Patrick Kibble of TF Sport were the highest placed Aston Martin in fifth position.

Matt George and Steve McCulley were the Pro/Am category winners in the Invictus Racing Jaguar ahead of Martin Plowman and Kelvin Fletcher, the former passing Plowman’s Beechdean Aston Martin late on to steal victory in class.

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British GT – Rick Parfitt Jr and Seb Morris Win GT3 Opening Race

Rick Parfitt Junior and Seb Morris took a popular victory in the opening round of the season after an eventful start to the race on JRM’s British GT debut.

Phil Keen and Adam Balon were second as the lead two cars were in a class of their own, before Bradley Ellis and Ollie Wilkinson held off Jonny Cocker and Sam De Haan.

The two Century Motorsport BMWs driven Ben Green/Dominic Paul and Jack Mitchell/Adrian Willmott were next ahead of Jonny Adam/Graham Davidson and Adam Christodoulou/Richard Neary.

Rounding out the GT3 finishers were Marco Sorensen/Andrew Howard and Nicki Thiim/Mark Farmer, the latter spinning early on and unable to make inroads thereafter.

Drama found the British GT series as early as the second lap when Ryan Ratcliffe’s optimistic move on polesitter Iain Loggie had predictable consequences, the Scotsman spun around and both drivers left out of the race after just two minutes.

A lengthy clean up operation saw the Safety Car out for over ten minutes, and Parfitt was able to capitalise on his inherited lead having passed Sam De Haan at the start.

Parfitt was able to pull out a lead of over four seconds over De Haan, who had the attentions of both Century Motorsport BMWs of Paul and Willmott to contend with for much of the opening stint.

While almost all of the GT3 competitors pitted as soon as possible, Parfitt allowed an extra lap to avoid traffic in a tight Oulton Park pit lane. De Haan found out to his cost how tight the pit lane can be, as he lost several positions when handing over to teammate Cocker.

Cocker would pressurise the Aston Martin of Bradley Ellis for the duration of their second stint for third place to little avail at a narrow and twisty Oulton Park, with third place through to ninth covered by five seconds.

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British GT – GT4 Qualifying – Multimatic Motorsports Dominate in GT4 qualifying

Scott Maxwell and Sebastian Priaulx took an unusual qualifying clean sweep in GT4 as the Multimatic Ford Mustangs dominated proceedings at a baking Oulton Park.

Canadian Maxwell, having previously never visited Oulton Park, took pole for the morning race on Monday ahead of teammate Jade Buford, with the HHC McLaren duo Dean MacDonald and Tom Jackson very much the best of the rest.

The TF Sport #95 entry of 16-year-old Patrick Kibble was the highest placed Aston Martin of the early session for TF Sport ahead of Tolman’s Jordan Collard and defending GT4 champions Century Motorsport with Mark Kimber.

Alex Toth-Jones in the Academy Motorsport Aston Martin was eighth, while James Dorlin was ninth for Tolman having graduated from the Renault Clio Cup last year ahead of Pro/Am category Championship contender Kelvin Fletcher in the Beechdean Aston Martin.

In Race Two qualifying, Priaulx was over a second clear of the field as he annihilated his GT4 counterparts.

Scott Malvern’s Team Parker Racing Mercedes was the next best, 1.1s behind the Ford Mustang with Michael Broadhurst third to make it an AMG 2-3.

Martin Plowman backed up teammate Fletcher’s earlier top ten starting position with fourth for Beechdean Aston Martin, with Tom Canning’s TF Sport Aston rounding out a competitive top five.

Matt George was sixth in the Invictus Racing Jaguar ahead of Luke Williams in the HHC McLaren and Lewis Proctor’s Tolman McLaren, with defending champions Century Motorsport ninth on the grid with Angus Fender and Josh Smith in the second Tolman completing the top ten.

Elsewhere, it wasn’t all plain sailing for the three Ford Mustang entries, as Sam Smelt and Aron Taylor-Smith hit strife in the Race Performance #23 to start from the back of the field on Bank Holiday Monday.

 

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British GT – GT3 Qualifying: Loggie and Keen take qualifying spoils.

Iain Loggie will start from pole position for the first race of the British GT 2019 season after an impressive display during AM qualifying.

Loggie was over half a second clear in his first race since switching from Bentley to a Mercedes for this season at a hot Oulton Park.

The Scotsman will lead Ryan Ratcliffe’s Bentley away from the lights on Monday morning after a strong showing from the Welshman, with Sam De Haan’s Lamborghini completing the top three.

Rick Parfitt Junior will go from fourth after again teaming up with Bentley and Seb Morris, ahead of Dominic PAul and Adam Balon.

Callum Willmott and Mark Farmer complete row four as Aston Martin still try to find their feet with the new V8 Vantage ahead of Richard Neary and Graham Davidson, with the troubled Shaun Balfe McLaren and Ollie Wilkinson’s Aston Martin on the penultimate row ahead of Andrew Howard’s Beechdean Aston Martin.

In GT4 Pro qualifying, it was another strong RAM Racing showing as Adam Christodoulou was able to qualify third behind a stunning lap from Phil Keen in the Barwell Lamborghini and Callum Macleod’s excellent showing for Bentley.

Seb Morris’ fourth place to back the earlier result up of his teammate Parfitt suggests that Bentley are back on song after a difficult 2018 campaign for the 2017 champions.

Jonny Cocker was fifth for Barwell ahead of Nicki Thiim and Marco Sorensen in the Aston Martins, while the Century Motorsport BMW duo of Jack Mitchell and Ben Green were eighth and ninth.

Defending champion Jonny Adam was only 10th in the TF Sport Aston Martin V8 Vantage, with Bradley Ellis and Glynn Geddie rounding off the GT3 class after Rob Bell’s McLaren failed to set a time.

IMAGE: Xynamic via @RAMRacing

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British F3 Fredrick Takes Oulton Park Pole, Simmons on Pole for Race Three

Kaylen Frederik of Carlin Motorsport took the first British F3 pole position of the 2019 season at a sunny Oulton Park at the traditional Easter weekend season-opener.

A tight session that saw several drivers swap pole position times at the start settled down when Frederick took provisional pole midway through qualifying, with 13 cars covered by one second enough to illustrate that 2019 will be very tough to call.

Frederick took charge of the session midway through after teammate Clement Novolak had made all of the early running to take the initial pole position.

Ayrton Simmons will start from third behind the Carlin duo alongside Johnathon Hoggard, with Belgian Ulysse De Pauw and Kiern Jewiss completing row three.

Neil Verhagen is seventh ahead of the returning Sassakorn Chaimongkol in eighth, Lucas Petersson and Manuel Maldonado completing the top ten.

Hampus Ericsson and Nazim Azman complete row six as the top twelve cars remain covered by less than a second, with Benjamin Pedersen, Pavan Ravishankar, Kris Wright and Josh Mason rounding off a 16-car grid.

The story doesn’t end there, with the second-fastest times for the session deciding the grid for Race Three on Monday afternoon.

Simmons will take pole position for that ahead of Hoggard, Novolak, Frederick, Jewiss and Verhagen the top six for the final British F3 race of the weekend.

 

 

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British GT 2019: The wait is over….

After seven months of hibernation and relative silence, the British GT series returns for 2019 at Oulton Park for the traditional Easter Weekend curtain-raiser.

35 cars including 13 GT3s, 21 GT4s and one GTC will compete in two hour-long races on Easter Monday, with Easter Sunday seeing no track action.

There’s plenty of new additions to the British GT series with Aston Martin, Bentley, Lamborghini and McLaren all bringing new GT3 challengers to this year’s party, while BMW and Mercedes are also in the category.

Aston Martin have replaced their V12 Vantage, the most successful car in British GT history, with a new V8 model. Record-breaking history-making Scotsman Jonny Adam remains part of their armoury having left Optimum Motorsport for TF Sport paired with Graham Davidson, one of the most entertaining drivers on the grid. They’re joined by Mark Farmer and Nicki Thiim, a pairing looking to right a few wrongs after hitting bad luck last season.

Optimum, last season’s champions, have also taken the new V8 Vantage and will have Oliver Wilkinson and 2007 champion Bradley Ellis to maintain their challenge. Beechdean AMR have retained two-time champion Andrew Howard, while Marco Sorensen has resurfaced alongside Howard after spending last season at TF Sport.

Barwell Motorsport are back into British GT battle with Lamborghini’s new Huracan GT3 Evo. Last year’s rookie Sam De Haan partners Jonny Cocker, while arrival of Adam Balon marks the only driver change from 2018 at the expense of Jon Minshaw. Phil Keen returns this season hoping to be the bride, and not the bridesmaid, in 2019.

For Bentley, it’s a new car with some old friends for 2019. The new Continental GT3 2017 champions Rick Parfitt Jnr, whose break from racing was shortlived, and Seb Morris returning to the series with newcomers JRM, while Team Parker Racing will field Ryan Ratcliffe and Glynn Geddie for 2019.

2019 marks a step up in class for 2018 GT4 champions, Century Motorsport. Jack Mitchell and Ben Green were the top dogs last year and will race alongside Adrian Willmott and Dominic Paul respectively, on a weekend where the British GT paddock will undoubtedly find out more about BMW’s M6.

McLaren’s new 720S will prove a welcome boost to Shaun Balfe and Rob Bell at Balfe Motorsport while Richard Neary and Adam Christodoulou in the Mercedes are back for a full year at ABBA Racing alongside Iain Loggie and Callum Macleod at RAM Racing.

 And onto GT4…

With Ben Tuck and Jack Mitchell moving to GT3, it is all change at Century Motorsport and BMW. Three British GT debutants Mark Kimber, Angus Fender and Andrew Gordon-Colebrooke make their bow this weekend while Jacob Mathiassen returns.

Stability is the key with Mercedes-AMGs GT4 entrants. Team Parker’s Nick Jones and Scott Malvern took 2018’s Pro/Am title, Mark Murfitt and Michael Broadhurst begin their second season with Fox Motorsport.

Aston Martin are well backed in GT4 for 2019, Beechdean AMR’s Kelvin Fletcher and Martin Plowman came close to Pro/Am glory last year, Mike Robinson and Patrik Matthiesen are paired in one of Optimum’s two entries. TF Sport and Academy Motorsport also represent the marque.

McLaren’s 570S returns with Tolman Motorsport and another two-pronged assault working with McLaren Driver Development Programme members. HHC have switched from Ginettas and have Callum Pointon and Dean Macdonald amongst its ranks this term, while Balfe Motorsport are back in 2019,

Ford brings its iconic Mustang to the British GT Championship in 2019 with Multimatic Motorsports entering two, while RACE enter a third raced by ex-BTCC racers Sam Smelt and Aron Taylor-Smith. They could well be an entry to watch.

The Jaguar F-Type is also back in the familiar hands of Steve McCulley and Matthew George, Invictus Games Racing having halved their entry list for 2019 while KTM return for the first time since 2011.

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British GT: Scottish Alliance in 2019 for 2018 British GT champion Jonny Adam

2018 British GT champion Jonathan Adam is happy to be working with Scottish compatriots at TF Sport in 2019 as he bids to defend his overall title.

Adam, three-times a British GT champion, will be working with Graham Davidson this year as last year’s partner Flick Haigh looks to race in Europe after becoming the first woman to win the British GT championship outright in 2018.

The 13-time British GT winner will move from Optimum Motorsport to TF Sport to remain in an Aston Martin Vantage, although he will be running a new car for the first time since 2011.

“I’ve known Tom Ferrier very well and I’ve raced for him before in British GT and WEC, he’s a good friend, the preparation has already started in December, we raced in Abu Dhabi and that’s given the team good information for the season ahead.

“Graham is itching to try and get going and drive the new car in anger. He had a brief spell of 15 laps at Snetterton, loved the car and made his decision there and then that this is what we wanted to drive. He’s been fast, on and off he’s won races and for me it’s about trying to hone him and get the last few tenths out of him.”

After getting married in the autumn of 2018, Adam will be fully focused on racing with a challenging schedule over the next twelve months.

“2018 was mega for host of different reasons and 2019 is really busy. There’ll be a few more programmes to be announced and the British GT already confirmed at the moment but it could be between a 15-18 weekend season.”

The work doesn’t stop for the teams during the winter months, with it being a busy schedule as constructors sort out their entries for next season.

The new Aston Martin, which replaces the successful V8 Vantage, has been popular across both the GT3 and GT4 classes.

“We have a lot going on behind the scenes now, back in the workshop with both GT3 and GT4 cars. The four especially has been really well received, 12 brand new customers have bought the car over the last four or five weeks and they’ve really enjoyed the car, which will make life easier for the customers.”

With Haigh becoming the first woman to win overall since the series’ inception in 1993, Adam was honoured but not surprised to be a part of an historic season in British GT.

“It was nice for me last year because I personally broke a few records for the most wins in GT3 and a third championship, but when the deal was struck in mid-November with Flick and I was told of the programmes we’d be involved in, I did say around the table to Sean Goff and Flick that if we did the right testing with the right engineer and the right package, then I had a gut feeling that something could come good.

“It was no surprise to me that she went to Oulton and smashed it on pole because she tested so well, she put the mileage in. We did 9-10 days of testing, which in GT3 is quite a lot, but she was so determined to be the fastest Am out there and wrap up the championship. All round, for Optimum and British GT it was the perfect story, a new Am driver winning the championship but a female one too. You had Jamie Chadwick in 15 or 16 winning GT4 but it hadn’t happened at the top class for a female. I wish her well this season.”

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British GT: Rick Parfitt – You’ll struggle to keep me away

Former British GT champion Rick Parfitt Jr wants to “take stock” as he takes a break from racing for 2019.

After seeing Jonny Adam and Flick Haigh crowned champions British GT champions at Donington Park to depose himself and Seb Morris, Parfitt says that he needs a break after a flat out recent schedule, including his Rick Parfitt Junior Band (RPJ Band).

“I’ll  come and hang out, you won’t be able to keep me away but it’ll be nice to be without any of the pressure. It has been an amazing run and an amazing three years with Team Parker.

“We’ve done well and I really feel like I’ve made a mark here. I’m saying that it’s a sabbatical but you’ll struggle to keep me away. I need a year off as the band is so, so busy at the moment and we’re playing all over the world and I’ve got to put more time into that.

“It’s time to take stock, because I have been pushing hard for seven years non-stop so it would be nice to just sit back and say, ‘you know what, I’ve done alright’.”

Parfitt’s health is also a factor in his decision to pause racing next year. The 43-year-old suffers with Crohn’s disease, an often debilitating inflammatory bowel disease.

“I’ve also got to think about my health with Crohn’s Disease, which I try and tell everyone about. That has been quite bad and has recently been getting progressively worse. I’ve been putting off a big operation on my gut. Unfortunately I’m going to have to embrace that now and it’s going to keep me out for several months anyway.”

Parfitt says that motor racing has allowed him to have his own identity, and he will be able to look back on plenty of achievements during his time in the British GT Championship.

“From my perspective I’ve achieved a lot of firsts. First person win both GT3 and GT4 titles, first to give Bentley a pole on UK soil, first to give Bentley a domestic title, first person to win the RAC trophy.

“I’ve done loads of things, won BRDC trophies, the Sunoco Challenge, Blancpain Driver of the Year, Two-time Bentley Am driver of the year. It’s a bit clangy isn’t it? I just need a bit of time off.”

And if this is to be his final appearance in the British GT series, then he’ll certainly look back on his last stint with fondness having climbed up the order in the opening hour of the race.

“I still think there was way too much contact in that race and I can’t understand why more people weren’t getting penalties. Everyone was just hitting each other like bumper cars. I’ve never been a particularly brutish driver, I’ve always tried to work a clever angle but I was being pummelled from left, right and centre and something needs to be done because it’s  ridiculous.

“But I’m not going to focus on things like that because it was a good stint, eh? I was last at the start and I came into the pits on second! You can’t ask for much better than that and I was only a few seconds off the lead. As far as I’m concerned, that is job done.”

 

IMAGE CREDIT: Mat Acton Photography

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Adam Morgan and Ciceley Motorsport – Dad and Lad hobby to fully professional, race-winning team

Adam Morgan started out with Ciceley Motorsport eight years ago with his father at home in their garage.

Since then the man from Blackburn has seen his team grow from a small British Touring Car Championship privateer operation into one of the main protagonists in both the main and independent championship races.

Now a professional team, Ciceley Motorsport are looking to expand from BTCC into other categories.

On the team’s entry into the final British GT round at Donington Park, Morgan wasn’t getting carried away.

“We are using this weekend as a bit of a toe in the water to see what it is all about. This is a test session, we want to get to the end, have a good pit-stop and prove to the paddock that we can do what we set out to do.”

The Ciceley operation has grown immeasurably in the last seven years, with more GT races planned over the winter.

“We started in 2010, it was me and my dad in a garage at home. Over the last seven years we have grown so that we operate three Touring Cars, a GT4 car and this winter we’re doing the Gulf 24H and Dubai 24H as well.

“What has turned from a dad and lad hobby has gone to a fully professional racing team.We are very lucky and we both work our socks off and we love it. It’s a dream come true, it’s my full time job and I couldn’t have asked for anything more. Not many people get to turn round and say ‘I’m a racing driver’.”

Alongside Morgan, Ciceley run Tom Oliphant’s Mercedes while Aiden Moffat’s Laser Tools Mercedes is prepared by the team.

Morgan does not want this weekend to be a fleeting British GT series visit, but is unsure whether or not Ciceley will compete on both fronts next season.

“Hopefully this is another project for us next year. Whether we can do a full British GT programme alongside the Touring Car programme, we’ll have to see. We’d like to raise some awareness and get some interest after this event, and we’ll see what happens.”

Morgan is determined that the Ciceley Motorsport tale has another chapter in the BTCC, with 2018 being their strongest season yet as they seek to beat a number of established names.

“Our main objective is to win the British Touring Car Championship, that is our goal and our ambition. We’re getting closer and closer every year, I’m joint fourth in the championship though unfortunately we’re mathematically out of the running to win it but if everything goes well we can come away from Brands with third overall and second independent. For us, that would be a big achievement and next year we’ll come back even stronger again.”

IMAGE CREDIT: Jamie Sheldrick/Spacesuit Media.

 

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British GT – Mitchell hangs on to GT4 championship

Jack Mitchell was crowned British GT4 champion after a nail-biting finale at the Donington Decider.

Along with Dean MacDonald, eighth place meant he beat Century Motorsport BMW teammates Ben Green and Ben Tuck, who were fifth, by a single point, and with the Tolman McLaren duo of Michael O’Brien a further point behind after a second place finish.

Finlay Hutchison and Daniel McKay took Equipe Verschuur McLaren’s first victory of the British GT season after plenty of near misses in 2018, with Tolman’s Joe Osborne and David Pattison completing an all McLaren 570s podium.

HHC’s Patrik Matthiesen suffered early trouble when he went off on the first lap and had to pit to clear his car of grass and debris, but that was one of few flashpoints in the GT4 class in the early throes of the race.

A serene opening stint was brought to life when the Academy Motorsport Aston Martin of Tom Wood suffered an engine failure and dropped oil all over the circuit, meaning that McKay took a detour at Redgate when he lost grip.

That brought the safety car out for the only time in the race, shortly before pitstops.

Pit stops were to prove a key part of this race, as the #4 McLaren gained plenty to climb to second while the lead, while both Century Motorsport BMWs now driven by Tuck and Mitchell were among those to be given a 10s stop/go as a result of pit infringements.

Tuck was able to recover to fifth after leaving the pits seventh, while Mitchell was ninth at after his penalty. He managed to pass the Invictus Jaguar of Jsson Wolfe to secure the title by a solitary point.

 

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