British GT: TF Sport Win, as GT3 Top 3 split by 9 Points Heading into the Finale

Jonny Adam and Graham Davidson won the penultimate British GT race of the season from Brands Hatch, jumping them into second place in the standings after a dire final lap for the #69 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini Hurican saw them finish eighth. It’s the second win this year for the TF Sport Aston Martin V8 Vantage, giving them momentum ahead of Donington Park.

Second place would go to Shaun Balfe and Rob Bell in the Balfe Motorsport McLaren 720S, falling back on the first lap, as the BMW M6 GT3 rounded out the podium at the hands of Jack Mitchell and Angus Fender in the #9 Century Motorsport.

In the GT4 class it was a maiden 2019 win for James Dorlin and Josh Smith in the #4 Tolman Motorsport McLaren 570S. The McLaren had inherited the position after the #62 Academy Motorsport spun from the lead. The #15 Ford Mustang would maintain their GT4 points lead after finishing third behind the #57 HHC McLaren.

GT3

The start was quickly put under investigation as Ollie Wilkinson, crossed the line ahead of polesitter Shaun Balfe during the rolling start. With Balfe dropping to third and the Aston Martin quickly building a lead. This was erased as the first safety car was called, Wilkinson spun at Paddock Hill, with the GT4’s narrowly missing him, who’d stopped in the middle of the track. The #96 Optimum Motorsport continued, but down in fourth.

Fifteen minutes in, the incidents continued as GT4’s Ben Hurst, having been edged wide at Westfield returned to the racing line only to collect Glynn Geddie in the #7 Team Parker Racing GT3. The Bentley Contiental was spun into the barrier bringing out the safety car as Hurst limped to the pits.

This left Graham Davidson in the lead, holding off the re-energised Shaun Balfe McLaren 720S. Towards the end of the pitstop phase, a second safety emerged, benefitting the early stoppers as Jonny Adam maintained the lead for the #47 TF Sport. The biggest news of the pitstops came from the Barwell garage as Adam Balon in the #72 ran clipped the foot of a Century Motorsport mechanic on his way into the box. The incident will be investigated after the race.

Back up front, it was now Rob Bell in persuit of the Aston. Adam though was eager to prove why he’s a multiple British GT champion, extended the gap in the early stages, allowing him to save the engine during the second half of his stint. It turned out to be an uneventful fun for the #47 TF Sport bringing the car back into championship contention.

The Balfe Motorsport McLaren could not just focus on the fight in front though as Jack Mitchell closed the gap in the BMW M6 GT3. The Century Motorsport driver was joined by a pair of Lamborghini’s as the race entered its final five minutes, igniting the race for second.

Bell and Mitchell completed the podium, but issue befell Jonny Cocker’s #69 Barwell on the last lap, dropping to eighth from fourth. It proved to be dire for their title, dropping to third in the standings. The new points leader; their teammate, the #72 Barwell, would benefit finishing fourth. The #18 WPI Motorsport Lamborghini finished just behind as Team ABBA Racing’s #8 Mercedes-AMG completed the top six.

In the championship, the #72 Barwell now lead on 119 points, as the TF Sport’s win accellerate them to second overall on 116 points, while the #69 Barwell falls to third on 110 heading into the finale at Donington Park.

GT4

Any hope of a clean day for TF Sport was cut short before the start line as Josh Price was the loser of a bunching field, destroying his front suspension. This left teammate Ash Hand to set the pace, after jumping ahead of the McLaren’s, holding the lead until the pitstop phase. Hand’s #97 Aston Martin was forced to suffer a success ballast, dropping them

A second safety car was called for debris on track, causing the field to once again bunch up. The only driver this did not benefit was Will Moore in the #62 Academy Motorsport, who had taken the race lead as a result of the pitstops. Fortunately for Moore, a large amount of traffic had split him from the #4 Tolman, holding a 30 second lead as the cars spread out to racing speed.

Further GT4’s casualties befell series rookie Jamie Caroline, who beached his #58 HHC Motorsport at Clearways, and the #20 Balfe Motorsport McLaren who ran out of power. The biggest drama came with twenty minutes to run as Moore, comfortably leading, spun out of the race, unaided.

This put the James Dorlin in the #4 Tolman Motorsport into the lead narrowly ahead of its fellow McLaren driven by Dean MacDonald in the #57 HHC. MacDonald was under a second behind, but both were split by the #5 Tolman, who despite being a lap down, was being used as a rear-gunner for his teammate. This proved to be effective, with Dorlin crossing the line for the #4’s first win of the year.

HHC Motorsport were forced to settle for second, taking just three points out of the #15 Multimatic Motorsport Ford Mustang who rounded out the GT4 podium, after a quiet stint from Seb Priaulx. Despite leading the first stint, TF Sport were unable to recover from their pitstop, as the #97 Aston Martin crossed the line fourth over ten seconds in front of Nathan Freake and Andrew Gordon-Colebrooke in the #43 Century Motorsport BMW. Concluding the top six was the highest placed Pro-AM competitor, the #11 Beechdean AMR.