British GT: Double McLaren Pole as Balfe and HHC Lead at Brands

It was a first pole position of the year for Shaun Balfe as his McLaren 720S, set a combined time of 2min 50.543 alongside Rob Bell. Balfe Motorsport would face stiff competition behind as the top eight were split by under a second over the two runs from the AM and PRO sessions.

The British GT Championship was back in action at Brands Hatch. For many it was a back to back round after the 24 Hours of Spa last weekend. Fresh-faced, Balfe took full advantage in GT3, as the McLaren success continued, with GT4 pole going to HHC Motorsport.

The #57 HHC of Dean MacDonald and Callum Pointon are an outside bet for the championship, though with two rounds to go, every success is vital for the McLaren 570S. It’s the pairs maiden pole of the season and with the championship leading Multimatic Motorsport Ford in tenth, could make prove to be vital come Sunday.

GT3 Am

All eyes were on the championship leading Barwell’s, especially after their mediocre Spa result had reduced their ballast. Both AMs struggled though, as the Silver Cup entries assumed their position in front. As the flag dropped, it would be Ollie Wilkinson in the #96 Aston Martin, setting a 1min 25.533, taking the early advantage from fellow Silvers; Angus Fender, in the #9 BMW M6 and Ratcliffe. The surprise though was fourth place Shaun Balfe, just 0.130s behind as the top AM runner.

GT3 Pro

It was all still to play for as the Pro’s came out, with Balfe Motorsport continuing to impress as Rob Bell took the #22 McLaren 720S to provisional pole. Their biggest threat had initially been Jonny Cocker in the #69 Barwell, but as the Lamborghini peaked on their third lap celebrations emerged in the McLaren garage, with Balfe Motorsport taking pole after Bell’s 1min 24.880.

Bradley Ellis continued the #96 Optimum Motorsport incredible performance, going second on combined times. Though was later put under investigation. Third would be the points leading #69 Barwell, notable as the #72 Barwell could only manage ninth. Rounding out the top five would be the #47 TF Sport Aston Martin and the #9 BMW Century Motorsport as Jack Mitchell is joined by Fender for Brands.

GT4 Am

Coming into qualifying at Brands, the #15 Multimatic Motorsport Ford Mustang had four out the seven poles for 2019, though despite this, Scott Maxwell struggled to get off the mark, over half a second slower than Callum Pointon who was the driver to beat in the #57 HHC McLaren. The McLaren’s dreams looked to be dashed by Ash Hand in the TF Sport Aston Martin, but Pointon was not to be beaten, setting a 1min 32.621 to lead the TF Sport duo of Hand and Josh Price. In a session dominated by Silver entries, the top Am was Kelvin Fletcher, just 0.593s behind Pointon in eighth. As was the competiveness of the field, the top thirteen were split by under a second.

GT4 Pro

Despite Maxwell’s under par first session, his teammate Dean McDonald became the first GT4 driver into the 1min 31secs, maintaining pole with a time of 1min 31.736, just 0.086 seconds ahead of Tom Canning’s #97 Aston Martin.

The close battle between Aston Martin and McLaren had continued on the second row, though this time Aston had the upper hand as the #11 Beechdean AMR led the #4 Tolman by a mere 0.003sec on combined time. Scott Maxwell dragged the #66 Team Parker Racing Mercedes to fifth (with the top five split by under a second), as the points leading #15 Ford Mustang could only qualify tenth.

The British GT 2 hour race starts 13:00 UK time on Sunday.