BRITISH GT READY FOR A POTENTIAL DONINGTON DECIDER
Written by Tom Hornsby – The 2024 British GT Championship title race remains wide open ahead of the penultimate round at Donington Park this weekend where only a handful of points separate GT3 and GT4’s leading contenders.
Barwell’s Lamborghinis shared by Rob and Ricky Collard, and Alex Martin and Sandy Mitchell are five points apart, while seven cover GT4 leaders Jack Brown and Zac Meakin (Optimum Motorsport), Mikey Porter and Jamie Day, and Marc Warren and Will Orton (both Forsetti Motorsport).
Donington traditionally hosts the ‘Decider’. But while that honour falls to Brands Hatch later this month, overall and class champions could yet be crowned on Sunday if the current points’ leaders win and other results go their way. It’s not an impossible scenario considering two titles – GT3 Silver-Am and GT4 teams’ – were wrapped up at Snetterton last time out. However, the slender advantages suggest that’s highly unlikely.
GT3: BARWELL BOSSING IT
It’s been a vintage year for Barwell so far thanks to four wins from seven attempts, a comfortable lead in the teams’ championship – which it could easily clinch this weekend – and its Lamborghinis occupying first and second in the drivers’ standings.
Only a post-race penalty denied Martin and Mitchell their fourth victory of the season at Snetterton, but that loss was the Collards’ gain from a Race 2 result that also handed their #63 Huracan a five-point championship lead.
The same scenario directly impacts Donington, though, where the father/son duo must serve an extra 15 seconds of Compensation Time on Sunday. Their team-mates, meanwhile, compete without a handicap at a circuit where they won in May and Mitchell also tasted victory 12 months ago.
Also hoping to take advantage and put themselves in title contention come Brands are Shaun Balfe and Adam Smalley who wrapped up the Silver-Am class crown at Snetterton. They lie third in the overall standings, albeit 21 points behind the Collards, with a maximum of 75 available for winning the final two races. A podium here is therefore imperative if they’re to have a realistic expectation of beating either Barwell crew on the final weekend.
Further back, the chances of Ian Loggie, Phil Keen, Mark Radcliffe and Tom Gamble remaining in title contention do not necessarily hinge on winning at Donington. But with the 2 Seas and Optimum crews respectively 38 and 41.5 points off top spot, both must beat the Collards – and likely Martin/Mitchell, too – if they’re to harbour any feasible hopes of challenging come Brands.
The Optimum McLaren’s cause isn’t helped by the 10 seconds of Compensation Time it must serve for finishing third at Snetterton. And it will be intriguing to see how 2 Seas’ new Porsche performs in the hands of Loggie and Keen following their Mercedes-AMG switch.
There’s another mathematical title contender in the shape of 2 Seas’ Kevin Tse and Maximilian Götz, but their maximum Compensation Time for winning at Snetterton makes a repeat result highly unlikely. They are, however, British GT’s form crew in some respects having won two of the last three races aboard their Mercedes-AMG.
Elsewhere, Beechdean AMR returns after skipping Snett. However, Orange Racing by JMH are unable to compete after Simon Orange aggravated an existing injury, while fellow McLaren regulars Team RJN and RACE LAB are also missing. All are expected to return at Brands.
GT4: TIGHT AT THE TOP WITH TWO TO GO
Just 2.5 points cover season-long rivals Brown/Meakin and Porter/Day as British GT4 enters the business end of its 2024 campaign this weekend. The McLaren and Aston Martin have won four of the seven races held so far, and finished one-two in the most recent contest at Snetterton where Optimum’s crew got the better of Forsetti’s.
That was Brown and Meakin’s third victory of the campaign – two more than Porter and Day have managed. However, the latter’s consistency – both in terms of their 100% points scoring record and regular podium appearances – have kept them bang in contention.
What’s more, their Compensation Time is five seconds shorter this Sunday when only victory for the #90 McLaren – which serves the maximum 20 seconds – would allow its duo to win the drivers’ title before Brands.
Perhaps, then, it’s the crew in third with the best chance of heading to Brands on top of the GT4 pile. Warren and Orton are yet to win outright and will have 10 seconds extra on Sunday, but as a Pro-Am pair they also carry less ballast and are not subject to the Silver class crews’ additional pitstop time. They are also just seven points behind Brown/Meakin thanks to a supremely consistent campaign featuring four overall podiums.
But they will also have more than one eye on Pro-Am, a class they lead by 27.5 points. A third victory would guarantee them the title regardless of their rivals’ results, while a lower position might also be sufficient to wrap up the crown. Bottom line: a 38-point gap would be unassailable.
Standing in their way are Charles Dawson and Seb Morris who also remain in overall contention. Their 28-point deficit to Brown/Meakin is by no means insurmountable but Team Parker’s Mercedes-AMG crew will have to cash in on its rivals’ Compensation Time this Sunday to remain a viable outright and Pro-Am contender come Brands.
Elsewhere, reigning champion Erik Evans can no longer defend his title after falling 75 points behind top spot. He and Academy co-driver Marco Signoretti, who are currently fifth, could still tie for first but would lose on wins countback.
Theirs is one of 20 GT4 entries at Donington, which welcomes several new and returning cars.
Recently crowned British Endurance champions Bal Sidhu and Josh Steed make their debuts in Xentek Motorsport’s Porsche, while Team Parker Racing fields a second Mercedes-AMG for Jon Currie and Phil Quaife who scored his only class win all the way back in 2005.
Breakell Racing’s Mercedes-AMG makes its second appearance of the season, albeit with Harley Haughton now partnering team owner James Breakell. But there is one absentee from the regular entry list: Paddock’s McLaren Artura.
