Aston Martin, Lotus and Porsche line up for GT3 Class opener of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship
The first appearance of the new GT3 cars will take place for round 3 of the 2006 Avon Tyres British GT Championship at Donington Park on Sunday May 21st. Barwell Motorsport is running a trio of Aston Martin DBRS9s and will be joined by three Lotus Exige cars, run by the Lotus Sport Cadena team, and by a single Trackspeed Porsche 997 GT3. The seven GT3 entries swell the provisional grid for round 3 of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship to twenty-nine cars across the three classes, with the possibility of more joining the grid on May 20/21.
A real ‘David and Goliath’ battle is on the cards for the first two-hour race of the year, with the mighty V12 6 litre powered Aston Martin cars and the 400bhp Porsche 997 taking on the lightweight, – 750 kg compared to 1200kg for the Aston Martin – supercharged, 1.8litre powered, Lotus Sport Exige.
"We are very excited about making Barwell Motorsport's debut in the Avon Tyres British GT Championship, and are delighted to be able to bring all three of our Aston Martin DBRS9s to Donington,” said Barwell Motorsport’s Chris Needell. “As well as fighting for the GT3 Class win, we are hoping to take the fight to some of the GT2 cars for an overall podium finish."
"We are very much looking forward to Donington, where the Lotus Sport Exige GT3 will debut,” said Barrie Whight from Lotus Sport Cadena. “Lotus Sport have continued to develop the cars during build process and both parties are confident of a strong performance at Donington. It will be very interesting to see how the cars compare to the Aston Martins and Porsches.”
"Also, we are pleased to announce a third car for 2006, to be driven by team owner Paul Whight and experienced Lotus driver, Chris Randall,” Whight continued. “Initially they will drive the prototype Lotus Sport Exige, whilst a brand new third car is completed by Lotus Sport. This is great news for us and Lotus fans, who we hope to see out in force at Donington and throughout 2006."
The GT3 entry list for Donington Park - May 20/21
Tom Alexander / Michael Bentwood Barwell Motorsport Aston Martin DBRS9
Leo Machitski / Piers Johnson Barwell Motorsport Aston Martin DBRS9
Paul Drayson / Martin Stretton Barwell Motorsport Aston Martin DBRS9
Paul Whight / Chris Randall Lotus Sport Cadena Lotus Sport Exige GT3
Barrie Whight / Gavan Kershaw Lotus Sport Cadena Lotus Sport Exige GT3
George Mackintosh / Sam Blogg Lotus Sport Cadena Lotus Sport Exige GT3
Danny Watts / Rory Fordyce Trackspeed Porsche 997 GT3
The seven GT3 cars will join the rest of the British GT grid for round 3 of the 2006 Avon Tyres British GT Championship. After two wins at Oulton Park at Easter, Tim Mullen and Chris Niarchos, driving the Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari 430, will be looking to extend their GT2 class lead over the Team LNT Panoz Esperante GTLM pairing of Luke Hines and Tom Kimber-Smith.
The strong GTC Class grid is currently led by Leicester-based Team Tiger, with drivers Chris Beighton and Jon Finnemore taking two hard-fought wins at Oulton Park to lead their category as they head to their home track of Donington Park. With addition of the seven GT3 cars, 29 cars will rumble onto the grid for the first two-hour race of the season on Monday 21st May.
Testing for the next round of the 2006 Avon Tyres British GT Championship takes place at Donington Park on Thursday 18th May, with qualifying on Saturday 20th May and rounds 3 on Sunday 21st May. Race day tickets cost £15 (adv) / £18 (gate) with children (15 and under gaining) free entry and can be bought online at donington-park.co.uk. The 14-race programme also features Rounds 3 and 4 of the Lloyds TSB Insurance British F3 International Series, with further races from the Volkswagen Racing Cup, UK Formula Ford, the Autosport Caterham Superlight Challenge, the Historic GT Car Challenge and the Avo Ginetta Championship.
