2007 saw the closest finish of any national motor racing championship in Europe, with nine drivers fighting it out for the title of Avon Tyres British GT Champion over the final two races of the 14-round season. Team RPM’s Alex Mortimer and Bradley Ellis were triumphant after securing a double win at Rockingham but the ultimate winner was the British GT championship, which had been transformed by the move to GT3 at the start of the year.
2008 promises to be even better with at least 27 cars from Ferrari, Aston Martin, Dodge, Porsche, Lamborghini, Ascari and Ginetta taking part in the 14 races on 8 of the UK’s top circuits. New for 2008 is the GT4 class, which replaces GTC, and is aimed at large production cars with lower power/weight ratios than that of GT3. With cars from Aston Martin and Ginetta committed to the new category and other marquee set to join the grid later in the year, GT4 has already picked up the mantle from GTC.
Team RPM are back to defend their 2007 title with a pair of Viper Competition Coupés. BTCC race winner Paul O’Neill is joined by Steve Clark in the number 1 Viper after they both had a one off outing at Croft last season for the team. The second Viper is in the capable hands of Nick Foster, who is joined in the cockpit by British GT race winner Oliver Bryant.
Chad Racing make a welcome return to British GT with a pair of Ferrari 430’s. Guy Harrington and Ben de Zille Butler are swapping their Aston Martin V12, in which they won two races in their debut season and so nearly won the overall British GT crown, for a Ferrari V8 and are confident of more race wins and another shot at the championship in ‘08. After a year in the Team RPM Porsche, Peter Bamford and Matt Griffin have once again teamed up, but this time in the second Chad Racing Ferrari.
Liverpool based FIA GT3 Championship winning team Tech 9 is running a Lamborghini Gallardo for former European Ferrari Challenge Champion Oliver Morley and BTCC and British GT race winner Tom Ferrier in British GT this season. Last season Ferrier, along with teammate Matt Harris, wrestled the underpowered Porsche 997 to a podium finish at Rockingham, so expect him and Morley to revel in the extra pace provided by Italian supercar.
A-Tech Racing is the first of the new teams in British GT this year and the BTCC front running team don’t do things by halves. BTCC and Porsche Cup racer Richard Marsh is joined for the season by Anthony Reid, who in his long career has, amongst other things, won the BTCC Independents championship, the Japanese GT Championship and finished 3rd at Le Mans. Delays in delivery of the team’s Ferrari means Marsh and Reid will probably miss the season opener at Oulton Park..
The 2007 season was a bitter sweet experience for Phil Burton and Adam Wilcox. Bad luck seemed to dog them for most of the season but when things went well the pair were right on the pace, with pole positions and podium finishes their reward. The VRS Motor Finance team have already had a season with the Ferrari 430, which will give them an advantage on Burton’s home circuit of Oulton Park.
When 2006 British GT Champion Chris Niarchos launched his own team at the Autosport Show in January everyone knew it was going to nothing less than a full on assault on the British GT title. Three CR Scuderia Ferrari 430’s will line up on the grid with three of the most promising driver pairings on the grid. 2007 Porsche Carrera Cup GB champion James Sutton is joined by British F3 National Class race winner Michael Meadows in car 14. Reigning European Ferrari Challenge Champion Michael Cullen is joined by fellow Irishman Paddy Shovlin in car 15, and in car 16 2006 British GT Vice Champion Luke Hines will race with Formula Renault UK race winner Jeremy Metcalfe.
Cadena Motorsport is back for another crack at the British GT championship with British GT3 race winners Barrie Whight and Gavan Kershaw once again teaming up in the bio ethanol powered Aston Martin DBRS9.
ABG Motorsport have stepped up to the GT3 class this season with a single car entry for 2007 GTC Vice Champion Aaron Scott and Craig Wilkins. The team received their Viper Competition Coupé earlier than most and have been conducting extensive testing over the winter.
The Team Modena Lamborghini Gallardo made a later than expected entry into the 2007 championship, however when it did make its debut at Snetterton it certainly got noticed, breaking the lap record. New lap records at Brands Hatch and Silverstone proved the car had the pace if not the reliability. Expect that to have changed over the winter and the 2008 entry will be driven by Adam Jones and Piers Johnson, with Caterham graduate Rachel Green subbing for Jones at some events in 2008.
The sole Ascari entry is hard to ignore. Twin brothers David and Godfrey Jones really made their mark in 2007 with the Team Eurotech Preci Spark run Ascari KZ1R and ended the year with an outside shot of the overall title. With no change at the team for 2008, expect this car to be quick out the box at Oulton Park.
Hector Lester won four races in 2007 in the Christians in Motorsport Ferrari 430 but even he would admit that this was largely due to the fact he chose his racing partner very wisely, with Tim Mullen and Allan Simonsen sharing the duties. However this is a team sport and Hector Lester did a sterling job throughout the year, bringing the car home to take the chequered flag on more than one occasion. This season Allan Simonsen has once again teamed up with Hector Lester, with the expectation of more success in 2008.
David Ashburn and Richard Williams will take to the wheel of the Trackspeed Porsche 997 S, the only representative for the Stuttgart marque at Oulton Park. The 2008 modifications to the Porsche have helped level the playing field with the rest of the grid. Oulton Park should suit the car’s characteristics as it was the track that saw the only win for a Porsche last season.
The fourth Viper Competition Coupe on the 2008 grid has been entered by Team Trimite Brookspeed, with the identity of James Gornall’s co-driver still unknown. The Team Trimite Viper was a front runner on more than one occasion in 2007, so expect more of the same this year.
The final GT3 entry is a pair of regular faces in their regular car but with a new team. Donington Park race winners Tom Alexander and Michael Bentwood are back at the wheel of their trusty Aston Martin DBRS9 but this year the car will be run by Derby based 22gtRacing.
With eight cars entered for the GT4 category, the scene is set for a great debut season for the new class. 2007 British GTC Champion Jamie Smyth has joined forces with his arch rival from last season Andrew Howard at Beechdean Motorsport. The team unveiled their Aston Martin N24 at the Autosport Show and the intention is for a second entry to join the number 99 car later in the season.
Reigning British GT Champions Team RPM quickly committed to the new class by announcing they will be running three Ginetta G50’s in 2008 for Steve Tandy, Phil Bailey, Joe Osbourne, Michael Broadhurst and James Harrison.
New teams for 2008 include Rob Austin Racing, with the former Ginetta and British F3 front runner running his own team in British GT for the first time. Ian Stinton makes a welcome return to the championship having missed the 2007 season. He will be joined by Neil Clark in the Stark Racing run Ginetta G50. The final G50 entry is by IMS for Ginetta stalwarts Matt Nicoll-Jones and Stewart Linn.
The latest news and information on the Avon Tyres British GT Championship can be found at britishgt.com and don’t forget to catch the action once again on Channel 4 and Motors TV. A full TV schedule will be available on the British GT website.
