After a brief summer break, the Avon Tyres British GT Championship resumes for a pair of 60 minute races to kick off the second half of the 2012 season at the Snetterton 300 circuit in Norfolk on 4/5 August, with a number of new cars and drivers set to bring more exciting racing to the series.
Nine points separate the top five drivers at the head of the British GT Championship points table after an enthralling year to date. Thefive drivers represent three cars; David Ashburn tops the points on his ownhaving used multiple driving partners with his Trackspeed Porsche throughout the year as regular charge, Richard Westbrook has raced overseas in the American Le Mans Series for Corvette.
Ferrari stalwarts, Duncan Cameron and Matt Griffin are 8.5 points off Ashburn in their MTECH prepared Ferrari 458. Nissan duo, Alex Buncombe and Jann Mardenborough lie third in their RJN prepared GTR.
Re-joining the series and set to bring colour to the championship is the Rhinos Leipert Motorsport Lamborghini LP600+. The orange and black machine debuted in two rounds overseas in Germany and will complete the remainder of the season. The driving forcebehind bringing the car to the championship is experienced racer, Marco Attard and the British driver should not be ruled out to cause an upset this weekend.
Having started the year at JMH Automotive with the Nissan GT-R, Benji Hetherington is this weekend driving with Motorbase, alongside Steve Parish in the #10 Porsche 997 GT3 R.
Changing things up at Snetterton are United Autosports. The Anglo-American squad began the year with a 2011 specification Audi R8 LMS before upgrading to the R8 Ultra at Brands Hatch. A decision a fortnight ago by the team sees them refocus efforts on British GT with two McLaren MP4-12cs next year and 2012s drivers, Matt Bell and Charles Bateman will complete at Snetterton in the McLaren.
If GT3 has been thrilling, GT4 hasnt been short of entertainment either. Heading the class is Jody Fannin and Warren Hughes in the Team WFR Ginetta G50, who have won every round bar race two in Germany where the pair failed to finish. That doesnt tell the whole story though and a number of challengers have become apparent in recent races; APO Sports James May and Alex Osborne and Century Motorsports Dominic Evans and Zoe Wenham are all on the tails of the WFR pair.
Making their 2012debut at Snetterton are Complete Racings Steve Chaplin and Phil Keen in the gorgeous Aston Martin Vantage GT4; both drivers are quick and it remains to be seen who will come out on top in the thrilling GT4 battle. Optimum Motorsport return to GT4 with Lee Mowle and George Murrells in a Ginetta G50 after making a promising earlier appearance at the Nrburgring in May.
Mazdas hardcore version of the MX-5 has also made a strong start in British GT. Mark Ticehurst and Owen Mildenhall will be looking for another visit to the podium after astrong third place finish at Brands Hatch.
After much success in one-make Ferrari series, Silverstone-based FF Corse join the GTC class with a Ferrari 458 Challenge car. Regular FF Corse drivers Gary Eastwood and Ryan Hooker are on driving duty as they look at new options for 2013.
British sports car manufacturer, Chevron also makes a welcome return to British GT this weekend in both the Invitation and GTC class. Jordan Witt and Anthony Reid will again partner in the Chevron GT-3, while David Witt and Ray Grimes will use their GR8 to take on the FF Corse Ferrari in GTC.
Benjamin Franassovici, Championship Manager, British GT
Were thrilled to be adding to our grid at this stage of the season. Lamborghini is a name synonymous with glamorous sports cars and GT racing, and we hope it will capture the publics imagination. Similarly, having the Aston Martin brand return to GT4 and Ferrari to GTC adds to the series as we look to further build both in 2013. Snetterton always brings good racing and were looking forward to thepossibility of having more first-time winners too! In addition, as we look to our Silverstone feature race in a few weeks time, were confident of further entries there.
Championship points after four rounds:
GT3
1. David Ashburn Trackspeed 96.5pts
2. Duncan Cameron/Matt Griffin MTECH 88pts
3. Jann Mardenborough/Alex Buncombe RJN Motorsport 87.5pts
4. Alasdair McCaig/Oliver Bryant Ecurie Ecosse 69.5pts
5. Andrew Howard/Jonny Adam Beechdean 60pts
6. Hector Lester/Allan Simonsen Rosso Verde 58pts
7. Richard Westbrook Trackspeed 56pts
8. Danielle Perfetti/Michael Caine Motorbase 53pts
9. Steve Tandy/Joe Osborne Trackspeed 43.5pts
10. Jon Minshaw/Tim Harvey Trackspeed 35pts
GT4
1. Jody Fannin/Warren Hughes Team WFR 150pts
2. Zoe Wenham Century Motorsport 97.5pts
3. Sailesh Bolisetti/Phil Glew Lotus Sport UK 71pts
4. Dominic Evans Century Motorsport 70.5pts
