British GT: Top Ten Moments From the 2010’s

With a decade of British GT Championship competition drawing to a close, Motorsport Radio contributor Andy Lloyd looks back on ten memorable moments from one of the best domestic GT series in the world. This is the fourth in our “Top Ten of the 2010’s” Series; World RallyCross, BSB pt 1 and pt 2 here.

1) September 2019 – Jonny Adam’s Fourth GT3 Drivers Title

Launching his career competing in the 2003 Formula Ford Zetec Scotland championship Kirkaldy-born Adam moved into GT racing in 2015, making his British GT Championship debut in the #007 Beechdean AMR Aston Martin Vantage GT3, driving with teammate and team owner Andrew Howard.

The Beechdean duo wrapped up the GT3 drivers title, providing Adam with his first taste of GT glory. Adam returned for 2016 with TF Sport and new teammate; Derek Johnston, again winning the overall drivers title at the final round in Donington.

By now Adam, an Aston Martin factor driver, was enjoying success on a global level, winning the 2017 LMGTE Pro title at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. 2018 saw Adam partner with Flick Haigh whom he coached to the overall title. Arguably by now the world’s greatest GT3 driver coach, Adam used both at-circuit training as well as pre-race weekend simulator sessions to bring out the best in his amateur co-drivers.

2019 was probably Jonny Adam’s best year in the British GT Championship. Early season disappointment saw the Scots pairing of Jonny Adam and Graham Davidson dig in to take two victories on the way to wrapping up the overall title in a nail-biting final round at Donington.

Not only a highly competitive racer, Jonny Adam often proves himself a nice guy who is always generous with his time to the fans and media.

2) September 2015 – Jamie Chadwick’s GT4 Drivers Title

Jamie Chadwick had begun her car-racing career in 2012, piloting a Ginetta G40 in the Ginetta Junior Winter Series. By the time her British GT Championship GT4 championship-winning season arrived, Chadwick had four seasons experience in the G40, finishing eighth in the 2014 Junior Championship.

For 2015 Chadwick joined Ross Gunn in the #407 Beechdean AMR Aston Martin GT4 entry. The pair took their first class win at Rockingham in Round Three and followed it with their second victory of the season at Silverstone.

Chadwick and Gunn would go on to win the GT4 drivers title by 33.5 points ahead of Graham Johnson and Mike Robinson in the #50 Optimum Ginetta G55 GT4.

Chadwick returned to the British GT Championship in 2016 but would not enjoy the same level of success before turning her focus to single-seaters and the BRDC British F3 Championship. Selection for the inaugural season of W Series put Chadwick on to a world stage and a strong season which included two wins saw the 21-year old win the title. Chadwick also joined Williams F1 as a development driver, securing her position as one of the world’s leading young female drivers.

3) May 2019 – Phil Keen and Adam Balon – Two For Two At Snetterton

The 2019 British GT Championship season was always going to be hard-fought and after finishing runner-up in the drivers standings for the three years previously, Phil Keen was in no mood to hang back. The #72 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan was well-proven, very fast and, against the new-for-2019 Aston Martin AMR Vantage, was probably more reliable. However, he failed to win at the opening double-header from Oulton.

Rounds three and four were to be held at Snetterton. The weather was cloudy but dry for Race One. Keen knew that he had to set his mark on the 2019 season. Balon put the Huracan fourth on the grid for the first race while Keen started from the front row for Race Two.

What we saw that weekend was a masterpiece of GT driving by both pilots. Adam Balon drove a solid first stint in Race One to hand the Lamborghini over to Phil Keen in fourth. Due to slow pit stops from others, Keen emerged from the driver-change in second and took advantage of an electrical problem in Jack Mitchell’s BMW to take the lead which was extended to over 13 seconds by the chequered flag.

In Race Two Keen diced with Nicki Thiim in the TF Sport Aston Martin after which Adam Balon passed Mark Farmer in light drizzle to take the victory by a margin of half a second.

The relationship between the professional and the amateur in a Pro-Am line-up is a delicate one. The amateur is funding the entry but the professional needs to coach and develop to get the best out of the package. Given that this was Balon and Keen’s second race-weekend together, the outcome that weekend at Snetterton was astonishing.

4) September 2018 – Flick Haigh’s GT3 Drivers Title

Bringing a driver’s gender into a discussion always sounds crass. Why should gender play a part in a driver’s success or otherwise behind the wheel?

Yet Flick Haigh’s title run in 2018, partnered with Jonny Adam, arguably the best GT3 drivers coach on the planet, did seem even more special.

Flick Haigh, whose racing career began in 2013, had considerable experience in the Optimum Motorsport Audi R8 LMS and had finished second in the 2016 Gulf 12 Hours. 2018, however, was to be Haigh’s first season in the premier domestic GT championship, a series that demands success over varying race lengths and some of the most demanding circuits in Europe.

The 2018 season got underway at a rain-soaked Oulton Park where Haigh and Adam took pole for Race One. Haigh pulled clear at the start and handed the #75 Aston Martin over to Adam with a one-second lead. Phil Keen pushed Jonny hard in the second stint but contact with a GT4 car saw Keen sustain a puncture, allowing Adam a clear run to the flag. Haigh was now the first female driver to win a British GT Championship race outright.

The rest of the season saw Haigh and Adam score consistently and take a second victory at Brands Hatch, finally wrapping up the championship at Donington.

Haigh chose not to return in 2019 but raced in the FIA Motorsport Games and also competed in the Michelin Le Mans Cup.

5) September 2017 – Rick Parfitt and Seb Morris’ ‘Dream Team’ GT3 Drivers Title

The 2016 season saw a new car, the Bentley Continental GT3, and a new driver pairing on the GT3 grid, that of GP3 driver Seb Morris and Rick Parfitt, 2013 GT4 champion and in his fourth year of British GT competition.

With the luxurious lines of the Bentley and the ‘rock star’ looks and presentation of Morris and Parfitt, the pair quickly became fan favourites, taking their first win at Oulton Park.

Going into the 2017 season, Parfitt and Morris knew that the pace was in the #31 Team Parker Racing Bentley and were firmly focused on a run at the title. Wins at Rockingham, Silverstone and Brands Hatch meant that the ‘Dream team’ went to the final round at Donington 10.5 points ahead of nearest rivals Jon Minshaw and Phil Keen.

A nail-biting race saw Minshaw and Keen finish third on the road, behind TF Sport’s Derek Johnston and Jonny Adam and the sister TF Sport entry driven by Mark Farmer and Jon Barnes.

A post-race penalty, however, saw the Barwell Lamborghini excluded from results, leaving Parfitt Jnr and Morris as champions by 33 points. Parfitt was both over-joyed and emotional after taking his GT3 title, becoming the first driver to win both GT3 and GT4 titles in the domestic series.

“I only wish my father had been here to see it,” said Parfitt after the race, referring to Status Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt who had passed away in December 2016.

6) September 2018 – Jon Minshaw And Phil Keen So Close For Third Straight Season

Being ‘runner up’ is a title that Jon Minshaw would hate, being a highly driven businessman and racing driver. However three seasons finishing second in the closely contested British GT Championship would be enough to test the patience of any sportsman.

Partnered with Phil Keen in the Barwell Lamborghini Huracan GT3, the crew of the #33 entry finished runners-up to Derek Johnston and Jonny Adam in 2016, Rick Parfitt and Seb Morris in 2017 and Flick Haigh and Jonny Adam in 2018.

Minshaw stepped back from domestic competition in 2019 and raced in historic events as well as selected endurance events. Minshaw also continued to lead his business, Demon Tweeks, a racing supplies business started by his father in 1973.

With more than a hint of unfinished business, we many not have seen the last of Jon Minshaw in British GT competition.

7) April 2012 – Debut of the Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3

2012 saw the debut of the Aston Martin V12 Vantage, a car that would go on to dominate the decade, winning five drivers titles, double those of its closest rival manufacturer.

Gaydon’s finest would see its first track action in the domestic championship in 2012. Andrew Howard’s Beechdean Motorsport would take delivery of the first chassis with Cyber Racing-AMR also campaigning the #17 entry in the hands of John Gaw and Phil Dryburgh.

The V12 Vantage GT3 would win its first title the following year, the #007 Beechdean Motorsport entry, piloted by Jonny Adam and Andrew Howard earning the team owner the GT3 drivers title by the slimmest of margins – 1.5 points ahead of Matt Bell and Mark Patterson in the #25 United Autosports Audi.

Three more drivers titles would be won behind the wheel of the V12 Vantage GT3. In 2015 Beechdean’s Howard and Adam would win again and the following year Adam would partner with Derek Johnston to win the title in the TF Sport entry.

The V12 Vantage would take its final bow at Donington in September 2018 when Jonny Adam and Flick Haigh took the title in the Optimum Motorsport entry.

In 2019 the V12 was replaced with a turbo-charged V8 in the form of the Vantage AMR GT3. Guess what – it won the title in its first season.

The moral of the story? Never bet against Aston Martin!

8) July 2019 – Three-Wide Into Eau Rouge!

Picture the scene. It’s July 2019 and the British GT Championship grid has gathered for its overseas round at Spa-Francorchamps. As the two-hour race draws to a close, there is an epic battle taking place for second place between Glynn Geddie in the #7 Team Parker Racing Bentley Continental GT3, Rob Bell in the #22 Balfe Motorsport McLaren and Callum Macleod, piloting the #6 RAM Racing Mercedes.

As the trio descends into Eau Rouge side-by-side, Bell is on the inside at the bottom of the hill, Macleod on the outside and Geddie sandwiched between the two.

Bell takes a chunk of kerb before climbing up to Radillon and Macleod takes advantage of the inside line on the sweep up the hill to pull across and come out leading the trio and in second place overall. It was a bold and gutsy move with none of the three drivers giving up a centimetre.

It was Spa. It was summer. It was Eau Rouge. It was GT racing at its very best.

9) July 2018 – Jetstream Motorsport’s Win At Spa

2018 was Graham Davidson’s first year in the British GT Championship and he campaigned an Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3, co-driven by Maxime Martin. Jetstream Motorsport ran the car although Davidson played a large hand in the organisation of the season.

After a frustrating start to the season, Davidson approached the seventh round of the 2018 championship at Spa questioning where his racing career was going. Martin and Davidson put the #47 Aston Martin on the front row of the grid. The Scot dropped positions on the opening lap but then, in his own words, ‘had a right word with himself’ and started reeling in the field. By the driver change, Davidson was leading, handing over to Maxime Martin who brought the car home for the team’s first win of the season.

“It was what people had been saying all year – just keep it clean and you’ll be all right,” said Graham Davidson, reflecting on his win at the Brands Hatch round in August. “Do what Jon Minshaw does and keep it clean and you’ll collect points. So we did that and it paid off.”

Davidson and Martin finished the 2018 season seventh in the GT3 drivers championship. Davidson returned in 2019, joining Jonny Adam at TF Sport and won the drivers title in only his second year.

10) April 2010 – The Finale Of The Dodge Viper Competition Coupe GT3

The start of the decade saw a car on the grid with the biggest naturally aspirated engine ever seen in contemporary domestic competition.

The Dodge Viper Competition Coupe was entered for the 2010 season by RPM Motorsport and was powered by a Dodge 8.3L V10 that produced 520 bhp. Based on the Viper SRT-10, the #5 entry was driven by Aaron Scott and Craig Wilkins.

Scott and Wilkins did not have an untroubled season and would finish 23^rd in the 2010 drivers standings.

The car produced a noise unlike any other. It was a moment in time that will never be repeated.

and as a bonus No 11……..

July 2017 – Ebor GT’s Double Win At Spa.

York-based Ebor GT had entered the 2016 British GT Championship with its Maserati GT MC GT4, piloted by Abbie Eaton and Marcus Hoggarth, but had not enjoyed the best of seasons. The pace was in the car, no doubt, but it proved tricky to unlock and Eaton and Hoggarth finished fourth in the overall GT4 drivers standings and second in the Pro-Am table.

Although the car was tested and appeared at the Media Day for the start of the 2017 season, it was not entered for the full season.

However, it was on the grid at Spa for Rounds Seven and Eight, the series organisers having decided to change the format for the Belgian weekend to two one-hour sprint races.

Charlie Fagg and Matthew Graham were the drivers for the weekend and, in qualifying, the outlook for the race looked bleak. Both pilots started from the rear of the grid. However, Ebor GT now had a much better understanding of the Italian chassis and had made some suspension adjustments which finally allowed the GT MC GT4 to fly.

Fagg and Graham tore through the fields to win the GT4 class in both their races. It was a triumph for Ebor GT and a vindication that the Maserati was a worthy addition to the British GT grid.

The car, unfortunately, has never been again in the premier domestic championship. It begs the question of what might have been had the car been In Spa 2017 trim for the 2016 season.