There are a few differences between attending Formula One at Silverstone and the British GT. One is the weather. Let’s hope the F1 in July enjoys more clement conditions than the rain and bitterly cold temperatures endured by hardy racegoers at the home of British motorsport in late April. On a more positive note, it costs £30 to attend the British GT raceday, compared to £309 for the cheapest F1 Sunday ticket.
That modest entry fee provides full access to the paddock, where you can peer into the garages. There is usually an autograph session (a victim of the weather at Silverstone), offering the chance of a brief word with the drivers, and a pit walk. Obviously, the crowds are a tiny fraction of the 480,000 fans who attend the F1 weekend; but what is lost in atmosphere is gained in the access and engagement offered. And the racing isn’t bad either.
The British GT season opened a month previously at Oulton Park with two one-hour races. These were won by the #63 Barwell Lamborghini driven by father and son Rob and Ricky Collard, and by Barwell’s sister car, the #78 of Alex Martin and Sandy Mitchell. The best Astons finished 10th and 15th overall in the two races. However, the GT4 class provided a happier picture for Aston fans with Forsetti registering a win and fourth place in race one, followed by second and third in race two.
The second round at Silverstone was a three-hour race which provided a surprising result as the challenging conditions and safety car periods put paid to carefully planned strategies. The top marque proved to be McLaren, winning overall with the Garage 59 entry of Balfe/Smalley and heading the GT4 class with the Optimum Artura of Meakin/Brown. McLarens occupied five of the top seven places.
There was encouragement for Aston fans with Blackthorn’s #87 car, driven by Giacomo Petrobelli and factory driver Jonny Adam, finishing in eighth (seventh on track but demoted a place due to a pitstop infringement). Petrobelli led the race during an extended initial stint of 80 minutes which completed his statutory minimum driving time. That lead was partly down to some teams pitting as early as the first lap - with the race starting behind the safety car the opportunity was taken to complete one of the mandatory pit stops and put the pro driver behind the wheel while the field was circulating below full racing speed.
A three-hour race provides plenty of scope for surprise and dramatic shifts in fortune. Shortly after the two-hour mark, the Mark Radcliffe McLaren and Alex Martin Lamborghini crashed out at Copse with both in contention. That led to a long full-course-yellow and safety car period which favoured teams whose amateur drivers were finishing their final stint and could pit, handing over to the pro under slow running. That undermined the chances of the strong running Lamborghini of the Collards and the 2 Seas Mercedes entries of Loggie/Keen and pole sitter Tse/Gӧtz. Beechdean’s Vantage AMR GT3 Evo of Andrew Howard and Jessica Hawkins finished 16th, with the other Blackthorn entry of Matt Topham and Josh Rowledge in 19th.
In GT4, Forsetti maintained its strong start to the season. The #7, driven by youngsters Jamie Day (age 18) and Mikey Porter (16), finished second behind the Team Parker Mercedes of Dawson/Morris. The sister car of Marc Warren and Will Orton finished fifth.
It is worth noting that the AMR Vantage Evo is a new car, launched at the beginning of this season and based on the latest Vantage road car. So there should be scope for meaningful improvement as the race teams and AMR understand the car better. The series continues with a three-hour race at Donington Park on May 26th.
Meanwhile, Brands Hatch hosted the British round of the GT World Challenge on 5 May.