James Cottingham will return to the Intelligent Money British GT Championship in 2023 with 2 Seas Motorsport, the team which nearly carried him and Lewis Williamson to the title in 2022. Cottingham has selected a team mate who gives him a great shot at the overall title, Jonny Adam whose championship record is unmatched in series history.
Jonny Adam has four British GT titles to his name, all claimed aboard Aston Martin machinery. Remarkably the Scotsman has claimed all four titles with different co-drivers, Andrew Howard, Derek Johnston, Flick Haigh and Graham Davidson.
Unfortunately for Adam he won’t be able to claim the title unless Cottingham manages to be in contention despite not scoring at 2 endurance rounds. This is because Jonny Adam is still an Aston Martin factory driver and has racing commitments which clash. If Cottingham takes the title, it will be the second time Adam has helped an Am driver to a title which he cannot share after driving alongside Howard in 2013 but losing the title due to a rule change he advocated!
Oulton Park will mark Adam’s 100th start in the British GT Championship.
Cottingham meanwhile is yet to claim a title in British GT, having come close on his debut season last year. He and Williamson ultimately lost out to Ian Loggie, who joined 2 Seas for his title defence in the off season.
“I’m delighted to be back in British GT for a second run at the championship, and more determined than ever,” said Cottingham to the championship’s website. “I had a chance to test other brands over the winter, and I feel the Mercedes-AMG is the best tool for the job. It is also great to be back running with the team at 2 Seas Motorsport, who are a really impressive outfit and share my passion and drive to perform at the highest level, and I am delighted to be partnering with Mr British GT, Jonny Adam.
“We were really unlucky last year with how various weekends played out, but I am feeling confident that the line-up and setup we have put together will give us as good a chance as any to really put it to the best on the grid.
“I’m really proud to have DK Engineering back on the grid as well, and we are running an updated version of our bold pop art livery which was debuted last year. It has already proved highly identifiable with the fans, and it became one of the most featured cars in terms of media coverage over the season.“
Jonny Adam is the seventh factory driver to be confirmed for the 2023 season. He is joined by Aston Martin Racing colleague Ross Gunn, who has claimed his role as Andrew Howard’s pro driver at Beechdean. Dan Harper at Century comes from the BMW factory roster while Sandy Mitchell returns to Barwell Motorsport from Lamborhgini’s Squadra Corse programme. Mercedes-AMG lend 2023 revelation Jules Gounon to 2 Seas to race alongside Ian Loggie.
McLaren is the only factory to have 2 factory pros in the line up so far. Marvin Kerchhofer joins Garage 59 while Rob Bell unites with Mark Radcliffe at Optimum Motorsport.
The British GT Championship gets underway with a double header at Oulton Park on Easter weekend. Many of the factory pro drivers will also be on hand at Media Day next week where fans can meet the drivers and the teams with no entry fee to Donington Park.
