Championship Mathematics – The Donington Decider

Heading into the final round of the 2023 Intelligent Money British GT Championship season it’s pretty much all to play for. All but one of the 8 championships contested this year are still up for grabs as we head into the Donington Decider.

The two big championships, the GT4 Drivers title and the GT3 Drivers battle, remain unclaimed while only the GT4 Am championship wasn’t fought for this year.

This article looks at the mathematics heading into the Donington Decider.

Donington Decider: GT4 Teams Still For the Taking

In the teams competition, the battle is already over for the GT3 runners. The 2-car entry of 2 Seas Motorsport has already moved beyond the reach of their nearest rivals, the single-car effort from Century Motorsport. Of more interest in the GT3 stakes is the battle for second to sixth.

Century sits on 149 points, 132.5 points behind 2 Seas with Barwell Motorsport 10.5 points further behind. There is a strong chance that the pair of Lamborghini Huracan EVO IIs from Mark Lemmer’s team will overhaul the single BMW M4 GT3 from Nathan Freke’s outfit at Donington Park.

Beechdean Motorsport’s Aston Martin V8 Vantage AMR GT3 sits on 91 points, which means that the team have no chance of taking even the runner-up spot. They are locked in battle with the sole RAM Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 which is only a point behind and Optimum Motorsport’s McLaren 720S GT3 EVO on 86.5 points.

For 2 Seas Motorsport, the possibly attainable challenge is ending the season on more than double the points tally of their nearest rival.

In GT4 the battle is closer, Century Motorsport holds the advantage with 202.5 points to their name. Academy Motorsport sit in second place with 54.5 points the target to overhaul.

That means that for Academy to claim the title they need to finish either 1st and 7th or better or 2nd and 4th or better.

Donington Decider: GT3 Overall

In GT3 the overall title battle is close, with James Cottingham and Jonny Adam sitting on 162 points. Jonny Adam is already pretty much out of the championship fight, given that he will be contesting the final round of the European Le Mans Series instead of fighting for a title in British GT.

Jonny Adam’s only hope of a title is for both the #4 2 Seas Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 he has shared with Cottingham all year and the #91 Century Motorsport machine to fail to score.

The more likely fight is between James Cottingham alone, sharing for the Donington Decider with Phillip Ellis, and the BMW crew of factory pro Dan Harper and Am driver Darren Leung. 23 points separate the two entries.

For the Century Motorsport BMW to overhaul the 2 Seas Motorsport Mercedes, it will need to finish at least 6th. Meanwhile, if the 2 Seas Motorsport machine were to assure itself of victory it would need to finish in 2nd place or higher.

Otherwise, should James Cottingham finish in the positions below, Darren Leung and Dan Harper would need to finish in the following positions to take the title.

GT3 Pro/Am

In GT3 Pro/Am it’s the same two protagonists with a chance at the title. This time around James Cottingham has a stronger advantage, but not by much. 170.5 points for Cottingham is countered by Darren Leung and Dan Harper’s 149.

It means that the #91 machine has to finish at least 3rd to have a chance of taking the title. The maths is in the table below.

NOTE: In all the classes, points are earned for position in class, not in GT3 overall, so a car can claim winning points in their class whilst finishing in a lower category points position.

Donington Decider: GT3 Silver Am

The GT3 Silver/Am battle is the first championship with more than two contenders. In this case, there is a very long shot chance that the #42 Greystone GT McLaren 720S GT3 EVO of Iain Campbell and James Kell could take the title. Really, the fight is between the ##72 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO II of Mark Sansom and Will Tregurtha and the #93 Sky Tempesta Racing McLaren of Kevin Tse and Chris Froggatt.

The latter pairing leads the standings with 192.5 points heading into the final round, but the Lamborghini rivals are just 9.5 points behind. That means that to assure themselves of victory, both the Lambo and the McLaren have to win.

Donington Decider: GT4 Overall

In GT4 overall there is a battle royale lined up with six cars on with a chance at the title. Granted, for the #29 RACELAB Motorsport McLaren #23 R Racing Aston Martin and the #22 Century Motorsport BMW the odds are very slim. The three rivals ahead would all need to finish well down the order for them to take the title.

In the case of the Aston Martin and the #22 BMW, should neither score, the result would be settled based on the Aston Martin’s 2 fourth-place finishes compared to the BMW’s none.

For Jack Brown and Charles Clark the news is best, they lead the championship by 10.5 points which means that even a second place would be enough for them to triumph over the Century Motorsport BMW of Michael Johnston and Chris Salkeld. Six points further behind is the Academy Motorsport Ford Mustang of Matt Cowley and Erik Evans.

Donington Decider: GT4 Pro Am

The GT4 Pro/Am battle is less fraught with alternatives. Only three cars have the opportunity to take the title, both of the Century Motorsport BMWs are in with a chance. The other contender is RACELAB’s Lions Barber Collective-backed McLaren, you can find out more about their good work in our Media Day interview which can be found here.

Donington Decider: GT4 Silver Cup

For the GT4 Silver Cup we are back to a two-horse race. The #90 Optimum Motorsport McLaren holds a commanding, but not insurmountable, lead over the #61 Academy Motorsport Ford Mustang GT4. That means that Matt Cowley and Erik Evans have lot of work to do.

There isn’t any need for fancy tables here. The maths is simple.

The Ford must win. The McLaren must finish 8th or lower. Otherwise the title goes to Charles Clark and Jack Brown.