Results of Silverstone and Donington Confirmed | Tillbrook Makes Way for Topham at Enduro | EVOlution for Abba | Adam Races for Charity
Welcome to this roundup of the latest British GT Championship news ahead of the Snetterton rounds of the championship. The biggest news is that for the first time this year, we come to the track with no BOP changes.
Raceway Appeal Rejected – Clark and Brown Lead GT4
The appeal by Raceway Motorsport of their disqualification from Silverstone has been heard. The National Court Investigatory Hearing ruled on the appeal on 9th June, allowing the series organisers to confirm the results of rounds 3 & 4 before this weekend’s two sprint races at Snetterton.
Freddie Tomlinson and Stuart Middleton were excluded from the results of the race at Silverstone for driving through a closed pit exit, and then refusing to serve the penalty. The team lodged an appeal just prior to Donington Park meaning that the series couldn’t issue points or compensation time for the 2-hour race in the midlands.
The appeal’s rejection means that the series can issue points and add compensation time. As a result, the #90 Optimum McLaren crew of Charles Clark and Jack Brown drop from first to second place in the 2-hour race at Donington but retain the championship lead. Ian Gough and Tom Wrigley move up to second place in the overall championship as a result of their second win of the season.
RACELAB’s #29 McLaren Artura will now serve 10 seconds of compensation time at the pit stop in the first race at Snetterton. The Optimum Motorsport McLaren will serve 7 seconds while Century Motorsport’s #22 BMW M4 GT4 gets five seconds.
Tillbrook Makes Way for Topham
The Intelligent Money British GT Championship gets another champion added to its ranks this weekend. Matt Topham, the double and reigning British GT4 Pro-Am Champion, joins Marcus Clutton in the Enduro Motorsport McLaren 720S GT3 EVO.
Tillbrook has opted to step away from the driver’s seat for the remainder of the season which has allowed Topham the chance to make his top-class debut.
Matt Topham has twice claimed the British GT4 Pro-Am title, both times in an Aston Martin and partnered by Darren Turner. In preparation for the remainder of the season, Topham raced at Snetterton in GT Cup last weekend, bagging two podiums.
Topham told BritishGT.com, “I looked at other opportunities over the winter but things didn’t quite come together in time so I decided to wait rather than make a hasty decision. Enduro and Marcus are proven British GT race winners so joining Enduro was an offer I couldn’t refuse.”
Team Abba Racing EVOlve
Hardly shocking news, after Sam Neary told the commentators at Donington Park that, ‘we’re getting the EVO, so we don’t need the body panels anymore’, but Team Abba Racing has finally caved to pressure and upgraded their Mercedes-AMG GT3 to the EVO specification.
Richard Neary initially rejected the EVO kit, which has been out for three years, saying the original car was fast enough. This was well proven by his son Sam Neary who has taken the fight to factory competition since joining the championship in 2021.
However, at Donington Park the calculus changed. Since the introduction of the EVO kit, both EVO and non-EVO cars have had an identical balance of performance. At Donington Park the older car was given an increase in vehicle weight compared to the EVO specification and the Nearys finally decided to upgrade.
The chassis remains the same, the most successful Mercedes-AMG chassis in history.
Adam Auctions Special Helmet for Cancer Charity
Current championship points leader Jonny Adam has unveiled a new helmet design, highlighting the work of Maggies.
Maggies is a cancer care charity providing information and support to patients, friends and family who are dealing with cancer. Adam plans to auction the helmet off in August at the Drive to Maggie’s charity driving tour.
Adam will continue to use the helmet for the remainder of the season which means that the helmet could be a vital part of the championship-winning effort!
