Beechdean GT4 Aston Martin Vantage unstoppable after another win at Silverstone
Monday, June 01, 2015
Beechdean AMR youngsters, Ross Gunn and Jamie Chadwick, claimed their second consecutive Avon Tyres British GT Championship victory after winning the third event of the season at the Silverstone 500 this weekend.
The duo, both part of the 2015 Aston Martin Racing Evolution Academy, conquered the track at Rockingham in May after qualifying in pole position, and this weekend, the renowned GP circuit saw Gunn and Chadwick battle against the weather and their rivals across the three-hour race to finish on the top step of the podium.
Saturday’s qualifying left Beechdean AMR’s GT4 car in a positive third position for Sunday’s class grid, and Chadwick maintained good control to start the race, even after being spun around in lap two pulling her from fourth to eleventh position. However, Beechdean’s speed and strategy, perfected at Britcar 24-Hour at Silverstone back in April, pulled the GT4 drivers back into the lead.
Good pace in the wet conditions meant Chadwick and Gunn could fight back into a reasonable position, and fantastic strategy along with strong pit-stops meant the Beechdean AMR team were able to bring another victory for the GT4 Aston Martin Vantage. The victory was topped off by Ross Gunn claiming the fastest lap time in the GT4 class at 2m16.053sec.
The reliability of the GT4 car has been outstanding so far this season, as proven by Beechdean’s faultless win at this year’s Britcar 24-Hour, where Chadwick and Gunn demonstrated their skills on the Silverstone circuit. This, along with two victories so far, shows the potential of the Beechdean GT4 Aston Martin Vantage for the rest of the British GT Championship. Beechdean AMR’s GT4 pairing are currently first in the British GT Championship standings.
Jamie Chadwick: “I'm delighted with the result. Conditions at the start were tough, and contact on the 2nd lap from another car demoted me from 4th to 11th, so we really had to dig deep and play a clever game with the strategy to claw back places and the eventual win. Next race is at the awesome Spa Francorchamps circuit, which will be a whole new experience for Ross and I. However, it's reassuring to be going there with the Championship lead and carrying positive momentum and a nice buffer. As ever I cannot thank Ross and the Beechdean AMR team enough - a fantastic all round effort!”
Ross Gunn: “After a difficult start to the race, everyone in the team dug really deep to pull this fantastic result out again. I am very proud to be part of the Silverstone 500 winning team and can’t thank everyone enough at Beechdean AMR. Thank you to everyone who came to support us.”
Ross Gunn: “After a difficult start to the race, everyone in the team dug really deep to pull this fantastic result out again. I am very proud to be part of the Silverstone 500 winning team and can’t thank everyone enough at Beechdean AMR. Thank you to everyone who came to support us.”
Andrew Howard, 2013 British GT champion, and Jonny Adam, Aston Martin Factory driver, were unstoppable for a second year running in qualifying at the Silverstone 500 after once again securing pole position in GT3 class for round four of the British GT Championship.
Their second pole and third front row start of the season saw Howard’s initial flying lap of 2m04.390s lay the foundations for Beechdean’s pole. Adam’s individual 2m01.697s lap not only proved fastest of the weekend but also helped give he and Howard pole by a combined 0.937sec. Adam then went on to claim the fastest lap of the Silverstone 500 in the GT3 class in Sunday’s three hour race.
Unfortunately, after a difficult start in the wet conditions, superb driving from Adam and Howard saw the GT3 Aston Martin Vantage battle its way past the rest of the field from 16th place to 5th at the checkered flag. Current British GT GT3 Championship standings leave Howard and Adam in 4th place.
Andrew Howard: “5th place is still reasonable points, and from the pace we set over the weekend we do have a fast Aston Martin GT3. The weather didn’t help and in these situations with safety cars it's a lottery. The next round at Spa I think we'll have a great chance of a podium and we are aiming for that. Well done yet again to our young GT4 pairing of Jamie and Ross. Brilliant result.”
Jonny Adam: “Silverstone was a very tricky race due to the changeable weather. We lost out on strategy with an unlucky call on running on wets too long. Both drivers pace was strong throughout the three hour race and 5th has still given us good points. The team have done a great job on making the car fast over the weekend.”
Andrew Howard: “5th place is still reasonable points, and from the pace we set over the weekend we do have a fast Aston Martin GT3. The weather didn’t help and in these situations with safety cars it's a lottery. The next round at Spa I think we'll have a great chance of a podium and we are aiming for that. Well done yet again to our young GT4 pairing of Jamie and Ross. Brilliant result.”
Jonny Adam: “Silverstone was a very tricky race due to the changeable weather. We lost out on strategy with an unlucky call on running on wets too long. Both drivers pace was strong throughout the three hour race and 5th has still given us good points. The team have done a great job on making the car fast over the weekend.”
Beechdean AMR will return to SPA on the 10th/11th July for the next round of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship.
Source material and photo credits - Beechdean Motorsport
