Beechdean AMR reach the Podium at Brands Hatch to secure GT4 Championship Lead

Round 6 of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship at Brands Hatch saw Beechdean AMR’s GT4 pairing, Ross Gunn and Jamie Chadwick, finish on the podium again in crucial British GT battle.

Aston Martin Racing Evolution Academy drivers Jamie Chadwick and Ross Gunn, worked incredibly hard to claim P3 in the Beechdean Aston Martin GT4 car. After qualifying in 5th, the youngsters made excellent pace in the race, despite having an extra 40kg of weight, to come out in third and reach the podium.

After a series of wins for Chadwick and Gunn in the season so far, at Rockingham and Silverstone, and a fantastic result of P2 in the last British GT round at Spa, third position is a positive result for Beechdean AMR’s GT4 racers.

Proving unstoppable, the duo’s Brands Hatch performance has extended their GT4 Championship lead 42.5 points ahead of second place, totalling 142.5 points.

Leading the British GT Championship GT4 class, the Beechdean AMR team are in a promising position for the final two rounds of British GT 2015 at Snetterton and Donington.

Jamie Chadwick: “We went into this race knowing it wouldn’t be easy, and although we weren’t running as close to the front as usual, technically, this was probably my best race this year! We had to get the best out of the car over the two hours, which really tested Ross and I, but fortunately our strategy paid dividends. One of the reasons that we chose Aston Martin and the Beechdean AMR team was their excellent reliability record, which has proved to be our key advantage this year. It was a shame for the Lotus, Porsche and other Aston drivers to suffer problems so close to the end of the race, but it is the nature of the sport, and helped us to consolidate our Championship lead. We are more than delighted with 3rd!!”

Ross Gunn: “It was a tough weekend, but to get a podium is testament to the hard work of the Beechdean AMR team and the reliability of the Aston Martin GT4 car. I’m happy with the result as we have now doubled our championship lead and I’m now looking towards Snetterton.”

Beechdean AMR’s GT3 car also performed extremely well, and 2013 British GT Champion, Andrew Howard, and Aston Martin Factory Driver, Jonny Adam, drove their best all season under the circumstances after their victory in the last round of British GT at Spa.

Another Beechdean-style pole in qualifying for the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 marked three in a row in the Championship after Silverstone and Spa, and fourth pole position in qualifying of the season for Howard and Adam.

A great start by Howard marked a comfortable distance and a steady second place, but the timings of the safety car release unfortunately didn’t help to maintain their advantage, and 20 seconds extra penalty time in the pit stop after GT3 win at Spa, brought the car back down to 4th place.

Still running second in the Championship, however, Howard and Adam drove faultlessly in the fierce battle at Brands; a crucial race in the British GT calendar.

Andrew Howard: “The team performed excellent all weekend and to have another pole position shows we have good speed in the cars. I drove the best I have all season but with 20 seconds extra in the pits, unfortunately the results didn’t show this. Well done to both Jamie and Ross for another pole position and for extending their championship lead.”

Jonny Adam: “Overall I’m happy with the performance of the team and the cars over the weekend. We maximised our chances where we could but unfortunately with the 20 second penalty and the safety car release in the first part of the race, this made our chance of a podium harder. The next round at Snetterton is a good circuit for us; winning their last season. The championship is going okay at the moment but we need to push forward in the next round.”

The Beechdean AMR team are looking forward to the fight to score more points in the last two rounds of the British GT Championship, with the next race at Snetterton on 22nd/23rdAugust.

Source material - Beechdean Motorsport