Howard Takes Blancpain Gentlemen Driver Award in Finale
Monday, September 12, 2016
The final round of the 2016 British GT Championship saw the return of the Vantage V12 GT3 to the Beechdean AMR garage. In a last minute change of line up, Rory Butcher joined team owner and driver Andrew Howard in the GT3.
The #1 car, which sadly missed rounds seven and eight at Snetterton due to damage, returned to the championship in terrific style. Qualifying started well for the pairing, who initially looked set to compete with the three British GT3 title contenders. Howard set a scintillating time of 1.29.377’s which placed him second in the Am qualifying session. However disaster struck for Butcher in the Pro session, when the car suffered a mechanical problem, resulting in the Scot only being able to complete a single out and in lap.
The two hour race on Sunday, which on paper had promised to be an exciting final round to the season, lived up to expectations. Providing fans with an exhilarating end to the season, for the full duration. Howard carved his way from eleventh on the grid to fourth. From there, Butcher was able to defend the position until the chequered flag.
Fourth from eleventh was an unexpected result for the team, however the day had more surprises in store for Beechdean AMR and Andrew Howard. At the end of the race, Howard was awarded the highly coveted and prestigious Blancplain Gentlemen Driver of the Day Award.
A satisfied Howard said, “It has been a great weekend of racing and whilst it will be my last full British GT championship for a while, Beechdean will be back to try and reclaim our titles in 2017”
“It was a fantastic experience racing for Beechdean.” Commented Butcher “The way the guys work and how the cars are prepared is second to none and it showed in our race result - starting eleventh and finishing fourth. Lady Luck just wasn't on our side today but despite that, it has been great.”
The Aston Martin Vantage V12 GT3 will be back in action in the 2017 British GT, providing that Beechdean AMR can find the right talent behind the wheel, and the team are expected to enter into talks with drivers now that the season has come to a close.
Despite it being the end of British GT for 2016, Beechdean AMR’s season is still set to continue. The team have two more races yet to come in The European Le Mans Series and all eyes now look forward to Spa Francorschamp, for the penultimate race of the championship.
Source material - Beechdean AMR
Photo Credits - Jacob Ebrey
