Time passing galleries - Part 7 GT3/GT4 silverware earned

Tuesday, April 28, 2020

With the first year of customer racing with Aston Martin Racing's then new V12 Vantage GT3 over after hitting the podium in the early rounds of the 2012 British GT Championship, 2013 and 2014 were to become the first of two significant years for both Beechdean Motorsport and Aston Martin Racing to remember as they were to enjoy Championship winning success in both the GT3 and GT4 classes.

Initially being only one of two AMR Vantage GT3 runners in the 2013 season alongside the PGF Kinfaun car of AMR boss John Gaw and Phil Dryburgh, it wasn't too far into the year before other teams showed interest and a willingness to try out Aston Martins latest GT machinery with Barwell Motorsports being the most notable return to the AMR family with a racing commitment for both Mark Poole and Richard Abra that would ultimately take them into Europe for the Blancpain GT Series as well as the British GT Championship back home.

As with all British GT finales in recent memory, 2013 was certainly a thriller and certainly helped develop the hashtag of #DoningtonDecider as up to five teams were capable of taking the overall crown at the final round of the season which Andrew Howard managed to do by just 1.5 points to earn his first GT Championship crown. For his co-driver Jonny Adam however, a racing transgression back at the second race of the day at Snetterton earlier in the year earned him a 6 point deduction that ultimately lost him his rightful share of the title.

So for the 2014 season, that Championship win for Howard and his Beechdean team earned them the right to race with the number one proudly displayed on the doors and bonnet of their Vantage GT3 but joining them this year in their garage beside them would be the teams new Vantage GT4 for drivers Ross Wylie and Jake Giddings.

They weren't the only newcomers to the AMR ranks in this year as we also saw the first of Tom Ferrier's new TF Sport team who would be running a dual Vantage GT3 and GT4 programme as well as a new two Vantage GT3 programme for Motorbase's Oman Racing concern and single car entry's from Barwell's MP Motorsport, Paul Whites/Tom Onslow-Cole's Strata 21 and PGF Kinfaun. In all, 2014 would see up to nine AMR Vantage's race across across both BGT classes!

From what started as a near domination of both classes with AMR runners occupying half of the total podium steps at the opening two races at Oulton Park alone, there would unfortunately be no successful defence of their GT3 crown for the Beechdean team however, their new GT4 racers would ultimately be successful in taking the GT4 overall crown at the (again) final round of the season, beating TF Sports Devon Modell and and Andrew Jarman by seventeen and a half points.

The Oman Racing Team would also take the GT3 Teams title.

2014 was truly a great year for UK GT racing!!

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Testing 2013