Aston Martin Racing has named its latest AMR Driver Academy graduate as Romain Leroux. The 20-year-old Parisian joins a growing list of Aston Martin star graduates that includes IMSA GTD Pro front-runner Ross Gunn, reigning IMSA GTD champion Roman De Angelis, works driver Valentin Hasse Clot and former British GT4 champion Tom Canning.

Leroux, the 2021 FFSA GT4 champion and a runner-up in last year’s ADAC GT4 series, stood out among the 22 candidates in 2022 for his extraordinary consistency in all categories and for his attitude towards the Academy processes, as well as his willingness to mentor other younger and less experienced AMR Academy drivers. The Frenchman now steps up to the Vantage GT3 in 2023, racing alongside two of this year’s AMR Academy candidates Jacob Riegel (DEU) and Jeff Kingsley (USA) in BULLITT Racing’s new GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup programme.

Leroux said of his AMR Academy graduation: “I am honoured to be recognized by Aston Martin for my success over the past two seasons. My objective when I enrolled in the AMR Academy in 2021 was to establish a relationship with a manufacturer. Being named the winner of the 2022 AMR Academy is a significant achievement that reflects my hard work and improvement as a driver. Now I’m looking forward to building on this with the Vantage GT3 this season.”

Aston Martin Racing has also announced this year’s candidates for the annual initiative designed to fast-track talent from within its thriving partner team network and is a way for AMR to contribute back to motorsport by investing in and honing future talent.

A unique and unrivalled platform for learning and development with an established manufacturer, this essential initiative is fine-tuned every year and improved to effectively coach drivers in the early stages of their careers. Competitors aged between 17 and 26 with Vantage GT3 and GT4 race programmes in recognised championships are eligible. The prize on offer for the successful graduate includes financial support towards their 2024 race programme, as well as assistance and guidance from the factory, tailored to their season plans. Further evaluation of the most outstanding candidates may also include a test in a Vantage GT3 at the end of the 2023 season.

The candidates benefit from a three-day seminar that includes media training with FIA World Endurance Championship commentator Louise Beckett, simulator training at Base Performance, a DNAFit assessment including a bespoke training programme and nutrition plan, Aston Martin Racing in-house commercial training and a factory-based engineering workshop to further their understanding of how to competitively set-up Vantage.

The judging panel, which includes three-time 24 Hours of Le Mans class winner and 2023 Rolex 24 at Daytona GTD class champion Darren Turner (GB), four-times British GT champion Jonny Adam, former Academy winner and works driver Valentin Hasse Clot, AMR Head of Performance Gus Beteli and Head of AMR Partner Racing Huw Tasker, will evaluate each drivers’ ability to manage the strategic, teamwork, commercial and public relations aspects of their role. Finally, the outstanding candidate will demonstrate the most potential to develop their talent for the future.

Huw Tasker, AMR Head of Partner Racing, said: “We are delighted for Romain, who has produced two outstanding seasons of racing in Vantage and has shown all the qualities and characteristics that made his predecessors stand-out as AMR Driver Academy graduates – and we’re certain that he will continue to flourish as a driver within our ranks through 2023 and beyond. As a mechanism for assessing and identifying outstanding talent within our partner ranks, the AMR Driver Academy remains instructive and essential, and looking at the list of candidates lined up for 2023 we’re certain that tradition is set to continue.”

 

Having dipped in numbers over the two COVID-19 influenced seasons, the Aston Martin Racing Drivers Academy returns in force for the 2022 season with aptly twenty-two drivers today named as students and contenders for the ultimate prize.

Following in the footsteps of previous winners in the likes of Ross Gunn, Tom Canning, Valentin Hasse-Clot and last year’s winner Roman De Angelis, this year’s contenders mainly feature within the GT4 category with just one driver presently competing within the AMR Vantage GT3 for one of AMR’s many Customer and Partner teams.

As reported previously, the 2022 season is by far the busiest season yet with the 2019 AMR Vantage GT4 platform within the global racing scene despite GT3 take up has unfortunately been at the opposing end of the scale.

 

2022 ASTON MARTIN RACING DRIVER ACADEMY CANDIDATES

Driver	Team	Series	Car
Josh Miller (GBR)	R-Racing	British GT	GT4
Nick Hancke (DEU)	Speed Monkeys	DTM Trophy	GT4
Jacob Riegel (DEU)	Speed Monkeys	DTM Trophy	GT4
Konstantin Lachenauer (CHE)	Racing Spirit of Leman	GT4 European Series	GT4
Gus Bowers (GBR)	Racing Spirit of Leman	GT4 European Series	GT4
Thijmen Nabuurs (NED)	Racing One	GT4 European Series	GT4
Theo Nouet (FRA)	Beechdean AMR	GTWC Endurance Cup	GT3
Tom Wood (GBR)	Racing One	ADAC GT4	GT4
Ben Dorr (DEU)	Doer	ADAC GT4	GT4
Romain Leroux (FRA)	Doer	ADAC GT4	GT4
Emil Heyerdahl (NOR)	Prosport	NLS	GT4
Loris Cabirou (FRA)	AGS Events	FFSA GT4	GT4
Ewen Hachez (GBR)	AGS	FFSA GT4	GT4
Hugo Bac (FRA)	AGS	FFSA GT4	GT4
Andy Noah (FRA)	AGS	GT4 European Series	GT4
Hugo Conde (FRA)	AGS	GT4 European Series	GT4
Julien Darras (FRA)	Street Art	GT Open GT4	GT4
Clemence Rouceau (FRA)	Street Art	GT Open GT4	GT4
Akhil Rabindra (IND)	Racing Spirt of Lèman	GT4 European Series	GT4
Jamie Day (GBR)	R-Racing	British GT	GT4
Kenton Koch (USA)	Racing One	GT4 European Series	GT4
Phil Dorr (DEU)	Doer	ADAC GT4	GT4

Beaten to the simple point made yesterday by Beechdean AMR team Principle Andrew Howard, a point one we feel is very much worth repeating is the contributory factors that his Beechdean AMR team offered to two young, very talented individuals still in the early days of their careers as they looked to progress and who have now hit the news headlines for the very best of reasons this week.

Catching a few words with Andrew Howard at the penultimate round of the British GT Championship from Brands Hatch last weekend he reminded us about how his team was also about the promotion and development of young driving talent - giving them the much needed boost into their racing careers and not just a bit of 'fun' for himself.


That of course started off in 2014 when Beechdean AMR offered seats in their first Vantage GT4 for young drivers Ross Wylie and Jake Giddings who later went on to secured the British GT GT4 crown as the first time of asking. That was replicated the very next year when two GT novices - Ross Gunn and Jamie Chadwick stepped up to the plate to defend the team's crown and defend it they did taking the GT4 title at Snetterton with one meeting in hand.

With Gunn also winning the coveted Aston Martin Racing Academy selection process that year and an AMR works contract to boot, their racing careers then on took on very different paths to one another but today both now find themselves heading very much towards the top of their chosen pathways in the world of motorsport.


Whilst Gunn remained within the GT family, racing in Europe and China for many AMR customer teams including Beechdean AMR in both the European Le Mans Series, Le Mans 24 and most recently the Michelin Le Mans Cup, this weeks news of his selection to partner long term AMR customer Paul Dalla Lana together with works driver Darren Turner in this years coming World Endurance Championship is simply a just reward for all his efforts since 2014.

With some periods during his tenure at AMR barren to any obvious full season racing activity we must remember his contribution made to the development of the new 2019 Vantage platform in all three formats including winning the AMR Festival race in the GT3 iteration in its first international viewing at Le Mans last year.


Chadwick meanwhile elected to go the single seater route to learn more about aerodynamics in her race craft and those endeavours were ultimately rewarded last weekend with her winning the inaugural season of the W-Series. Not only that but she has gone on to be selected to join the Williams F1 Driver Academy but has also kept her hand in with GT racing by winning the SP8T class in this years ADAC Total 24H race earlier this year in the new Vantage GT4 making her truly a young lady with pure racing talent that Aston Martin are obviously also keen to retain and nurture


Whatever happens with these two guys over the next few years only time will tell but for Beechdean AMR we can be assured (as Howard told us at Brands) is that the team will be back racing somewhere in something again for 2020 and is already looking for new young potentials that they can also help move forward. That is one reason why Howard has recruited the young Frenchman Valentin Hasse Clot to help him see out the end of the 2019 British GT Championship after former co-driver Marco Sorensen had a sizeable accident at the Le Mans 24 and their championship potentials within British GT proved needing such a co-driver as unnecessary! Maybe that will be the teams GT3 pairing for 2020 already?


If you're looking for that extra step up then you'll be foolhardy to overlook Beechdean AMR as clearly history does repeat itself!

It seems that Beechdean doesn't just make good ice cream ............!!!

Photo credits - W-Series / AMR / Beechdean / British GT

With track conditions at Silverstone on Friday not conducive for much set up work, Saturday morning presented the record breaking forty two grid with similar wet and sometimes wildly windy conditions ahead of the important Qualifying for Sundays Silverstone 500.

Making the most of the Friday running was the #2 TF Sport Aston Martin Vantage GT3 of Mark Farmer and Nicki Thiim who headed the AMR runners in P4 but then went some better in Free Practice 1 this morning to head the field albeit with a slower time. Healthy inter-AMR team rivalry was brewing up amongst the Vantage GT4 runners with the #75 Optimum car of Patrik Matthiesen and Mike Robinson dicing for top honours with the brand new chassis from the Generation AMR SuperRacing guys of Matt George and James Holder within the same sessions.


As the track sessions and the hours passed by, the track slowly but surely began to dry giving the chance to the #99 Beechdean AMR and #96 Optimum Vantage GT3's to shine running both P3 and P4 respectively by the end of that session although its was very apparent that many (including these cars) were still trying to 'keep their powder dry' from the then pace setting BMW. Again the #75 Optimum GT4 was running strongly again (P2 overall in class) with a gaggle of four other AMR GT4's just a few placed behind.

With the Silverstone 500 being a single - elongated multi compulsory pit stop race, Qualifying was the first example this season of an aggregated Qualification period from both Pro and Am defined driver to determine the cars starting position on Sundays grid and by the time the first cars hit the track for that it was all in stark contrast to the mornings weather.


GT3 Am's were out first and it was the #47 TF Sport car of Graham Davidson to head the bunch to the other three Vantage GT3 cars finishing his 4 laps P2 overall and just 0.022 seconds behind the Ram Racing Mercedes AMG of Ian Loggie. The #2 TF Sport car of Mark Farmer, the #96 Optimum of Ollie Wilkinson and the #99 Beechdean of Andrew Howard came home P5, P6 and P7 respectively out of the sixteen cars. A good start from these guys.


GT3 Pro's were out next and it was AMR factory driver Jonny Adam who pipped fellow factory driver Marco Sorensen in the #99 Beechdean to claim both top honours and indeed GT3 pole position for tomorrows three hour race. Whilst Nicki Thiim brought the #2 car home in P4 Optimum's Bradley Ellis was sadly unable to submit a time due to a brake issue and will therefore start from the rear of the GT3 grid tomorrow.

Moving over to the GT4 Am drivers it was the #95 TF Sport car of Patrick Kibble who again showed his raw pace to claim the top position of the timing screen and that was with a lap time being deleted for track limits with the #14 debuting Generation AMR car of Matt George half a second behind in P3. The #75 #35 Optimum cars ran line astern to claim P10 and P11 with the remain four AMR GT4's spread between P13 to P17.


The final runners were therefore the GT4 Pro's and it would be Martin Plowman aboard his #11 Beechdean AMR Vantage GT4 who would take overall honours in his group with a lap time 0.146 seconds faster than his nearest rival and one car ahead of the equally fast Josh Price in the #95 TF Sport car.


With all calculations being made the twelve Aston Martin Racing Partner team runners will start as:-

GT3

P1 #47 TF Sport Graham Davidson/Jonny Adam
P4 #2 TF Sport Mark Farmer/Nicki Thiim
P5 #99 Beechdean AMR Andrew Howard/Marco Sorensen
P15 #96 Optimum Ollie Wilkinson/Bradley Ellis

GT4

P1 #95 TF Sport Patrick Kibble/Josh Price
P7 #11 Beechdean AMR Kelvin Fletcher/Martin Plowman
P8 #75 Optimum Patrik Matthiesen/Mike Robinson
P9 #97 TF Sport Ash Hand/Tom Canning
P10 #35 Optimum Jack Butel/Connor O'Brien
P18 #61 Academy Micah Stanley/Ben Hurst
P19 #62 Academy Will Moore/Alex Toth Jones
P21 #14 Generation AMR Matt George/James Holder


Sunday morning warm up for the British GT grid will be between 09:00 and 09:10 with the start to the three hour race beginning at 12:35. Full race coverage will also be streamed live from the SRO social media platforms.

Sunday is even looking mildly warm and dry!!

Photo credits - Jacob Ebrey / Steve Jackman (Eat my Pixels)

Heading back out to Hockenheim in Germany for the second round of the International GT Open Series proved to be a very different one for its young gun Ollie Wilkinson and their #96 Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage GT3 this weekend.

Firstly it was the young mans 23rd birthday (so happy birthday to you), secondly he would over the course of Saturday's events be elevated to Silver grading and thirdly - he got to do it all with Le Mans winner and AMR factory driver Darren Turner by his side.


Having entered into the preliminary Free Practice sessions still categorised as the Pro-Am entry that they had been to date, we understand that at the request of the series Wilkinson was reassigned as being a silver graded driver and a decision was then taken by the team to step up into the full Pro class in time for race 1 on Saturday.

Lap times over Saturday were continually falling for the crew as Wilkinson was about to take the first round of Qualifying that would decide his starting position for Race 1 and that was done with his quickest time of the weekend so far with a 1:37:880 meaning a P12 grid slot.

With cars in front of the #96 Vantage GT3 either being of different class and/or having their Pro driver aboard at the start it was never going to be easy for Wilkinson to stay in contact with some of the cars ahead. Still in only the start of his third season of full motor racing Wilkinson showed a great level of maturity from the start by staying out of trouble, holding the correct racing line around turn 1 as others went many cars width wide and stealing two places in the process. His local AMR Driver Academy Coach (Turner) would have been proud!!


On only the second lap Wilkinson was extremely lucky not to be collected by the #19 Lamborghini as it smashed into the rear of the #19 Mercedes AMG going into the hairpin - a collision that took place literally a couple of metres in front but he did at least have the next eight minutes of a Safety Car period in which to calm down and catch his breath!

As the race went green again, the next fifteen minutes or so seemed to be appear fairly static for the #96 car with it holding station to cars front and rear to hold a comfortable P10 overall and P5 in class position just ahead of the mandatory stop which the team elected to do straight away. As Turner was being strapped into the car a beached car over at the hairpin brought about a few moments of panic should a Safety Car have been called with them having just pitted under green. That was thankfully not to be and Turner was away for his first racing experience in the series for five years aboard the latest specification of AMR Vantage GT3.

The final fifteen minutes proved to be very competitive for Turner as having moved up to P7 overall and P4 in class he would have to defend his position - quite robustly sometimes as the #14 Lamborghini wanted past. Unfortunately it wasn't too long before the clearly faster Lambo' made its move and the #96 went back to P5 in the Pro Class which is where they finished at the end of the first seventy minutes of racing.


Sunday morning was a new race day and was the turn of Darren Turner to take the #96 out to Qualify for the sixty minute race that he would be starting yet his time of 1:37:440 was still not fast enough to break the Emil Frey Lamborghini lock out of the front row.

Again, with multiple cars taking the racing limits well beyond that of the white lines out of turn 1 on the opening lap, a rule abiding Turner would soon find himself being 'mugged' of his P3 position by at least three cars before he was able to redress the balance with a single position nett loss by the end of the first lap.

Whilst the leading Lambo' slowly escaped into the distance the other simply baulked everyone else early progress with a procession of at least nine other cars bumper to bumper behind. That situation wasn't really going to change until the start of the pit stop window when the 'slower' Lambo' pitted and released the cars behind. When the next car ahead of Turner also pitted some very quick laps where soon pinned onto the timing screen by Turner with a fastest lap to date amongst them.


Pitting just after the half way mark, Wilkinson would emerge P3 overall and P2 in Class but with some seriously faster drivers and cars behind him and all wanting past him as soon as possible. Trouble for Wilkinson soon came in the form of a back marker that broke his rhythm and forced the #96 to go defensive too early leaving him little opportunity of keeping the #63 Lambo of Albert Costa behind him - down to P3 in class with still over fifteen minutes to go.

As two more cars moved up onto the tail of the Vantage GT3 the pit crew could only offer words of advice and encouragement Wilkinsons way but then a little bit of luck helped him out as a mistake from the then overtaking #59 McLaren allowed it to be overtaking itself by the #10 Mercedes AMG all giving Wilkinson the gap he needed to take the car to the flag.

In a near reverse repeat of the opening round of the Series from Paul Ricard last month, the #96 car of Ollie Wilkinson and Darren Turner secured a P3 podium finish in race 2 at Hockenheim but this time in the Pro class. A great effort and well done to all concerned - receiving the silverware for this race must have been the best birthday present that he got this weekend.


The Series now moves onto Spa Francorchamps in early June and this is the event that the team will be attending over that of the third round of the British GT Championship at Silverstone.

Photo credits - GT Open / Optimum 

Sundays two races that formed round two of the British GT Championship from Snetterton certainly didn't leave anybody disappointed when it came to track incident and accident but the rewards that were gained by the Aston Martin Racing runners were hard fought for.

Watching Saturdays Free Practice and then Qualifying times across the GT3 and GT4 classes certainly showed that there was no consistency with any of the teams or drivers as each were required to set their own times for the two race Am's start one followed by the Pro's in the other format. It appeared to be the consensus up and down the pit lane that the operational window of the new Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 and GT4 was very tight and nobody had found the ideal set up going into race day.


Indeed, it appeared that most cars within the TF Sport, Optimum, Academy and Beechdean teams had elected to run a different set up to Qualifying as late as Sunday morning warm up and again even in between races. With the exception of AMR factory driver Nicki Thiim qualifying for race 2 on GT3 pole and Tom Canning in P2 for the GT4 class in race 2, all the other nine cars were towards the rear of their respective packs. One GT4 team commented upon how their cars were unexplainably 2 seconds a lap slower to what they had obtained at a test at the circuit just two weeks ago - was than a negative effect of an inter round balance of performance change or just a change in circumstance?

Martin Plowman, the very approachable guy that he is, offered the fact that he and co driver Kelvin Fletcher had gone too far the wrong way with balance, sacrificing top end speed in favour of grip. The trouble with the Snetterton 300 circuit is that you need both! Similar comments were being made by some of the GT3 drivers so clearly there was an issue - the question was where and could it be rectified in time for the races.


Race 1 began under bright skies and sunshine producing some of the highest track temperatures of the meeting so far with the opening lap producing enough drama to fulfil a race report of its own. Graham Davidson in the #2 TF Sport GT3 soon found himself doing a little autocross along the start straight as a neighbouring Optimum Vantage GT3 of Ollie Wilkinson had inadvertently squeezed another car in the middle of the track across onto the far side forcing the Scot to take avoiding action by keeping his foot firmly planted along MSV’s prized cut grass!

As the GT3 field then approached the Wilson hairpin for the first time, a missed braking point from the ABBA Mercedes lumped his AMG GT3 heavily into the rear of Mark Farmers #2 TF Sport Vantage causing sizeable rear end damage but at least he as able to continue. Then Andrew Howard chasing up behind in his #99 Beechdean AMR Vantage hit the fluid being deposited on track by the now terminally ill Mercedes to spin off onto the fortunately grassy infield before being able to rejoin but a long way back into the GT4 field. There was was also done.


Early contact between cars with any thirty seven car grid is always inevitable (like above) but for the #75 Optimum Vantage GT4 of Mike Robinson, he wouldn't be so lucky as wheel to wheel contact with a BMW GT4 damaged his front wheel wheel and suspension putting the car he shares with Patrik Matthiesen into early retirement.


And this was all before the end of the first lap!!

Fortunately, things did soon sort themselves out as the gaps between cars grew and that at least stopped any more wasteful and pointless contact between squabbling cars and drivers for a time. Wilkinson in his #96 made the most of the chaotic start moving up to and holding very convincingly P3 overall with Josh Price being the highest placed AMR GT4 runner - albeit down in P8 in class.

For the next twenty minutes or so of racing up until the start of the mandatory pit stop windows, it appeared to be a case of simply holding your position as few cars made progress through the field. Sadly, the new Vantages were again struggling with low end power to get themselves out of the corners and that always left the drivers compromised at the next. For the #99 Beechdean GT3, Howard's earlier issues on track would be compounded by a further 5 second success penalty after finishing on the podium last time out at Oulton Park and for the #96 Optimum GT3, a mistimed pitstop would cost them a potential podium finish after a drive through penalty was awarded for the remainder of the time missed.


Again, the next fifteen minutes appeared to stagnate in the GT3 class until Jonny Adam (now aboard the #47 TF Sport GT3) inched his way onto the back of the Team Parker Racing Bentley in P3. Lap after lap the Scot tried to pass the #7 car ever conscious that the JRM Bentley of Sebring Morris was now catching him. Then on the final lap of the race it all kicked off. Morris passed Adam but the #69 Lamborghini had also joined in and in Morris' haste to get away he collided with an another car damaging his bonnet. Unable to see the track he had to back off and in a final sprint along the straight to the flag it was the #47 car that took the final stop of the podium.

It certainly wasn't all over then either - passing by the along pit lane to Parc Ferme, an animated Rick Parfitt Jnr certainly made his emotions clear to Adam but wisely left things to his team to sort having just seen his podium vanish in the final 500metres of the race.


For #TeamAMR, the #47 was to be the only podium of that race with the other cars too far down, damaged or already out of the race to compete against some clearly faster rivals. Howard even dared to broach the subject in interview after his pit stop when he 'tip-toed' along the Balance of Performance subject by suggesting this his car was underpowered!!

For several of the AMR cars, the break in between races at least allowed for some repairs to be made - extensive ones to the #2 TF Sport and #62 Academy cars after Alex Both Jones made his own race ending contact with the Jaguar GT4 on just the 15th lap.


Race 2 was to start under skies that had clouded over and darkened slightly as even very light rain began to fall. That and with the air and track temperature still being quite high all would start again on slicks with any rain bound to spice things up!

At the front of the pack was Nicki Thiim in the #2 TF Sport car who would have the clearly fast Lamborghinis from Barwell Motorsport starting just behind him with Jonny Adam behind them and a couple more in P6. In GT4, TF Sports Tom Canning was bouyant of the chances of a good race with his #97 car starting P2 overall in GT4 just behind Team Parker Racing Mercedes AMG GT4 of Scott Malvern whom he knew he would have to overtake early to have any chance of winning.


With the race start more disciplined with the Pro's than earlier, there were fortunately few moments of accident and incident as this hour long race soon established a rhythm. No really able to break the drag to the Lamborghini's, Thiim had to settle with just staying in front of them knowing that one had a 10 second success penalty to serve at its stop. Just after the half way mark Thiim pitted to hand the car back over to Farmer for the final 28minute run to the flag.


That didn't start off too well for Farmer as first a delayed stop and then slower GT4 in the pit lane holding him up lost the #2 car valuable time. In GT4, Canning had completed a very fast yet this time mature stint in his car to hand over to Ashley Hand who would temporally lose the P3 position having just existed the pits on cooled tyres.

Howards weekend would go from indifferent to worse as he would get unceremoniously punted off the circuit just after the bridge at Nelson by one of the BMW GT3's - not very gentlemanly but at least the there was no significant points paying race position lost at the time although he might argue with that!!


Almost in a repetition to Sundays earlier race, everything came down to the final fifteen minutes of racing. Both Lambo's were now almost attached to the rear of Farmers Aston Martin and it wasnt long before that inevitability happened with first them and then the Balfe McLaren GT3 overtaking the striking metallic blue liveried AMR dropping him down to P4 overall.

With the podium chance in GT3 now lost attention turned to GT4 as Hand was having a great battle for P3 again with the then Balfe McLaren GT4. Fortunately, luck came the way of the #97 car as the #20 was given a 10 second stop and go penalty for avoidable contact earlier in the race. That would give Hand a clear run to the flag and the first podium and points for the #97 crew. Unnoticed by the cameras and those on site, the complexities of the Pro-Am and Silver Cup GT4 classes had allowed the #11 Beechdean AMR car of Martin Plowman and Kelvin Fletcher to sneak up the leader board to take what was then P2 at the chequered flag but a post race penalty to the 'race winning' Audi soon elevated them to race winners in the Pro-Am class.


Despite the obvious and ongoing power issues with the cars and the series (more the series rather than the car we're sure) hard work and determination from the respective teams and drivers allowed three AMR cars to take their first podium and significant points of the season in their respective tables as the Championship moves onto round three and the 'endurance' race at Silverstone in June.

For TF Sport, despite the disappointment of race 2 in GT3, Snetterton has proved itself to be something of a success after the disaster of Oulton Park with their first podiums and points in both classes. Their account is now open and that will also encourage their #2 and #95 cars to do likewise.


For Academy Motorsport, two DNF's for one of their two GT4 cars in each of Sunday's two races was something that team boss Matt Nichol Jones and his young drivers didn't deserve but they will overcome their issues to succeed (hopefully) sooner rather than later.

For Optimum's three cars it was good and bad. For their Silver Cup GT3 entry it was an extension to their championship lead over the #7 TPR Bentley whereas their two GT4's struggled with pace all weekend - kept another clean race but leave Norfolk with just a handful of points between them. As they become more accustomed to and can harness the full potential of their GT4's then their points will come.


Finally with Beechdean AMR team, the GT3 pairing of Andrew Howard and Marco Sorenson also leave with just a single point having never appeared able to challenge. At least their disappointment can be countered with the second podium and first race win of the season for their #11 GT4 crew - a result that sees them take the overall lead in the GT4 Pro-Am title race.

Next stop Silverstone.

Photo credits - Steve Jackman (as watermarked)

Some very interesting and jumbled sets of lap times have come out of the first day of track action at the second round of the British GT Championship from the Snetterton 300 race track in Norfolk today.

With eleven Aston Martin Racing cars again competing within the thirty six car grid spread across both GT3 and GT4 with the latter also being split between the Pro-Am and Silver Cup classes, early action within this mornings two Free Practice sessions saw some more early pace setting from the AMR teams.


On a greasy but drying track first thing this morning, it was the #2 TF Sport Vantage GT3 of Nicki Thiim and Mark Farmer who headed the timing screen with the #99 Beechdean AMR car of Marco Sorensen and Andrew Howard not far being in P3. In GT4, it was the #11 Beechdean AMR car of Martin Plowman and Kelvin Fletcher who were flying the flag with an overall P4 with the #97 TF Sport GT4 of Tom Canning and Ashley Hand again showing early pace.

As the track dried for the final Free Practice of the morning, again the #2 TF Sport car headed the AMR bunch and again just ahead of the #Beechdean AMR GT3 in P4 and P5 respectively. In GT4, whilst times had quickened - positions on the timing screen had dropped with the #97 again the fastest.


With Snetterton being another race double header, that obviously meant that each car's Pro and Am driver each submitted their own time to determine their respective starting position for each of tomorrows races.

For race 1 (with the amateurs starting), the #47 TF Sport GT3 of Graham Davidson and Jonny Adam will start form the second row of the grid in P3 having finished just 0.303 behind the pole setting BMW. The #96 Optimum GT3 of Ollie Wilkinson and Bradley Ellis is P6 with the #99 Beechdean AMR finally beating the #2 TF Sport to start race 1 in P11 and P12 respectively.


In GT4 Am Qualifying, it appears that circuit owner Jonathon Palmer's loathe of track limit abuse came very much into play with multiple laps times being removed by Race Control. The #95 TF Sport car of Patrick Kibble and Josh Price was not one of those for them to secure a P3 start in class eight places ahead of the next AMR in P11 with the #35 Optimum car of Connor O'Brien and Jack Butel.

For tomorrows second race, it will be the turn of the Pro drivers to take the start and it will be a return to the front for the #2 TF Sport car of AMR factory driver Nicki Thiim who claimed that accolade by just 0.055 of a second from the #72 Barwell Lambourghini. The teams sister #47 car starts P7 with Jonny Adam and the #99 Beechdean AMR of third AMR factory driver Marco Sorensen in P8. Bradley Ellis' #96 Optimum car completes the AMR grid in P11.


In the GT4 Pro class and with the exception of the #97 TF Sport car which starts in P2, if you want to see another Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4 then you will sadly need to look towards the rear of the grid with five AMR cars making up the final eight cars on grid. The issue here was that the #35, #75 and #95 cars were all hit with track limits (which presumably would have been their 'fastest' runs.

As with every GT race in the Championship - anything can and indeed usually does happen - we only have to look back to the opening rounds at Oulton Park to see that and it will be interesting to see what lessons have been learned from the drivers, especially the younger GT4 ones in order to channel their obviously driving talent into something that has restraint and control. With most of these youngsters also under the Aston Martin Racing Driver Academy - support and advice is never too far away!


Race 1 starts at 11:10hrs and Race 2 at 15:25hrs

Photo credits - Jacob Ebrey / Optimum