Whereas Dinan and Foley were there for experience of both the European circuits visited by the series and the differences between the AMR Vantage GT3 and Ferrari 488 GT3 having now raced both with different teams this year, Hartshorne at al where there to see out their full season of running in their series in Portugal.

Having already seen out five prior races in the season as well as a racing visit to Le Mans during August for the 24Hr itself, the #95 crew finished off the final four race of the season in style with their best finish to date as well as having claimed another Class pole position beforehand courtesy of AMR factory driver Gunn.

Finishing the incident filled race eventually P7 in class (having had to serve an unwanted drive through penalty for track limits from P6), the race saw out Hartshorne’s ‘means to an end’ season as having started the year with the team in the Asian Le Mans Series, his application to the ACO to make a racing return to the 24Hours of Le Mans was later accepted and their participation in the ELMS used to hone that cause. Just where or if Harthorne does anymore racing with the team (or AMR at large) over the winter/next season is yet to be seen as with Dinan.

For the American duo in Spain, there was sadly to be no repeat of the success from their own series debut at Spa Francorchamps earlier in the year as again (like seen previously in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance finale there), the performance of the Aston Martin GT3 around the Catalunya circuit is not where the car wants/needs to be at and they were left with initially a P6 and a P7 finishes in their Pro Class for their efforts. That was however to change post-race as their race two result was to be penalised with an additional three seconds for causing a collision and that would drop them down to P9 overall.

Another weekend done and another two series done and dusted again for the year. For the team, they have the logistical problem of two remaining rounds of the World Endurance Championship that starts in Bahrain this weekend with the second and final round of that season just a week later!!

Busy busy!!

Photo credits – TF Sport / GT Open / ELMS / WEC

Since then, the pairing have been busy back Stateside in their respective GT World Challenge America and IMSA Series commitments but they have still found the time to return to the GT Open Series on an ad-hoc basis with Kessel Racing in one of their Ferrari 488 GT3’s at both the Hungaroring and most recently at Monza where Dinan competing as a solo driver. TF Sport have also been back at the series at the Red Bull Ring with drivers Sam De Haan and Charlie Eastwood where they secured an overall race win.

The winter months may go onto to shed some light on just which way Dinan may go with any potential GT3 programme on either side of the Atlantic after these competitive ‘tests’!

Photo credit – GT Open / TF Sport

Saturday saw Dinan take the start of race one from the second row, P4, where the Silver driver had qualified earlier that day. Unfortunately, multiple safety car periods denied Dinan the chance to progress through the field.

After serving a timed handicap for being a new entrant, Foley enjoyed some stellar door-to-door racing in the latter half of the 70-minute battle and climbed through the order to cross the line in second place.

The Pro class team were keen to repeat their performance on the Sunday. Foley obliged by placing the #97 Vantage GT3 in third position for the race start and yet again, battled hard and stayed glued to his competitors throughout his 30-minute stint.

A success penalty was added to TF Sport’s stop from the previous race’s result, but Dinan returned to the track in third and another trip to the podium was looking certain, until disaster struck in the form of a rear left puncture. After pitting for a replacement, Dinan headed back on track in P10, where he remained until the flag.

The American duo will return to the International GT Open grid in the TF Sport Aston Martin Vantage GT3, at the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya on October 23-24.

Source material - TF Sport

With good weather initially upon their side around the (sadly again crowd less circuit), it was to be Dinan who set their Q1 Qualifying time on Saturday to place their car P4 overall on the grid and P3 in their elective Pro Class for the later 70-minute race.

Unfortunately for all, an early Safety Car on lap two for a GT Open Cup car in the barrier at Eau rouge lost them some time before going back to green with 55 minutes remaining. Having lost a couple of places at the start, Dinan was using what knowledge of the circuit he had so far gained to stop himself losing more track position just as a further Safety Car period was called for a more serious incident involving one of the Optimum McLaren’s.

With that driver thankfully be confirmed as incurring a back injury but otherwise OK considering what might have been, it was back to racing with little over half an hour remaining. The pit window had already been put back to accommodate the caution period but that left only another lap for Dinan before he ultimately pitted from P7.

Emerging from pit lane in what was P7 overall and P2 in Pro, Foley immediately got down to battle fellow countryman Brendan Iribe and the other Optimum McLaren for position on track. More experienced than Iribe, it didn’t take him too long to pass to eventually move up to P2 overall by the end of the pit window.

With the leading Porsche way out in front, there was little chance of the #97 TF Sport car could doing anything about that, so the Americans had to ‘settle’ for a P2 finish in the inaugural race at Spa and in an AMR GT3.

Torrential thunderstorms overnight in Belgium had washed all of the laid rubber away making for a very green and damp track during this morning’s Q2 session for Foley, ahead of this afternoon’s hour-long affair.

Qualifying and starting the car from P3 on the grid, Foley tried as hard as he might to pass the Mercedes and Audi ahead of him, and despite going nearly three wide at times had to back off slightly and take a degree of caution to the situation ahead although the visual spectacle made for some very exciting racing.

At Quarter distance, TF Sport’s team manager was summoned to Race Control for their car’s persistent abuse of track limits but fortunately no penalty came from that as Foley could do no more than hold P3 on track.

Pitting just after the halfway mark, seconds were lost as the crew had to push the car back into its bay as the second placed Mercedes was already into its spot immediately before them. Exiting P3 in the race but with three Pro drivers now aboard the cars ahead, there was not a lot that Dinan could do to remedy the situation.

All was looking good for another podium finish as a rapid deflation of the left rear tyre saw the #97 lose both speed and track position as he limped it back to the pits – which luckily was only three corners away!!

Returning to the track tenth overall and fourth in class – that would be how their Spa experience would end – not quite the fairy-tale double podium as a non-puncture would have permitted but a sound race none the less.

Both Dinan and Foley are due back to compete in the final round of the Series with the team at Barcelona at the end of October after which, (hopefully) we may hear of their race plans for the 2022 season and beyond!!

Photo credits – GT Open / Team

Today’s post’s do not disclose just with what or where Dinan will be racing in 2021 but one thing for sure is that he will now not be defending his GT4 America Sprint and Sprint X crowns confirmed earlier this year.