Four Aston Martin's to see out 2021 GT Cup Championship season from Snetterton
The GT Cup Championship holds its final meeting of their 2021 season this weekend from the Snetterton racetrack in Norfolk with a larger than usual entry list for their final four races of the year which includes one or two returning names from the Aston Martin Racing extended family of teams and drivers.
Last time out two weeks ago from Donington Park was something of a ‘win some – loose some’ weekend for the two-season long AMR Vantage GT4 entries from Century Motorsport and Feathers Motorsport.
One lowly result from four races including two DNF’s and one DNS for the #82 Feathers GTH Class car of James Guess and Tom Canning kind of summed up their weekend after accident damage was sustained in that weekends opening sprint race whilst the #15 Century prepared car of David Holloway and Bradley Ellis did at least punctuate their two mid class finishes with a podium P2 finish in the weekends first pit stop race before also finishing that weekend off with a DNF of their own.
Both cars are back this weekend to see out their season in this championship but with Darren Turner returning to the Feathers team having skipped another round due to his commitments at the Goodwood Revival that weekend. Sadly, neither car are now in any championship standing of note so for these four drivers it will be a simple matter of Gentleman pride being at stake!!
Joining them in Norfolk will be the return of the Ultimate Speed Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage GT3 of Mike Brown and Matt Manderson in their #47 car after their last run out in the Championship at the circuit back in early June.
Completing the AMR contingent within the thirty-six car entry is the #72 24-7 Motorsport AMR GT4 N24 car of Chris Murphy and Michael Coker. Whilst Murphy is a regular GT Cup campaigner, we have only seen Coker out once before in his (then) Valour Racing prepared Aston at the Silverstone round of the Britcar Endurance Championship.
This final round will again be made up of four races – one sprint for the Am driver and one pit stop punctuated race over Saturday and Sunday.
Photo credits – GT Cup / Teams
Monday, September 27, 2021 |
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Four races at Silverstone this weekend for the three Aston Martin runners in GT Cup
For the Aston Martin Racing family of teams that compete within the Championship either on a full time or part time basis, this weekend should see the return of Darren Turner to the Feathers Motorsport team and their #82 AMR Vantage GT4 that they run for James Guess, as well as the #15 Century Motorsport team ran AMR Vantage for both David Holloway and Bradley Ellis. Chris Murphy also returns to the Championship again having dipped in and out over the last few rounds with his (new for him) #72 AMR Vantage GT4 that he drives solo.
Turner missed the last two rounds of the Championship, both at Snetterton and Oulton but left Guess in the capable hands of Tom Canning where they came away from those rounds with a pair of podium finishes between them. Getting the taste for champagne in his British GT GT4 customer duties, we sense that their race intentions will be strong.
For the #15 Century car, whilst Oulton Park did reward the duo with some silverware the season so far for them has been of something so close but so far as Ellis was originally meant to be the driver coach for Holloway racing alongside Adam Hatfield.
With Free Practice and Qualifying on Saturday morning, the afternoon will feature both a twenty-five-minute sprint race for the Am driver followed with a fifty-minute pit stop race for both drivers (if they have two) later in the afternoon.
Sunday will follow a similar format with Free Practice and Qualifying again in the morning followed by another single driver sprint race and another pit stop punctuated race in the afternoon.
Present Championship positions see the #82 crew drop down to P13 in the overall table and down to P3 in their GTH Class. The #15 Century lies P28 overall and P7 in class whilst the #72 Whitebridge car (thanks to its periodic attendances with first his normally aspirated AMR and then his new generation AMR) in P9 in class.
Photo credits – GT Cup / Teams
Tuesday, August 10, 2021 |
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No AMR success in Britcar Endurance at this weekends visit to Silverstone
Their second visit of the year to the Northamptonshire circuit after the season opener back in April, Saturday’s round would this time be a two-hour affair for which attracted a four car AMR Vantage entry.
The #68 Team Brit entry for Aaron Morgan and Bobby Trundley had been scoring at least one podium finish per event so far but technical issues for these guys early into the day’s proceedings yesterday clearly had them on the back foot, from which they would not recover.
The top Qualifying AMR car was the #38 Vantage GT4 of Dale Albutt who would start from P22 overall and P6 in Class 4. They would be followed by the #68 car in P24/P8 and then the newer, turbo charged 2019 AMR Vantage GT4 of Chris Murphy just behind. The fourth car came in the form of Mike Coker’s Valour Racing #73 car who would start his first Britcar event from P27 (P1 in class being the only INV class car to run).
Having started upon a dry track it wasn’t long before the rain started to fall, initially only around parts of the circuit but not all of it as many hung on in there with their slick tyres.
We lost the #73 car with steering issues after only nine laps but the other three full season entries continued through rain and sunshine before the weather front eventually passed over.
With the weather having now stabilised to dry with periodic bouts of sunshine, the race was then allowed to flow through to its conclusion.
By the end of the two hours, Murphy was the highest placed AMR car P18 overall/P5 in class with the #7 Triple M Automotive AMR of Dale and Mark Albutt next in P20/P7. The #68 Team Brit car would conclude its day’s proceedings in a disappointing P23/P8
Photo credits - Britcar / Teams
Sunday, July 04, 2021 |
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Britcar at Silverstone for 120min Round four with up to four Aston Martins
Amongst the so far full season entry from the #68 Team Brit car of Aaron Morgan and Bobby Trundley again features the #38 Triple M Automotive entry for Dale and Mark Albutt as well as the #72 Chris Murphy and his new 2019 specification of car. They will also be joined by Mike Coker and his #73 Valour Racing AMR on this week’s provisional entry list for Saturday’s two-hour race.
The #68 Team Brit crew presently sit in fifth place in the Endurance Championship after podium finishes at all the previous rounds so far which is a remarkable achievement considering their own set of personal circumstances that motor racing is helping them (and others with the team’s multi-class racing programme) to overcome.
Qualifying is due to take place just before noon with the start of the 120 minute race being flagged off at 15:55hrs
Photo credits – Team Brit / Eat my Pixels
Wednesday, June 30, 2021 |
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A tough weekend for the AMR runners at Snetterton in GT Cup
With trophies a plenty and won all round at the opening round at Donington Park in mid-April and another at the restricted programme second round at Brands Hatch at the beginning of May, Snetterton left Ultimate Speed Racing’s AMR Vantage GT3, Feathers Motorsport, Century Motorsport and Whitebridge Motorsport AMR Vantage GT4’s all having ‘wanted’ a little something to break into the podium positions during this weekend’s four race programme.
Not even the presence of the 2019 British GT GT4 Champion Tom Canning, deputising for Darren Turner within the Feathers team with James Guess was enough to break the stalemate – well until the final pits stop race of the weekend where the #82 car eventually secured a P2 finish within the GTH class.
David Holloway again had Bradley Ellis with him aboard their #15 car and the best that they could do was a P4 finish in class during Saturday’s pit stop race whilst Chris Murphy learned more about his ex. David Appleby Engineering AMR Vantage GT4 having only acquired it in time for the round at Brands Hatch.
David Holloway again had Bradley Ellis with him aboard their #15 car and the best that they could do was a P4 finish in class during Saturday’s pit stop race whilst Chris Murphy learned more about his ex. David Appleby Engineering AMR Vantage GT4 having only acquired it in time for the round at Brands Hatch.
The #47 Ultimate Speed Vantage GT3 car of Mike Brown gave a good representation of himself but again lacked that little punch that his normal co-driver Matt Manderson would have brought to the car but still, they had a good meeting despite some very close attention from some competitors.
With the Championship season still young, it is still too early for teams to think too hard about the end goal as the Championship moves onto Oulton Park in a month’s time.
Photo credits – GT Cup / Teams
Sunday, June 06, 2021 |
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Four Aston's with a new name in GT Cup's visit to Snetterton
Mike Brown and Matt Manderson return with their AMR Vantage GT3 after a relatively successful season debut in the opening round of the British GT Championship at Brands Hatch two weeks ago, having skipped the opening round of the GT Cup at Donington earlier in April. The team did race at the adapted second round of the season at Brands Hatch at the start of May, but the team do appear to be using the GT Cup calendar as an active race/test scenario before their selected round entry into British GT but their participation is welcome none the less.
Full season entries from Flowers Motorsport, Whitebridge Motorsport and Century Motorsport however, all come back with the sole purpose of trying to win their respective GTH class with their AMR Vantage GT4 platforms.
All three teams lay within the top six in class and two out of the three will feature differing co-drivers than first stated at the start of the season as 2019 British GT GT4 Champion as Tom Canning joins James Guess and his second placed in class #82 Flowers Motorsport in lieu of Darren Turner who will be racing at the ADAC Total N24 in Germany this weekend. Canning comes to Norfolk 'fresh' from his GT4 European Series exploits from Paul Ricard of last weekend.
Then the sixth placed in class #15 Century Motorsport prepared car of David Holloway will again be joined by their driver coach Bradley Ellis as Adam Hatfield sadly continues to be absent through personal reasons.
That leaves the #72 AMR of a solo Chris Murphy who presently lies P5 in the GTH class having swapped to a 2019 specification AMR Vantage GT4 prior to the Brands Hatch round from his older 2016 generation GTB classed Aston.
The #52 Deranged Motorsport AMR Vantage GT4 of Matt Lewis and Ollie Brown again continues to be absent from the entry list and has not been since the car failed during the second race of the opening round at Donington Park, and despite Matt Lewis being named within the AMR Drivers Academy 2021 intake just a couple of weeks ago.
Unlike the previous round at Brands Hatch where the GT Cup grid competed just a single 50-minute pit stop punctuated race, the Snetterton round reverts back to a traditional three race format over both Saturday and Sunday. Also, and unlike the last round at Brands, fans are permitted into the circuit at Snetterton but tickets do have to be purchased in advance as they will not be available at the gate.
Photo credits – GT Cup / Teams
Photo credits – GT Cup / Teams
Monday, May 31, 2021 |
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Team Brit secure Britcar double at rain soaked Snetterton
Congratulations go again to the Team Brit Aston Martin Racing crew of Aaron Morgan and Bobby Trundley for going some better than last time out at a rain soaked second round of the Britcar Endurance Championship today at Snetterton.
Despite what the week’s earlier provisional entry list suggested, the #68 normally aspirated AMR Vantage GT4 sadly turned out to be the sole representative from the marque amongst the twenty-nine car grid.
Having Qualified in P10 overall (second in their Group 4 class) behind the EDF Motorsport Seat Cupra again, race 1 started for Trundley in gloomy conditions as heavy rain swept in by strong winds dramatically affected track conditions with a Safety Car being required at the halfway point of the hour-long race to allow for the recovery of a stranded car having ran as high as P4 overall.
Going back to green, Morgan was soon taken for Class position by the EDF car but still had track position to maintain their P2 position in class during the remaining ten minutes to claim their second podium of the season.
Starting the afternoons second and final race of their meeting from the fifth row, Morgan would at least have the chance of starting on a wet to drying track as the light began to fade under the still cloudy sky.
Progressing well, two more stranded cars again called out the Safety Car just ahead of the pitstop window but delays on track and a scary incident in pit lane for three cars lead to further delays in going back to green.
Losing nearly half the race duration to these incidences, Trundley would have only about fifteen minutes to see out the day’s proceedings and from fifth in class at the resumption of racing, Trundley would eventually take the lead of Group four with just three minutes remaining to round off a brilliant weekend for them and this special team
Well done them all!
Photo credits - Team Brit
Saturday, May 08, 2021 |
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Rough with the smooth for the Feathers AMR crew in GT Cup at Brands Hatch
This weekend also saw the second meeting of the GT Cup Championship from Brands Hatch on Saturday, this time featuring just two 50-minute pit stop punctuated races for its very impressive starting grid of 45 cars.
Like the Donington round before it, Brands Hatch was again being run from behind closed doors so once again, we all had to revert to their new live stream for our appreciation of the four Aston Martin Racing runners.
The Ultimate Speed AMR Vantage GT3 of Matt Manderson and Mike Brown made their GT Cup 2021 debut this weekend (having raced with the series last year of course) with their new 2019 iteration of the Vantage GT3 platform that they will run periodically in both GT Cup and British GT. They joined season regulars from the Feathers Motorsport team for James Guess and Darren Turner as well as the Century Motorsport team for David Holloway and a returning Bradley Ellis (not sure what’s happened with Adam Hatfield) who both run the new 2019 Vantage GT4.
Interestingly, the shape of the #72 GTB Whitebridge Motorsport normally aspirated AMR entry has morphed in a new GTH Class AMR Vantage GT4 after Chris Murphy secured one of the former Appleby Engineering cars that have been on sale over the winter months.
Two, fifty-minute races were held on Saturday and both were interrupted by the Safety Car – thankfully only for marshal safety whilst the recovered stricken vehicles from around the track but interrupt the flow of the races they did none the less.
No joy for any AMR during race 1 with the #82 car collecting a puncture with all the GT4 cars finishing between P8-P12 in class. The #47 GT3 car finished P8 overall but against some fairly healthy GT3 opposition.
Race 2 was better however with the #82 Feathers AMR collecting another class podium in P2 but with the #15 Century car not too far behind in P4.
Next round of the Championship is at Snetterton in four weeks’ time.
Photo credits - GT Cup / Teams
Monday, May 03, 2021 |
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More Aston Martins at this weekends GT Cup from Brands Hatch
The second round of the GT Cup Championship comes from the Grand Prix circuit of Brands Hatch this weekend with an increased Aston Martin Racing contingent to that who featured so well at the opening round at Donington Park two weeks ago.
The #52 Deranged Motorsport AMR Vantage GT4 of Oli Brown and Matt Lewis make a return after suffering terminal issues that scuppered their earlier pace and podium success at Donington park as well does Chris Murphy (again running solo) aboard his older generation #72 Whitebridge Motorsport ran car who enjoyed equal class success last time out.
Also running the new turbo charged version of the Vantage GT4 like Deranged, sees both the #82 Feathers Motorsport Aston of James Guess and Darren Turner as well as the #15 Century Motorsport Aston of David Holloway and Adam Hatfield return to the tracks having secured four class podium positions between them.
Joining them on track this time around is the #47 Ultimate Speed AMR Vantage GT3 of Mike Brown and Matt Anderson as they get their latest race car out for the first time for a mixed bunch of GT Cup and British GT action. This weekend features just two pit stop punctuated races as it was due to run in support of the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Series that moved its race date in Kent back to the summer.
Unfortunately running again behind closed doors, the Championship has already proven that its live stream is very effective.
Photo credits – GT Cup / Teams
Tuesday, April 27, 2021 |
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Team Brit secure podium finish at opening round of Britcar Endurance
Congratulations to the #68 Team Brit pairing of Aaron Morgan and Bobby Trundley who yesterday secured their first podium finish of their 2021 season at the opening round of the Britcar Endurance Championships around the shorter International circuit variation at Silverstone.
On a tight one day schedule and having had something of an adventurous opening race yesterday where they got spun around whilst competing for third in class, the crew came back from a long Safety Car interrupted second hour long race of the day to finish P2 in class with their specially adapted, dual controlled Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage GT4.
A speedy young pair and despite that spin in race one, the #68 crew still finished first ahead of the other two AMR Vantage GT4 cars from both Whitebridge Motorsports and Triple M Automotive in both of the day’s races.
The Britcar Endurance Championships moves onto Round 2 at Snetterton on May 8th.
Photo credits – Britcar / Team Brit
Sunday, April 25, 2021 |
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Britcar out on track at Silverstone with three old school Vantages
All the older normally aspirated model of the Vantage GT4, Saturday’s two one-hour races will see entries from Triple M Automotive for Dale Albutt and Mark Albutt aboard their #38 machine, Bobby Trundley and Aaron Morgan aboard their #68 Team Brit car and finally Chris Murphy keeping himself busy along with his GT Cup commitments in his #72 Whitebridge car.
Thanks to Steve Jackman at Eat my Pixels, we have seen these cars on track at Silverstone earlier this month as their took up an early opportunity to circulate at the circuit during their pre-season official test day.
The race meeting itself will be conducted around the International circuit at Silverstone which incorporates the Wing pit lane, around Village, back onto the Hanger Straight through Stowe and finally in and out of Club.
Photo credits – Eat my Pixels / GT Cup
Thursday, April 22, 2021 |
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A successful start to their GT Cup Championship campaigns for AMR Vantage GT4 teams
Where we first thought that we would have three Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage GT4’s competing within that grid, we in fact ended up with four AMR’s after the Deranged Motorsport Team switched to the AMR GT4 platform having been first linked to a Bentley GT3 entry over the winter. Their 2019 Vantage GT4 joined those from Feathers Motorsport and Century Motorsport as well as the 2016 iteration run by the Whitebridge team.
Racing over both Saturday and Sunday, each day would see the Gentleman driver take on a solo 25-minute Sprint race in the morning before using their fastest laps to set the grid for the days fifty-minute pit stop punctuated race for them and their ‘Pro’ drivers.
The #52 Deranged squad of Matt Lewis and Oli Brown were certainly the fastest of the new AMR GT4 on Saturday taking a Class Pole to flag win in the Sprint race before missing out on a potential class win in the later endurance race by getting a 5 second penalty for passing under an earlier Safety Car.
The #52 Deranged squad of Matt Lewis and Oli Brown were certainly the fastest of the new AMR GT4 on Saturday taking a Class Pole to flag win in the Sprint race before missing out on a potential class win in the later endurance race by getting a 5 second penalty for passing under an earlier Safety Car.
The Feathers AMR of James Guess was equally racy over the weekend as they followed the Deranged car home in P2 in Saturday’s Sprint race as well as claiming a Class win in Sunday’s Sprint race after the retirement of the #52 Deranged car after mechanical issues in Sunday mornings Sprint and subsequent withdrawal from the weekends final race.
The Century Motorsport prepared AMR for David Holloway reacted well to the loss of Adam Hatfield even before the start of the race weekend as he was called away from the circuit, but his slot was soon taken by the team’s ‘resident’ driver coach Bradley Ellis. Holloway and Ellis would come close to securing their first AMR derived podium in GT Cup by finishing just off the podium in P4 in Saturdays endurance race.
Whilst the three new AMR Vantages were racing in the GTH Class, the #72 Whitebridge Motorsport car of Chris Murphy would be competing in the GTB class for older production-based car’s and he would have a good weekend with a podium finish in class both on Saturday and Sunday.
Moving in Sunday’s finale, another Safety Car interrupted race saw the #82 Feathers car of Guess and Darren Turner take another podium for their efforts this weekend by taking a class win with Holloway and Ellis rounding off the podium in P3. Leaving Donington, the #82 Feather car leads the GTH Class Championship by nine points.
The collective seven podium finishes was just icing on the cake after another entertaining weekend of racing that now moves on to Brands Hatch at the start of May.
Photo credits – GT Cup / Feathers / Century
Sunday, April 11, 2021 |
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GT Cup Championship opens their season at Donington at the weekend
Always an entertaining arena for multi-class GT racing in the UK, the Championship has always been a stepping-stone between club racing to those at the higher end of the spectrum – like with what we learned of Newbridge Motorsport with Matt Topham and Darren Turner progressing up to the British GT Championship today.
Amongst the impressive thirty-eight car entry for this weekend four opening races will now feature four Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage GT4’s – two being the older normally aspirated engine cars whilst two will be the newer 2019 specification, turbo charged model.
Long standing AMR runner and former GTH Class Champion, Chris Murphy again returns to the Championship as a solo driver with his older model of AMR GT4 competing in the GTB class along with the Deranged Motorsport squad of Matthew Lewis/Ollie Brown running their car in the GTH Class.
Joining these two entries will be the two new turbo charged AMR Vantage GT4’s from both Feathers Motorsport and Century Motorsport and their crews of James Guess with Darren Turner and David Holloway with former GTH Champion Adam Hatfield.
This won’t be the first time the latest AMR GT4 has competed in the Championship after Holloway ran an Optimum Motorsport prepared car at the Snetterton round in 2019 with the intention of running a full season entry in 2020 before COVID took care of that before Newbridge ran their new Vantage in selected rounds last season. Today we have had the first glimpses of the #15 Century Aston.
Hopefully, it will be better luck for all concerned this season.
Photo credits - Teams social media
Wednesday, April 07, 2021 |
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GT Cup concludes with a near clean sweep for the Newbridge AMR GT4 crew
The GT Cup Championship rounded off their 2020 season at the weekend with their second visit to Donington Park, this time upon the National circuit with their final four races of the year.
No repeat of 2018 when Whitebridge Motorsport with drivers Chris Murphy and Adam Hadfield won both the outright Championship title as well as the GT Class title with their older 2016 specification of Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4 but Murphy and new co-driver Steve Birt did finish this troubled season in a credible 5thin the Teams Championship.
The team and crew that certainly did go out on a high was the Newbridge Motorsport team of Matt Topham and Alex Toth-Jones who between them secured two class pole positions for the weekend’s first and third races into P1 finishes in class as well as a P2 in Class for race 2 as well as an overall P3 and P1 in class at the end of Sundays concluding race.
That was all down in the team’s purple and white Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice supporting 2019 specification AMRF Vantage GT4.
Hopefully, we will see these guys back again in a national championship somewhere next year!
Photo credits – Inked hand Images
Monday, October 26, 2020 |
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