With just three more round of the 2018 GT Cup calendar remaining, Whitebridge AMR duo of Chris Murphy and Adam Hatfield are pushing for the overall crown after another top step class finish from Oulton Park at the weekend.

First up on Saturday was Hatfield who claimed class pole by just 0.5 of a second ahead of the #15 Ginetta before race 1 proved to be something of a quiet affair with an important lights to flag race winning performance and class fastest lap from the Norfolk based driver.

“It was a good race and a nice, quiet, uneventful race for a change,” said Hatfield. “It feels good to be able to just go and build a gap and maintain it until the end.

It appears that the Hud Motorsport Aston Martin Racing V12 Vantage GT3's participation in the GT Cup Series has unfortunately come to a premature end with the car already being pulled from the provisional entry for the next round at Oulton Park and perhaps for the remainder of the season.

Whilst there has been no official confirmation of this, we believe that a continuing disagreement with the Series regarding the scoring system for single cars in a class has lead to Nigel Hudson withdrawing the #12 car that he has raced so successfully this year with Adam Wilcox to lie second overall and first in their GTO class.

Snetterton was again a very productive race meeting for the two Aston Martin Racing teams competing for  both the overall championship win and their respective classes in the fourth round of the GT Cup championship.

Hudmotorsport's Nigel Hudson and Adam Wilcox looked particularly racey after a successful round last time out at Spa Francorchamps where Hudson secured his first race win of the season. Meanwhile, Whitebridge AMR would turn up with their latest V8 Vantage GT4 acquisition for team boss Chris Murphy and No2 Adam Hatfield to help strengthen their own class position after two previous rounds aboard a Ginetta.

Two of Aston Martin Racing's finest finally return to what is a very hot and sunny Snetterton race track for the fourth round of the GT Cup championship this weekend.

We say finally, as Whitebridge AMR had the misfortune of 'loosing' one of their available V8 Vantage GT4's in a crash whilst testing for another series and have since then been competing in a Team Hard Ginetta for the last two rounds, which at least had kept their class championship title hopes alive.

Whitebridge AMR drivers Chris Murphy and local lad Adam Hatfield return with the teams latest AMR acquisition that the they ran at the Aston Martin Racing Festival at Le Mans earlier this month as well as the last round of the Britcar Championship last weekend. The more observant of you will see that their #72 car is indeed a former Generation AMR SuperRacing car that Murphy purchased from James Holder after the earlier accident, a purchase that allowed the car to win its class at the Le Mans Festival!

In the weekend of apparent Aston Martin misfortunate and incident, one shining exception to that was the JMH prepared Hud Motorsport Aston Martin Racing V12 Vantage GT3 of Nigel Hudson and Adam Wilcox after they battled and won at Spa Francorchamps in the third round of the Bute GT Cup Championship.

Normally a three race meeting, the twenty four cars that made the journey over to Spa, Belgium would compete in two - fifty minute races, both with pit stops so that both Pro and Am drivers would get the full racing experience that the iconic circuit deserves.


Infamous for having more seasons in one day than there are actual seasons, Spa didn't disappoint with a mixture of sun and torrential rain over Friday as the teams tested for the weekend's work ahead of them but fortunately that all settled down in time the two races held over Saturday and Sunday.

Race 1 started like it would all be going wrong for the #12 car as Hudson was quickly pinged for an alleged jump start as the car ahead dropped away from the lead car just at at the green light but that drive through penalty just served to bring down the 'red mist' for him as he then went hammer and tongues before he handed over to Wilcox.

“I thought it had a problem, so I went for it, but we got a penalty for jumping the start. Adam then did a great job, we overcame it, and won! I really enjoyed it” said Hudson after the race having taken the chequered flag by nearly twenty seconds.

If it wasn't for the presence of that pesky Optimum Motorsport Audi R8 LMS, then Nigel Hudson's Aston Martin Racing's V12 Vantage GT3 would have had a clean sweep of round two of the GT Cup Championship from Brands Hatch - or so they say!

Having enjoyed a cracking start to the 2018 Championship at Donington Park last month, the Hudson/Adam Wilcox combo enjoyed a win and two second places with their JMH prepared car and were obviously hoping that Brands Hatch would permit them to improve upon that performance but that plan hadn't figured on Optimum Motorsport entering their GT Open car as a one off to help the development of their two drivers in that championship.


Such was the dominance of the #96 Audi that they scored the best time in all track sessions except for not being on pole for the start of Race 2 on Saturday.

With the rules requiring Hudson (Am) to race alone in the first two races of the event on Saturday, he transposed a P4 start to the race to a P2 finish in a shortened first race due to a nasty looking incident with a back marker getting nailed from behind by a faster McLaren which necessitated a red flag.

For race 2, Hudson started from P3 on the grid before earning himself another P2 finish (behind the Audi) at the end of that 25 minute race but some 23 seconds back.


Sunday's race of course allowed the inclusion of the teams' professional drivers and Wilcox was sure that he could match the pace of the #96 Audi if the team could resolve their apparent (soft) brake issue. They would finishing morning warm up and Qualifying in P2.

With the #96 car again soon making its escape up the track from the off, the #12 Hud Motorsport car found itself having to fend off the attentions of the yellow FF Corse 488 Challenge car with both cars pitting together at the half way point. By this point the gap from 1st to second was already 22 seconds so it was again just a question of the next two steps of the podium.


After that point, the power differences between the GTO class Aston and the GTC class Ferrari, despite the Pro drivers now aboard, allowed Wilcox to move comfortably away from the Ferrari to end the race nearly a lap ahead.

Overall, that result would be the team's third - second place of the meeting which, in the absence of any official confirmation, should place the #12 car at the head of the GTO Class as the championship's annual pilgrimage to Spa Francorchamps in early June.


For the Chris Murphy/Adam Hatfield pairing - their Brands Hatch event was aboard a Team Hard Ginetta GT55 GT4 as their normal Aston Martin Racing GT4 was extensively damaged during a test for the Britcar Endurance Championship last week.

The other Aston runner at Brands was the Ultimate Speed prepared V12 Vantage GT3 for Mike Brown and Paul Cripps as they used the event to prepare themselves for the forthcoming Aston Martin Racing Festival at Le Mans next month.

Photo credits - Steve Jackman / GT Cup

The second event of the 2018 Bute GT Cup Championship starts tomorrow from Brands Hatch with another three races around the iconic Grand Prix loop for the twenty four car entry.

Having had a near perfect start to the season, the #12 Hud Motorsport duo of Nigel Hudson and Adam Wilcox return looking to still improve upon the 1st/2nd/2nd results last time out at Donington in their Aston Martin Racing V12 Vantage GT3.

Usual full season GT4 competitors, Whitebridge AMR will not however be at the event having suffered one of their cars being (?) written off in a testing accident before the Britcar event at Silverstone this time last week and with that car being (?) repaired/replaced and their second car being prepared for the Aston Martin Racing Festival at Le Mans next month, drivers Chris Murphy and Adam Hatfield have swapped over to a Ginetta G55 GT4 from the Team Hard stable.


Mentioning the AMR Festival, the Ultimate Racing team of Mike Brown returns to the track at GT Cup meeting for what is expected to be another one-off event (seen above testing at Brands Hatch earlier this week) as he and co driver Paul Cripps prepare themselves for the big event at Le Sarthe. Don't expect those horrible looking extended exhaust silencers to feature in the race weekend though!!

As usual, the meeting will feature three races - two for the Am driver racing solo on Saturday with a third race on Sunday featuring a pit stop and driver change.

Photo credit - Steve Jackman

It was something of a triumphant return to the Bute GT Cup Championship for both Hud Motorsport and Whitebridge AMR at season opener from Donington Park last weekend.

Nigel Hudson returned with his JMH prepared V12 Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 running in the top flight GTO class with professional co-driver Adam Wilcox again by his side. Despite having won a whole plethora of silverware last season the duo will be looking to do something better this year to win the championship outright.


Also returning to the Championship was Chris Murphy's Whitebridge AMR outfit, again running a 2016 spec V8 Vantage GT4 in the newly established GTH class along with team newcomer Adam Hatfield.

After most teams enjoyed a test day at the circuit on Thursday, the #12 JMH Aston was fastest at the end of Free Practice enjoying a half second lead over Paul Bailey in his Ferrari. For Whitebridge AMR, it was still a case of track time having had limited running since the driving pair came together for the first time at the AMR Collecive Test in Portimao earlier last month.


For the Hudson and Wilcox team, that quick start to events transpired into dream start for Race 1, with Hudson having firstly claimed overall pole before he then went on to claim an emphatic lights to flag win with a winning gap of over ten seconds to the second place Mosler. For Hatfield, he was also able to replicate the marque's GTO success by turning around his own perhaps 'slower' start to the weekend to claim P2 in his own class


For Race 2 is was this time  a P2 start for Hudson in the #12 car with an improved P11 start for Murphy in the #72 car. For most of the race the outcome appeared to have hinged upon the outcome of a failed move from the Aston on the pole sitting Mosler at the first corner that allowed the Gibson McLaren to out manoeuvre the #12 for position. Fortunately for Hudson, the delicate Mosler faulted mid race allowing them to reclaim their second place on track and a second place for the race.


The Murphy/Hatfield crew continued their own continuity by claiming their second - second in class finish of the weekend having started P2 in class which was all a pretty successful start to a Saturday's motorsport!


The final race of the opening round came on Sunday with the pitstop round where both drivers would compete. Hudson and Wilcox again took the honours in morning warm up before the duo later qualified P3 overall for the final race behind their main protagonists in the 650S McLaren and Mosler. Murphy and Hatfield meanwhile qualified their GT4 again second in class, P11 overall.


The final fifty minute race took a familiar tone, the #12 JMH Hud Motorsport car was this time able to overcome the Gibson 650S McLaren but unable to catch the more powerful (but sometimes delicate) Mosler to finish the day P2 overall 23 seconds down to the winner.

For Hatfield and Murphy, it was a simple case of being second, second, second as the #72 car clocked up its third second place of the weekend, again behind the more nimbler #23 Maserati GT4.


Overall, that was a very successful start for both teams as they now look forward to the slower but more technical GP circuit at brands Hatch next time out in May.

Photo credits - Steve Jackman (Eat My Pixels) / Adam Hatfield
Source material - Steve Jackman

In the midst of a busy consecutive racing weekend for racers Chris Murphy and Adam Hatfield, this weekend sees them both trading opposing cars at the opening rounds of the Britcar Endurance Championship at Rockingham for the same car at the opening rounds of the GT Cup Championship at Donington.

This weekend will see the duo's first race out together whilst sharing one of Murphy's Whitebridge Motorsport prepared Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage GT4.

Perhaps one of the most successful Aston Martin Racing customer teams of 2017 was Hud-Motorsport who collected a staggering twenty six podium finishes spread between two series in their Aston Martin Racing V12 Vantage GT3.

With team boss Nigel Hudson and co driver Adam Wilcox having experienced some 'difficulties' in their transition between their former Audi R8 and the new AMR Vantage GT3 during the pre-season stage last year, that was soon put behind them as they ended the year with the following results.

GT Cup

5x First Place finishes
10x Second Place finishes
4x Third Place finishes
3x DNF's

Britcar

3x First Place finishes
3x Second Place finishes
1x Third Place finishes


Tomorrow should see the team return to the track with their first test of 2018 at Donington having confirmed their participation in the GT Cup series this morning.

Photo credits - Hud-Motorsport

Seems that Aston Martin Racing announcements just keep on coming this month as we learn of another extra-ordinary announcement this evening for the British GT championship.

Joining those AMR teams so far announced for 2018, including TF Sport, Beechdean AMR, Optimum Motorsport and most latterly Academy Motorsport, tonight we learn that the Jetstream Motorsport will become the latest in the long line of Aston Martin Racing customer teams to venture into the national GT championship featuring another all-star driver line up.


Reigning GT Cup Champion Graham Davidson steps up from the Bute national series after a domineering solo driven series last aboard his McLaren MP4-12C which his team have now 'mothballed' until such time as it qualifies for historic races. Having had many a battle with the Hudmotorsport V12 Vantage of Nigel Hudson and Adam Wilcox it comes as no real surprise to see Davidson progress in British GT aboard his own new V12 Vantage - also with the assistance of an AMR factory driver in Maxime Martin to boot.

McLaren GT's loss is certainly Aston Martin Racings gain.......!!

“The V12 Vantage was deemed the best option for many reasons, but Jetstream was particularly sold by Aston Martin Racing’s at-circuit support, the car’s championship-winning pedigree and its reputation for being built around the gentleman driver. Ultimately, I’m in the British GT Championship to win it and I’m delighted with who and what we’ve pulled together. Now it’s just up to us to take the car across the finish line and achieve some results.” said Davidson.

Full season GT Cup runners Hud Motorsport were not the only AMR GT3 runners for this weekend's racing at Oulton Park that made up the fifth round of the GT Cup Championship.

Adam Wilcox and Nigel Hudson presently lie second in the GTO class with their JMH Automotive prepared Aston Martin Racing V12 Vantage GT3 and they were joined by the Ultimate Speed Racing V12 Vantage with occasional British GT entries Mike Brown and Matty Manderson for what we believe to be a one off entry.


For the AMR pairing, Oulton Park proved to be fruitful with the #12 Hud Motorsport car securing P3 in race one with the #26 Ultimate car a few places behind in fifth whilst in race two it was a double podium for the teams with the #26 car securing P2 and the #12 car in P3.

A great result for all.

Photo credits - GT Cup/JMH

VICTORY IN SPA FOR 98

Aston Martin Racing secured its first win of the year, with the 98 Vantage GTE of Paul Dalla Lana, Pedro Lamy and Mathias Lauda taking a win at the Six Hours of Spa. The previous day the trio had put their car on pole, meaning they took the full 26 points on offer to secure the lead in both the GTE Am teams' and drivers' championships. It was a fitting way for Pedro Lamy to celebrate his 60th race with the team.

TURNER TURNS 80 WHILE LAMY HITS 60

Spa saw milestones for two of Aston Martin Racing's stalwarts. Pedro Lamy celebrated his 60th race for the works team with a win, while Darren Turner hit 80. Both drivers have been with the team since the very beginning, with both competing in the team's debut race at Sebring in 2005, when Turner took the Aston Martin DBR9 to a maiden victory, while Lamy finished down the order in the second car. However the roles were reversed at the next race with Lamy winning the RAC Tourist Trophy at Silverstone, and Turner in second. Despite the number of races, the two have driven together in the same car on only five occasions at the Nurburgring 24 Hours, Daytona and Sebring.
ASTON SUCCESS IN VIRGINIA

The latest round of the Pirelli World Challenge Sprint X saw TRG AMR and Art Racing take wins in the GT3 and GT4 classes. Drew Regitz and
Kris Wilson took a first and second place in the GT class in their Vantage GT3, while Aristotle Balogh and Greg Liefooghe took two firsts in the GTS class in their Vantage GT4.
HUD VICTORIOUS IN BRITCAR

Nigel Hudson and Adam Wilcox, driving the JMH-prepared Aston Martin Vantage GT3, posted a convincing overall win in the short 50-minute race at the latest round of the Britcar Endurance series at Snetterton. The pair then followed this up with second place in the two hour race.
OMAN RACING WINS BLANCPAIN

Ahmad Al Harty and Aston Martin Racing works driver, Jonny Adam, took Pro-Am class victory at the opening round of the Blancpain GT Series to see the Omani national anthem played for the very first time at Monza.

Adam put the Oman Racing Team with TF Sport V12 Vantage GT3 on Pro-Am pole and set the overall fastest lap during his race stint which saw him rein in a 12 second deficit to secure victory.

MACMILLAN PODIUM IN BRITISH GT

Macmillan AMR drivers James Littlejohn and Jack Mitchell took their first GT3 podium in a two hour race at the second round of the British GT at Rockingham. The two TF Sport Vantage GT3s filled the front row of the grid for the race, but would finish down in 7th and 8th. The result maintained the team's second place in the championship.

Inspired to return to the Britcar Endurance Championship following their silverware winning 'toe in the water' experience last month at Silverstone, Hud Motorsport's Nigel Hudson and Adam Wilcox saw their AMR winning silverware expand again as they returned for Round 2 of the Series at Snetterton this weekend.

Having swapped from the Audi R8 LMS platform over the winter the team didn't exactly have a stress free period of pre season testing (missing an engine at he time) before embarking on a predominantly a GT Cup orientated season.

Using the opening round of the Britcar Endurance Championship as principally an extended test, all were surprised (especially them) when they came away with a podium in the second race at only the second tome of asking. On top of that, their opening races within the GT Cup series extended their haul  further with a trio of podium finishes at Donington Park.


Then on Saturday the team made its way to Snetterton for Round 2 of Britcar.

Despite a heady field of mainly Ferrari based competition, the #12 Aston Martin racing V12 Vantage GT3 secured the top step for Race 1 and the second step for Race 2 - an incredible achievement for any team.

At this rate we should see this beautifully liveried car make an appearance in British GT……….!!

HUD Motorsport, the latest team to acquire an Aston Martin Racing V12 Vantage GT3 gave their new beast its first run out this week at Donington.

Running in the hands of at least Adam Wilcox, the to be JMH Automotive prepared car ran only a few number of laps in still a stunning bare carbon fibre guise for what we believe to be a simple shake down test following the cars 2016 specification upgrade.

Confirmation of which series this car will run in will not be confirmed by team owner Nigel Hudson until next year.



Photo credits - Adam Wilcox