With each of the 2 Seas Mercedes AMG GT3 based crews securing a convincing race win apiece in each of the two one-hour sprint races from Snetterton last time out, the #7 Blackthorn crew could do no more than fourth in the first and fifth in the second of the two races to now lie in third position in the drivers championship, still just nine points behind the leaders.

Results from last time out also mean that the #7 AMR Vantage GT3 crew are devoid of pit stop time penalties come Sunday’s race so track position will remain as an imperative factor going into Qualifying on Saturday.

Being another endurance round means that the #97 Beechdean AMR silver-am crew of Andrew Howard and Tom Wood are the remaining AMR powered runners out of a grid of just thirteen GT3 and eight GT4 based entries.

For the #97 crew, this season has been a persistent battle with their sole class rivals within the #86 Bridger Motorsport Honda NSX with the Honda powered crew taking top honours in class with the points margin between crews (Howard and Wood still leading) to just 3.5 points going into this penultimate race weekend. For these two crews, the 2025 result will be formed upon who fails to finish first!

Track action will begin again on Saturday with Free Practice, Pre-Qualifying and Qualifying on Saturday ahead of a 13:00hrs local start for Sundays two hour race.

Despite data gained from this weeks earlier test at Donington Park, todays start to the more formally timed sessions saw a wet to damp to drying track conditions for the combined GT3 and GT4 crews with the #97 Beechdean AMR Vantage GT3 of Andrew Howard and Ross Gunn leading the way at the top of the timing screen.

That was a similar vein back within the GT4 class as the #27 R-Racing AMR Vantage GT4 of Josh Miller and Seb Hopkins became the third fastest crew in class, making their many recent laps of testing around the Donington circuit pay dividends. The guesting #31 MKH Racing AMR Vantage Gt4 of Ron Johnson and Tom Ingram didn’t have that knowledge base as this week was their first experience of the car/crew/circuit together.

Free Practice 2 went no different at the top as the #97 continued to dominate (thanks to no championship pressures on their shoulders this weekend) although both the #27 and #31 cars did drop with lap times being deleted for track limits.

Then Qualifying became the next focus of attention as the amateurs within the GT3 class were first out on was then a damp to drying track. Going out on slicks, coming in to change those slicks because of vibration saw Howard enter pit lane for a third time, this time for wets with just over three minutes of his session remaining. Eventually getting just one hot lap with those wet tyres thanks to a session ending hit into the pit all for a McLaren, that was still enough for Howard to claim provisional top slot with the GT3 Qualifying being placed under investigation by Race Control.

Next out were the Pro drivers with Gunn selecting slicks aboard the #97 car ass the sun made another one of its periodic passes above. Holding the aggregated best time for the opening half of the session, the #1 Mercedes AMG crew snatched that lead with just over three minutes remaining. With just twenty-nine seconds remaining, Gunn recovers that three tenths deficit to reclaim P1 with another lap still available to him to eventually see out the session fifth quickest but fastest overall in GT3 for a Pole Position start tomorrow afternoon.

Next out were the GT4’s with Miller and Johnson doing the business first time round (the #23 do run this season within the silver class so both Miller and Hopkins are of the same grade). First out and eager to get on with things saw Miller finish fastest by the slenderest of margins, just 0.03 of as second in front of the #36 Championship contending McLaren. Johnson would return to the Championship with a bump after a spin in both Free Practice and Qualifying saw him post the slowest time.

Like Miller, Hopkins was first out and keen to get on with things to see his final qualifying of his second season of British GT underway although his haste would again come at a cost as the #23 then started losing lap times for track limits.

Despite finishing nineth in his session, his lap time was still good enough to keep the #23 at the head of the class whilst the #31 MKH Aston Martin of Tom Ingram would finish second overall in session, albeit still at the foot of the table.

Morning warm up tomorrow morning before the start of the season finale starting at 13:00hrs local. No championship pressures this weekend like we say whilst others obviously do within both GT3 and GT4 classes. It will be exciting!!

Photo credits – J Ebrey / D Gibson

Having faltered somewhat during Qualifying, the #27 team quickly highlighted a problem within a replacement component fitted within the cars drivetrain, that restored the car to a more expected pace around the Donington Park circuit but neither Aston could match that of the Audi and nor that of the race winning Toyota ahead of that.

Whereas the Championship chances of the #23 R-Racing car was always an outside chance being over twenty points behind the then championship leaders of Topham and Turner, the events of today will appear that the #27 chances of claiming the overall GT4 title were lost because of a drive through penalty given to them after their pitstop for failings under the first Safety Car restart procedure – a time penalty on track that effectively lost them more than their eventual gap to the #42 car ahead. 

Whilst that was obviously bitter luck, they can at least take some solace from them successfully defending their GT4 Pro-Am Class Championship and by their finishing second in both the GT4 Drivers Championship and GT4 Teams Championship.

With that, the R-Racing team have also been confirmed as runners up within the GT4 Silver Cup Class and third placed within the GT4 Teams Championship in what was their first excursion into the GT4 arena with the youngest race winning driver line up on record.

It has been another highly entertaining and eventful British GT season where we again had the need for another of their infamous #Doningtondeciders which was further rounded off in style with a Silver-Am Class win for the returning Beechdean AMR Vantage GT3 of Andrew Howard and Lewis Proctor. 

Whilst we have heard some things mentioned by some about possible plans for 2023, it will only be right and proper to let them announce them – as and when appropriate.

All the teams were present at the circuit on Thursday for some private testing before the officially timed sessions started in earnest with the #42 Audi leading the charge within the three championship’s contending crews through this morning’s two Free Practice sessions.

Just as the first GT3 session was getting underway, this featuring the return of the #97 Beechdean AMR Vantage GT3 of course with Andrew Howard this time partnering Lewis Proctor within their Silver-Am Class entry this time around, a band of squally rain passed over the circuit making for some treacherous track conditions for cars that had departed on slicks. Needless to say, there were ‘casualties’ as car slid off track for the opening ten-minute session to be red flagged twice as a consequence.

Eventually getting just a sole lap time in, Howard passed the car over to former McLaren racer Proctor for his first Qualifying session only for the car to end up P14 overall and P6 in class ahead of tomorrow’s race.

Whilst the GT3 cars had the hardship, the GT4 cars benefitted from a rapidly drying track but still the Audi was quicker than the two Astons as they hammered in the lap times from the off. Topham again looked nervous within the car and sacrificed several minutes of his session as no doubt, he had already done what he knew he could achieve in P12. Day meanwhile had had more fortune and pace to end his final Qualifying session of the year fifth quickest.

Then it was all down to the cars second drivers to do their stuff as again, Fielding placed the #42 Audi towards the head of the pack as Day and Turner struggled for pace on their slicks despite the greasy outer limits of the track. Both Astons were again five to ten seconds off the pace as the minutes counted down.

Whereas Day would eventually have a decent end to his session in fourth overall, the #27 car and despite the knowledge and experience of Turner behind the wheel would only mirror Topham’s placement in twelfth.

With pit stop minimum times and success penalties still to factor in over and above anything that Mother Nature can offer on top, two hours around Donington Park will last like a lifetime for some and especially so after handing over the cars to their second drivers as the final race to the flag will ultimately decide the overall, Silver Cup and Pro-Am classes.

Photo credits – Jacob Ebrey / D Gibson

For the #27 crew, their preparations for Sunday’s two hour didn’t exactly get off to a flying start on Saturday when a mistake from Turner at the start of the days second Free Practice session saw their #27 car consigned to the garage for the session with front end repairs after contact with one of the Bentley GT3’s.

After many hands made light work of the repairs, the team had the car back out (in something of a raw state) in time for Qualifying and each driver was able to post lap times good enough to keep the car towards the front of the GT4 pack whilst their nearest championship rivals also struggled towards the rear.

Of course, the #27 Newbridge car was not the only Aston Martin Racing car present as the #7 AMR Vantage GT3 of Andrew Howard (and Jonny Adam) also had a slight possibility of a GT3 Drivers Championship as well as Century Motorsport bringing David Holloway and his AMR Vantage GT4 along to the finale with co-driver Bradley Ellis.

Having just finished their GT Cup Championship in the gold and black liveried car, Holloway was here to sample just what the British GT Championship had to offer prior to any 2022 commitment and the 2019 British GT GT3 Silver Cup Champion was just the person to show him after a season’s worth of driver coaching behind them.

Howard meanwhile, was having yet another year’s partnership with his previous co-champion conclude a the end of the race and despite their spirit and commitment to the cause – perhaps the kind of points deficit that they faced was all a bit much for the Anglo-Scott crew to challenge other than just doing well in the final race.

The #Doningtondecider soon threw some more spice into the works as the teams were greeted by a wet track from overnight rain and with more on the way, certainly over morning warm up and into the start of the race itself. Whilst this would help some, the deteriorating track conditions would also take their toll on others.

With most cars starting on wets, it wasn’t long before the first GT3 championship candidate threw it all away into the gravel, reinforcing the fact to the race starting Topham that he had to be in it to win it! As the laps passed by, the track developed a clear dry line meaning that conservation of the tyres was paramount as any additional tyre stop would see off any championship aspirations.

A cracking opening stint from Topham maintained their top end of class race position despite the championship contesting Fox McLaren stealthily moving up through the pack from their starting position. Eventually handing the #27 car over to the multiple Le Mans winner, it was all down to Turner to bring it home for the team inside the final hour of the race despite now being behind the Fox car on track

The weather had played its part in the opening phase of the day and the race would be concluded under rising, broken cloud with the sun even peeking out at times to see just what was going on and second in class was always going to be good enough mathematically for the #27 crew despite the points differential between P1 and P2.

Bring it home they did, claiming P2 overall in class at the chequered flag to land yet another podium of the season and, more importantly the GT4 Drivers Championship by just four points for their efforts. What is more outstanding is the fact the team did not even attend the first race of the season at Brands Hatch in mid-May!!

Joining the delights of a decent finish were also the #71 Century AMR crew of Holloway and Ellis who claimed P3 in class by the end of their first British GT race together as they finished just six seconds behind the #27 car!

Another P7 finish for the #7 Beechdean AMR crew would cement them into fifth (and sixth for Adam) place in the GT3 Drivers Championship – frustrating to them we are sure, but we would like to think that had it not been for Covid, mistakes at Spa and accident at Oulton Park then they may have been in for a better shout than what they actually were at the end.

But that’s motor racing.

Photo credit (podium) – Jacob Ebrey

It is still the TF Sport #97 crew of Jamie Caroline and Dan Vaughan who feature prominently at the top of both the GT4 Silver Cup and GT4 Drivers tables going into this final round having enjoyed a consistently high and steady points scoring approach across the eight races so far to lead each Championship by just a handful of points. Their sister #95 car of Connor O’Brien and Patrick Kibble have had their own multiple moments on the podium but have also suffered from adversity and other peoples accidents like at Oulton Park and that unfortunate ‘blue on blue’ incident at Brands Hatch which, as a result places them with the most to do out of the two bright yellow TF Sport Aston Martin Racing runners as they lie twenty points down the Silver Cup and thirteen points down in the GT4 Drivers table to their stable mates.

The TF Sport cars main rivals co-incidentally enough involve two former AMR drivers from 2019 in the form of Patrik Matthiessen with Jordan Collard aboard the #58 HHC McLaren and Matt Cowley aboard the Academy Motorsport Ford Mustang although Cowley would need something nearing a minor miracle in the form of multiple DNF’s for the cars ahead of him in the Championships for him to overcome his larger points deficits - but then stranger things have happened before!

In the GT4 Team Championship, it’s a straight forward two horse race between both TF Sport and the HHC McLaren team with just twenty seven points between them in the favour of Tom Ferrier’s squad and with this final round paying out the larger 37.5 points to the winning cars in each class – it is certainly still all to race for on Sunday.

With the trails of tribulations of what has been a very difficult season for all of the full season runners, what first appeared to be a total disaster for the Championship back in April has in fact produced another exceptional season of racing with action and drama never too far away, all of which (in an average season at least) that would have taken us to yet another #DoningtonDecider. This time around, everything wraps up this weekend from Middle England where things will be (hopefully) not too chilly for the few allowed to be there.

Obviously, we wish both TF Sport cars well at the final race but we will have to wait until Wednesday to see just who else they will be sharing the track with!!