2010 British GT Championship explained
The 2010 Avon Tyres British GT season was the 18th season of the British GT Championship. The season began on 5 April at Oulton Park and finished on 16 October at Donington Park after thirteen races, twelve held in the United Kingdom as well as a single overseas event at Spa-Francorchamps.
Sexagenarian David Ashburn prevailed in the GT3 class, taking his Trackspeed car to the championship title after being helped by three different co-drivers during the season. After sharing his car with Siso Cunill and Richard Westbrook – Westbrook would later return to Trackspeed to boost Ashburn's championship challenge, sharing a car with Philip Walker – in one-off appearances scoring a podium with each, it was a driver 43 years his junior that he enjoyed most success with. Porsche Carrera Cup driver Glynn Geddie had competed with Ashburn at his home event at Knockhill but joined him full-time from the Rockingham meeting onwards,[1] and the pairing took four victories in the last eight races to give Ashburn the championship and Geddie the runner-up spot. Duncan Cameron and Matt Griffin finished in third place, taking three victories during the season. Also taking three victories were defending champions David and Godfrey Jones, who struggled for reliability in their Ascari, finishing only five races all season. Hector Lester and Allan Simonsen, Tom Ferrier and Dan Brown, and Peter Kox and Marc Hayek were the other race winners.
In the G4 class, Christian Dick and Jamie Stanley were comfortable champions, taking five victories during the season as the Speedworks pair finished 32.5 points ahead of their nearest challengers. Rory Butcher and Benjamin Harvey only contested six of the season's thirteen races, but with a win and three second place finishes, amassed enough points to finish as the closest challengers to Dick and Stanley. Nathan Freke and Vibe Smed finished a point further back with seven podium finishes, with many of those coming where only half points were awarded. Brothers Benji and Freddie Hetherington won three of their five starts in the class, having spent most of the season in the Ginetta G50 Cup, Athanasios Ladas and Michael Mallock swept both races at Rockingham, with single victories going to Daniel Lloyd and Julien Draper, as well as another pair of brothers, Matt and Robert Bell. A GT Cup class was held at the first two meetings, with Phil Dryburgh and John Gaw claiming honours in both races at Oulton Park, and Steve Hunter and Derek Pierce taking a victory and a DNF at Knockhill.
Rule changes
Class restructure and new homologations
On 15 October 2009 the SRO Motorsports Group announced changes to the structure of the 2010 season including a wider variety of circuits, with races broadcast on Channel 4 and viewable again on 4oD. The race coverage was also available on Motors TV. It was also announced that emphasis was placed on the avoidance of clashes with other prominent racing series.[2]
For the 2010 season, the GT3 class had more homologated cars available to compete because homologated models of superseded FIA GT3-spec cars were eligible to race along with the Nationally homologated Mosler. Thirteen marques were available to race. They included Ascari, Aston Martin, Audi, BMW Alpina, Chevrolet, Dodge, Ferrari, Ford, Jaguar, Lamborghini, Morgan, Mosler and Porsche.
The G4 class also featured more cars because of the introduction of Supersport-spec cars from last year to the class such as Lotus, KTM and Donkervoort. In addition to the new Supersport cars into the G4 class, most GT4 homologated cars were eligible to race, including Aston Martin, BMW, Chevrolet, Ford, Gillet, Ginetta, Maserati, Nissan, Opel and Porsche.
The Cup class was reintroduced after a two-year absence. In previous years, it gave amateur race drivers the chance to compete in the highest level of GT racing in the UK and it returned due to heavy demand. The cars eligible were the cars currently used in the Porsche Supercup and Ferrari Challenge series, based on the Porsche 997 and Ferrari F430 road cars. It was only held at the first two meetings, with a single car running at each meeting.
Entry list
The provisional entry list for the championship was released on 24 March 2010.[3]
2010 Entry List |
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Team | No. | Drivers | Class | Chassis | Engine | Rounds |
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Team Preci-Spark | 1 | David Jones | GT3 | Ascari KZ1-R | BMW M62 5.0L V8 | 1–12 | Godfrey Jones | MTECH Racing[4] | 2 | Duncan Cameron | GT3 | Ferrari 430 Scuderia GT3 | Ferrari 4.5L V8 | All | Matt Griffin | Rosso Verde[5] | 3 | Hector Lester | GT3 | Ferrari F430 GT3 | Ferrari 4.3L V8 | 1–5, 8–13 | Allan Simonsen | 1–2, 5, 8–13 | Stephane Daoudi[6] | 3–4 | RPM Motorsport[7] | 4 | Alex Mortimer | GT3 | Ford GT GT3 | Ford 5.0L V8 | 5–10, 13 | Philip Walker | 5–7, 9–10, 13 | Peter Bamford[8] | 8 | GT3 Racing[9] | 5 | Aaron Scott | GT3 | Dodge Viper Competition Coupe GT3 | Dodge 8.3L V10 | 1–10 | Craig Wilkins | Trackspeed | 6 | Oliver Bryant | GT3 | Porsche 997 GT3-R | Porsche 4.0L | 5 | Oliver Morley | Philip Walker | 8, 11–12 | Richard Westbrook | 7 | David Ashburn | GT3 | Porsche 997 GT3-R | Porsche 4.0L | All | Siso Cunill[10] | 1–2 | Glynn Geddie[11] | 3–4, 6–13 | Richard Westbrook[12] | 5 | Rollcentre Racing[13] | 8 | Martin Short | GT3 | Mosler MT900 R GT3 | Chevrolet LS7 7.0L V8 | 6–10, 13 | Gregor Fisken | 6–7, 9–10, 13 | Adrian Beer[14] | 8 | Barwell-Beechdean | 9 | Andrew Howard[15] | GT3 | Aston Martin DBRS9 | Aston Martin 6.0L V12 | 8, 11–12 | Darren Turner | 8 | Leo Machitski[16] | 11–12 | Chad Racing[17] | 10 | Tom Ferrier[18] | GT3 | Ferrari 430 Scuderia GT3 | Ferrari 4.5L V8 | 1–8, 11–12 | Paul Warren | Stephen Jelley[19] | 13 | Benji Hetherington | 11 | José Manuel Balbiani[20] | GT3 | Ferrari F430 GT3 | Ferrari 4.3L V8 | 1–7 | Juan Garriz | 15 | Steven Kane[21] | GT3 | Ferrari 430 Scuderia GT3 | Ferrari 4.3L V8 | 8 | Iain Dockerill | Archie Hamilton[22] | 11–12 | Ryan Lewis | 21 | Daniel Brown[23] | GT3 | Ferrari 430 Scuderia GT3 | Ferrari 4.5L V8 | All | Christopher Hyman | 1–8, 11–13 | Tom Ferrier[24] | 9–10 | 50 | Michael Mallock | G4 | KTM X-Bow | Volkswagen 2.0L Turbo I4 | 6–7 | Athanasios Ladas | 6–8 | Kevin Veltman[25] | 8 | Predator CCTV Racing | 12 | Adam Wilcox[26] | GT3 | Ferrari 430 Scuderia GT3 | Ferrari 4.5L V8 | All | Phil Burton | Vantage Racing | 14 | Stuart Hall | GT3 | Aston Martin DBRS9 | Aston Martin 6.0L V12 | 8, 13 | Tom Black | Barwell-Cadena | 18 | Michael Bentwood[27] | GT3 | Aston Martin DBRS9 | Aston Martin 6.0L V12 | 1–2, 5, 8–12 | Paul Whight | United Autosports[28] | 22 | Michael Guasch | GT3 | Audi R8 LMS | Audi 5.2L V10 | 1–2 | Mark Patterson | 23 | Zak Brown | GT3 | Audi R8 LMS | Audi 5.2L V10 | 1–2 | Richard Dean | 53 | Matt Bell[29] | G4 | Ginetta G50 | Ford Cyclone 3.5L V6 | 8 | Robert Bell | Reiter Engineering | 24 | Peter Kox | GT3 | Lamborghini Gallardo LP560 GT3 | Lamborghini 5.2L V10 | 5 | Marc Hayek | Stark Racing | 42 | Ian Stinton | G4 | Ginetta G50 | Ford Cyclone 3.5L V6 | 8 | Paul Marsh | ABG Motorsport[30] | 44 | Benjamin Harvey | G4 | KTM X-Bow | Volkswagen 2.0L Turbo I4 | 1–5, 8 | Rory Butcher[31] | 98 | Colin Mowle | Inv | 8, 13 | Sam Mowle | ProMotorsport[32] | 45 | Derek Palmer Jr. | G4 | Nissan 350Z | Nissan VQ35HR 3.5L V6 | 1–2 | Rick Pearson | Century Motorsport[33] | 47 | Nathan Freke | G4 | Ginetta G50 | Ford Cyclone 3.5L V6 | 1–4, 6–13 | Vibe Smed | 57 | Benji Hetherington | G4 | Ginetta G50 | Ford Cyclone 3.5L V6 | 8–12 | Freddie Hetherington | Speedworks Motorsport | 48 | Christian Dick[34] | G4 | Ginetta G50 | Ford Cyclone 3.5L V6 | All | Jamie Stanley | 92 | Piers Johnson[35] | Inv | Ginetta G50 Mod | Ford Cyclone 3.5L V6 | 13 | Ron Johnson | Team Osborne Racing[36] | 49 | Joe Osborne | G4 | Ginetta G50 | Ford Cyclone 3.5L V6 | 1–10, 13 | Osman Yusuf | 1–8, 13 | Rob Brown[37] | 9–10 | 52 | Jake Rattenbury | G4 | Ginetta G50 | Ford Cyclone 3.5L V6 | 11–12 | Dean Hawkey | Barwell Motorsport | 51 | Julien Draper[38] | G4 | Ginetta G50 | Ford Cyclone 3.5L V6 | 11–12 | Daniel Lloyd | Piranha Motorsport[39] | 55 | Chris Bialan | G4 | Lotus 2-Eleven | Toyota 2ZZ-GE 1.8L S/C I4 | 1–4, 6–12 | Simon Mason | Appleby Engineering | 60 | James Appleby[40] | G4 | Aston Martin V8 Vantage N24 | Aston Martin 4.3L V8 | 9–10 | Ant Scragg | Jamie Hunter Racing | 62 | Steve Hunter[41] | GTC | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup S | Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | 3–4 | Derek Pierce | Kinfaun Racing | 81 | Phil Dryburgh | GTC | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup S | Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | 1–2 | John Gaw | Reflex Racing | 91 | Peter Smith | Inv | Ginetta G50 Mod | Ford Cyclone 3.5L V6 | 8–10 | Matt Smith | Chevron Racing Cars | 97 | Anthony Reid | Inv | Chevron GR8 | Ford Cosworth YD 2.0L Turbo I4 | 13 | Chris Hart | |
| Icon | Class |
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GT3 | GT3 Class | G4 | G4 Class | GTC | Cup Class | Inv | Invitation Class | |
| |
Calendar
- All rounds were 60 minutes in duration, with the exception of the round at Spa-Francorchamps – a 150-minute race held in conjunction with Belcar[42] – as well as the two-hour races at Silverstone and Donington Park. A GT Cup class ran at the first two meetings with Kinfaun Racing winning twice at Oulton Park and Jamie Hunter Racing winning at Knockhill. All races except Belgian round at Spa, were held in the United Kingdom.
Standings
Points were awarded to the top eight finishers in the order 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 for 60 minute races, with double points awarded for the endurance races. Half-points were given in certain races of the G4 class, and in all GT Cup races due to a lack of entries. Drivers in bold indicate pole position, while drivers in italics indicate fastest lap.
GT3
G4
Pos | Driver | OUL | KNO | SPA | ROC | SIL | SNE | BRH | DON | Pts |
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1 | Christian Dick | 12 | 10 | 9 | 5 | 11 | 13 | 9 | Ret | 13 | 12 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 70.5 |
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Jamie Stanley | 12 | 10 | 9 | 5 | 11 | 13 | 9 | Ret | 13 | 12 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 3 | Rory Butcher | 13 | 9 | Ret | 6 | 12 | | | 21† | | | | | | 38 |
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Benjamin Harvey | 13 | 9 | Ret | 6 | 12 | | | 21† | | | | | | 5 | Nathan Freke | 15 | Ret | 11 | 8 | | 12 | 8 | Ret | 11 | 13 | 10 | Ret | 12 | 37 |
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Vibe Smed | 15 | Ret | 11 | 8 | | 12 | 8 | Ret | 11 | 13 | 10 | Ret | 12 | 7 | Chris Bialan | 14 | 12 | Ret | 9† | | 11 | 7 | 19 | | | Ret | | | 32.5 |
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Simon Mason | 14 | 12 | Ret | 9† | | 11 | 7 | 19 | | | Ret | | | 9 | Benji Hetherington | | | | | | | | DSQ | 10 | 11 | 7 | 8 | | 24 |
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Freddie Hetherington | | | | | | | | DSQ | 10 | 11 | 7 | 8 | | 11 | Athanasios Ladas | | | | | | 10 | 6 | 18 | | | | | | 22 |
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12 | Matt Bell | | | | | | | | 15 | | | | | | 20 |
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Robert Bell | | | | | | | | 15 | | | | | | 14 | Joe Osborne | 16 | 13 | 10 | 10† | Ret | 14† | Ret | | 12 | Ret | | | Ret | 20 |
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15 | Osman Yusuf | 16 | 13 | 10 | 10† | Ret | 14† | Ret | | | | | | Ret | 17 |
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16 | Paul Marsh | | | | | | | | 17 | | | | | | 16 |
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Ian Stinton | | | | | | | | 17 | | | | | | 18 | Kevin Veltman | | | | | | | | 18 | | | | | | 12 |
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19 | Julien Draper | | | | | | | | | | | 9 | 7 | | 11 |
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Daniel Lloyd | | | | | | | | | | | 9 | 7 | | 21 | Michael Mallock | | | | | | 10 | 6 | | | | | | | 10 |
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22 | James Appleby | | | | | | | | | 14 | 14 | | | | 4.5 |
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Ant Scragg | | | | | | | | | 14 | 14 | | | | 24 | Dean Hawkey | | | | | | | | | | | 11 | Ret | | 4 |
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Jake Rattenbury | | | | | | | | | | | 11 | Ret | | 26 | Rob Brown | | | | | | | | | 12 | Ret | | | | 3 |
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27 | Derek Palmer Jr. | 17 | Ret | | | | | | | | | | | | 3 |
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Rick Pearson | 17 | Ret | | | | | | | | | | | | Pos | Driver | OUL | KNO | SPA | ROC | SIL | SNE | BRH | DON | Pts | |
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| | |
GT Cup
External links
Notes and References
- News: Geddie & Ashburn mount GT title bid. brscc.co.uk. British Racing and Sports Car Club. 5 July 2010. 11 March 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110723174731/http://www.brscc.co.uk/latest-news/318-geddie-a-ashburn-mount-gt-title-bid.html. 23 July 2011. dead.
- News: SRO Motorsports Group announces class structure changes for British GT . . . 2009-10-15 . 2009-10-24.
- News: British GT entry revealed . crash.net . Crash Media Group . 2010-03-24 . 2010-03-24.
- News: MTECH Racing back with a bang for British GT 2010 . . . 2009-11-06 . 2009-12-06.
- News: Balance and a great grid: a strong season in prospect for British GT . . . 2010-03-12 . 2010-03-12.
- News: Ferrari men Griffin & Cameron lead the charge north. British GT Championship. Stéphane Ratel Organisation. 30 April 2010. 13 March 2011.
- News: Lamborghini joins British GT for Spa-Francorchamps . . . 2010-05-30 . 2010-05-30.
- News: Strong entry for Silverstone's British GT two-hour enduro round. British GT Championship. Stéphane Ratel Organisation. 9 August 2010. 13 March 2011.
- News: Viper bites back with Wilkins and Scott . . . 2010-01-01 . 2010-01-06.
- News: 20 set for Oulton Park opener . motorstv.com . . 2010-03-31 . 2010-03-31 . Andy . Wilkinson . 2011-07-24 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110724012630/http://www.motorstv.com/car/gt/british-gt/31032010/brit-gt-20-set-oulton-park-opener . dead .
- News: GT battle lines drawn at Knockhill. British GT Championship. Stéphane Ratel Organisation. 8 May 2010. 13 March 2011.
- News: Westbrook on top in Spa free practice. British GT Championship. Stéphane Ratel Organisation. 4 June 2010. 13 March 2011.
- News: Michael Mallock returns to British GT at The Rock . . . 2010-07-09 . 2010-07-19.
- News: Trackspeed Porsche claims victory in Silverstone thriller. British GT Championship. Stéphane Ratel Organisation. 15 August 2010. 13 March 2011.
- News: Silverstone enduro set to attract large British GT field. British GT Championship. Stéphane Ratel Organisation. 2 August 2010. 13 March 2011.
- News: Ashburn eyes Brands Hatch title chance. British GT Championship. Stéphane Ratel Organisation. 20 September 2010. 13 March 2011.
- News: Chad plots twin-Ferrari British GT campaign . . . 2009-11-04 . 2009-12-06.
- Turner. Kevin . 2010-03-25. Sports Extra: Ferrier gets new Chad Ferrari ride. Autosport. 199. 12. 80.
- News: Jelley joins British GT for Donington date. British GT Championship. Stéphane Ratel Organisation. 14 October 2010. 13 March 2011.
- News: Argentine duo set for British GT campaign . . . 2010-02-25 . 2010-02-25.
- News: Chad Ferrari at Silverstone: Kane is able. British GT Championship. Stéphane Ratel Organisation. 5 August 2010. 13 March 2011.
- News: Ashburn & Geddie on top again at Brands. British GT Championship. Stéphane Ratel Organisation. 26 September 2010. 13 March 2011.
- News: Racewinner Brown returns to British GT with STP Ferrari . . . 2010-01-14 . 2010-01-14.
- News: Brown & Ferrier join forces for Snetterton. British GT Championship. Stéphane Ratel Organisation. 28 August 2010. 13 March 2011.
- News: G4 class entry boost for British GT at Silverstone. British GT Championship. Stéphane Ratel Organisation. 3 August 2010. 13 March 2011.
- News: Adam Wilcox 2010 Plans . web-solution.co.uk . . 2010-02-26 . 2010-02-26 . https://archive.today/20130505121152/http://www.web-solution.co.uk/awm/British_GT_2010.htm . 2013-05-05 . dead .
- Turner. Kevin . 2010-02-11. Sports Extra: In Brief. Autosport. 199. 6. 85.
- News: Twin Audi attack planned for British GT . . . 2009-12-06 . 2009-12-06.
- News: Bell brothers unite to make British GT Championship race debut. British GT Championship. Stéphane Ratel Organisation. 6 August 2010. 13 March 2011.
- News: ABG KTM X-Bow plans for 2010 season . ABGmotorsport.net . ABG Motorsport Ltd. . 2010-02-08 . 2010-02-16.
- News: Butcher set to make British GT debut . motorstv.com . . 2010-02-24 . 2010-02-25 . Andy . Wilkinson . 2012-02-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120220102115/http://www.motorstv.com/car/gt/british-gt/24022010/brit-gt-butcher-set-make-british-gt-debut . dead .
- News: Scottish team plans twin-Nissan British GT4 campaign . . . 2009-11-23 . 2009-12-06.
- Kevin. Turner. 2010-03-11. Freke joins forces with Chad for British GT campaign in 2010. Autosport. 199. 10. 85.
- News: Green light for a great British GT season. British GT Championship. Stéphane Ratel Organisation. 24 March 2010. 13 March 2011.
- News: Twilight refuelling race at Donington Park to close British GT season. British GT Championship. Stéphane Ratel Organisation. 8 October 2010. 13 March 2011.
- News: European champ planning British GT switch . motorstv.com . . 2010-01-24 . 2010-02-07 . Andy . Wilkinson . 2012-02-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120220102007/http://www.motorstv.com/car/gt/british-gt/21012010/brit-gt-european-champ-planning-british-gt-switch . dead .
- News: Brown & Ferrier on top at Snetterton. British GT Championship. Stéphane Ratel Organisation. 30 August 2010. 13 March 2011.
- News: British GT debut for Lloyd at Brands Hatch. British GT Championship. Stéphane Ratel Organisation. 22 September 2010. 13 March 2011.
- News: Piranha Motorsport to field Lotus in British GT . . . 2010-01-16 . 2010-01-16.
- News: Quality field for Bank Holiday GT races. British GT Championship. Stéphane Ratel Organisation. 23 August 2010. 13 March 2011.
- News: Jones & Jones take victory at Knockhill. British GT Championship. Stéphane Ratel Organisation. 9 May 2010. 13 March 2011.
- News: Spa-Francorchamps date for British GT . . . 2010-01-21 . 2010-01-21.