British GT, Oulton - Preview
Opening On A High

After the usual off-season slew of rumour, speculation and even, on occasion, actual news, the threads have all been pulled together and we find ourselves at the gates of Oulton Park awaiting the start of what is promising to be another classic British GT Championship.

An excellent 27 car grid has been assembled for the opening round – testament to the hard work of Championship Coordinator Benjamin Franassovici and his team – and once more it is dripping with quality, with new cars, new teams and some of the best drivers in the business.

GT3

Of the 18 GT3s lined up, only one – the RJN Nissan GT-R of Alex Buncombe and Jan Mardenborough – is guesting, meaning that the remaining 17 will all have their eyes on the title chase from the off. Any number of them are potential race and title winners, but, as Jim and Glynn Geddie proved last year, the key to taking the title is consistency;  the father/son duo taking the title despite not winning any races.

It is something of a surprise to realise that Porsche is the most numerically dominant marque in the class – the first time that this has happened, in fact, since the introduction of the category in 2007 – with five 997 GT3 Rs being fielded; three by 2010 Champions Trackspeed and two by series returnees Motorbase.

David Ashburn came close to retaining his title last year (surprisingly, a feat that hasn’t been achieved by anyone in the championship’s 19-year history) and will again be calling on the services of Richard Westbrook at Oulton, as well as other rounds that don’t clash with his many commitments elsewhere. Ashburn continues to belie his age and physical stature with some great performances – although an unforced error at Rockingham last year arguably cost him the title – and Westbrook is simply one of the best racing drivers there is in the business. Were he able to commit to a full season, then this car would instantly be the title favourite.

Joining Trackspeed this season are Steve Tandy, who raced with RPM in 2008, and Jon Minshaw, owner of Demon Tweeks , and they will have Joe Osborne and Tim Harvey respectively in the #32 and #33. Both Tandy and Minshaw race mainly in historics and will need to quickly get to grips with the Porsche; but it is a very well sorted car and a lot more forgiving than some of its recent predecessors. Osborne comes to the team after a season with United Autosports in European competition, but was very impressive in his previous outing in a ProSpeed Porsche in FIA GT3 and could very well be one of the stars of this year’s championship. Harvey brings more racing experience than it is decent to have, and his greying hair will not slow him down in any way, shape or form.

Motorbase return to the series after several seasons, but Dave Bartrum’s outfit will immediately be a force to be reckoned with. Michael Caine will make the paddock a fun place to be this year, but his racing will be undertaken with a strictly serious demeanour, and if newcomer Danielle Perfetti is on the pace in the non-professional ranks then this could be one to watch. Steve Parish has only recently begun his racing career, but he will have been carefully nurtured by Motorbase to date. Nick Tandy – winner at Oschersleben last weekend in the ADAC GT Masters – joins him for this weekend, and the prospect of the Porsche Supercup racer going up against Richard Westbrook in equal machinery is tantalising.  

Just four Ferraris join the grid this year, but they will again be at the sharp end from the off. 

Anyone who has followed British GT over the years will know just what a star Allan Simonsen is, and Oulton will see him behind the wheel of a 458 GT3 for the first time on these shores. If that doesn’t sound too interesting, just bear in mind that he very recently lapped the Mount Panorama circuit in Bathurst in such a car several seconds quicker than anyone had previously gone round before; and that includes the V8 monsters that normally race there. Hector Lester enjoyed racing the car last year and having Allan back will ensure a smile on his face in Cheshire.

Trying his hardest to wipe the smile off his face will be fellow Irishman Matt Griffin, who is more determined than ever to secure the title in the car he developed for Michelotto. Griffin and Duncan Cameron have forged a formidable partnership, with the professional always at the top of his game and the non-pro constantly refining his racecraft and his speed. The addition of race engineer Lee Penn to the team makes MTECH’s claim to the championship a very strong one in 2012.

Scuderia Vittoria’s first season in existence was an excellent one, with two victories being taken in 2011 and with the title only falling out of range at the final race. Aaron Scott and John Dhillon will be filling the space between seat and steering wheel this season after taking the GT3B title last year. Dhillon, like Duncan Cameron, has been making up for his late entry into the sport by racing at every opportunity and is serious about his future ambitions, and Scott – a race winner in BGT and 2011 Britcar champion – has been developing him every step of the way. With Tom Ferrier’s and Piers Masarati’s hands again on the team wheel, podium finishes could be coming sooner than expected.

We’re still waiting for Phil Burton and Adam Wilcox to stand on the top step of the podium, and they have had appalling luck over the years. The duo perseveres with the 430 Scuderia for a third season, but while the car is not the latest generation of GT3, it could throw up a surprise or two if it is given the right performance breaks. This is, after all, a performance-balancing category.

The car that looks to be the strongest overall package in 2012 is the sole Audi in the field, the United Autosports R8 LMS of Matt Bell and Charles Bateman. UA knows the car as well as anyone, with Bell having clocked up umpteen racing hours behind the wheel in some of the toughest GT3 racing conditions yet seen, including a victory in the BGT at Snetterton last year. Bateman also knows how to win in the championship and the two form probably the best balanced pairing this year. However, with both being Silver rated, they will incur an extra four seconds penalty at each pitstop. Whether this will be a factor remains to be seen.

Andrew Howard and Jonny Adam were the revelation of 2011, after two stunning wins in the elderly and not-very-easy-to-drive-at-all Beechdean Aston Martin DBRS9. The two return with a brand new Vantage GT3 in 2012 and although this is intended to be a development year the signs are that this could very well be a front-runner a lot sooner than expected. Adam is clearly a star in the making and Howard looks to have been rejuvenated by his new partner. Definitely has to be considered as a contender, but expectations for Oulton have to be realistic.

The Nissan GT-R GT3 is another car still on the early stages of its development curve, and its debut in the BGT at Donington last season wasn’t particularly auspicious. However, we can expect a much improved performance in 2012, both from the full-season entrant JMH and the Oulton-only RJN; the latter using this as a test for the Blancpain Endurance Series that begins next week. Benji Hetherington has a bright racing future and returns to the BGT after a season honing his racing skills in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB . He is joined at Oulton by his brother Freddie, although his full-season partner has yet to be confirmed.

David and Godfrey Jones return for another season of BGT competition and the former champions will again have the fabulous Mercedes AMG SLS as their weapon of choice. The Preci-Spark car seemed much better suited to the longer races than the one-hour sprints, but it could be a different story in 2012.

The arrival of a fourth German marque is sure to create a lot of interest, and not just because it is a potential race-winner from the off. The BMW Z4 GT3 is arguable the best of the GT3 bunch at present, and the famed Ecurie Ecosse name returns to competition with the car that won the final two BES races of 2011. Run in conjunction with Barwell Motorsport, the Ecosse Z4 will be piloted by Olly Bryant and Alasdair McCaig and is sure to be an instant crowd-favourite, particularly amongst the large Bank Holiday turnout expected at Oulton. Bryant is another BGT race winner and is still young, so will undoubtedly be at the sharp end from the off. If he can bring historic racer McCaig up to speed quickly, then this could well be one to watch in more ways than one.

After a disappointing 2011, it would perhaps be easy to write off the Ginetta G55 as a mere grid-filler. However, that is likely to prove a big mistake – the car returns looking mean and hungry, with a new, more powerful engine, and the glorious aero package that arrived at the end of 2011. Ian Stinton was the first customer for the new car, the Stark racing owner putting aside his experiences of last year to focus on the potential for the future, and is joined by young hotshoe Jake Rattenbury. The car will be prepared by Hepworth International between races, which should make life easier at the circuit.

Former GT4 (and reigning SPEED EuroSeries) champion Jody Firth returns to the BGT with Team WFR, and will also have a G55 at his disposal, and is joined by Riki Christodoulou; another combination of experience and pace that should yield positive results. The immediate issue facing both Stark and WFR is a gearbox-supply problem that has meant that the two G55s will race at Oulton with boxes harvested from the LNT Panozes. Hopefully, this will not prove to be a negative.

Our final GT3 is the Speedworks Corvette Z06 R. Things have been very quiet on this front, so we won’t know until the weekend what, if anything, has been done to the car over the winter. However, Ron Johnson and Piers Johnson made good progress over their 2011 development season and that experience will count for naught this time round. The car will again be a fan favourite and could surprise a few people in 2012.

GT4

With no KTM X-Bows in the championship in 2012 it looks like the title will go to either Lotus or Ginetta.

Lotus Sport UK again fields two Evora GT4s, with Phil Glew partnering Sailesh Bolisetti in the #48 and Marco Attard joining Alastair Mackinnon in the #49. It is not yet known if these are season-long pairings, but Phil Glew proved to be a star in the Evora last year and is sure to perform even better this year as the car continues along its development path. If Bolisetti can provide the support necessary then the #48 has to be a title favourite.

Mackinnon last raced in the BGT in the Cadena Lotus several seasons ago, but has more recently been seen in Cor Euser’s Evora in endurance racing and came very close to winning the 2011 Britcar 24 overall. Attard is also a returnee to the series, having previously raced Ferraris with Damax in the pre-GT3 days. Another dark horse?

There will be three G50s at Oulton, with Century Motorsports, Team WFR and APO Sport each fielding one car. WFR, with Jody Fannin and warren Hughes, would appear to be the strongest of the three – and another favourite for the title – but we know next to nothing of Dominic Evan/Zoe Wenham (Century) and Alex Osborne/James May (APO), so our assumptions could yet be challenged. We’ll have a better idea on Sunday afternoon.

But it is great to see a bit of variety in the GT4 pack, with an Aston Martin and a Mazda being entered.

The Aston is entered by Appleby Engineering and is an ex-Generation AMR, now owned by VW Cup champion Steve Chaplin. We need to allow Chaplin time to get accustomed to his new vehicle (his more familiar car being a VW Beetle), but it would be great to see it up to speed with the Ginettas and Lotuses before too long.

The Mazda MX5 GT4 is entered by Jota Group and driven by Mark Ticehurst and Owen Mildenhall. Again, we will have to wait until the weekend before forming an opinion on this project, but with Sam Hignett’s team behind it it’s unlikely to spend the season just making up the numbers.

Cup/Invitation

It is such a shame to again see a Chevron once again racing in a class of its own – indeed, at Oulton, we will see two Chevrons in that situation – and it is to be hoped that things change as the season progresses.

The GT3 version of the GR8 will make its race debut this weekend in the hands of Jordan Witt and Anthony Reid, albeit in the Invitation class as it awaits full homologation. However, the car has already tested extensively and is considerably quicker than its predecessor. Moreover, it looks great as well. Expect the car to mix it with the official GT3s.

The ‘old’ GR8 will be driven by David Witt and Ray Grimes this weekend, although they will be the first to admit that they are unlikely to be challenging the pros for overall podiums. However, the car proved itself last season, and hopefully we’ll see more potential customers opening their cheque books soon.

So that’s what 2012 is offering us. Oulton will no doubt throw up much great racing, several unexpected incidents, and probably several surprises. The great unknown at the moment is the weather, with what looks like a dry Saturday being followed by a wet Monday.

MH