British GT Championship – Croft – Preview
Very Different From Thruxton
© Mark Howson

Just two weeks after Thruxton, the Championship moves on to its penultimate brace of races, this time at the Croft circuit in Yorkshire. It has been only two years since the last trip ‘oop north’ for the series, but in that short time the championship has changed almost completely.

There are some similarities; 20 GT3 cars will be present, as in 2005; Hector Lester and Allan Simonsen are racing a Ferrari together; a Masarati returns looking after Tech 9; and David Ashburn is driving a Trackspeed Porsche. But the reality is that only the Team Aero Morgan (happily repaired after its engine dramas at Thruxton) is recognisable from that last meeting, and even then it had Ollie Bryant as its sole driver (he was flying that weekend).

The only other car to return is the Beechdean Ferrari 360, which was then in the hands of Phil Burton. And, of course, what was GT3 has since reverted to being called GTC.

You will have read the reaction to Thruxton elsewhere on this site, so we will instead concentrate on the fight for the championship that still exists in both classes.

Eleven drivers remain in the hunt for the GT3 title, but the likelihood is that it will go to one of three pairings.

Paul Drayson and Jonny Cocker roared back into the lead of the championship after a win and a second at the last two races. Just about everything went right for the #1 Barwell DBRS9, after two difficult meetings, and they made up a lot of lost ground, but their advantage is still just two points over the RPM Viper pairing of Alex Mortimer and Bradley Ellis.

Sheer tenacity kept the #6 Viper in the hunt at Thruxton, on a circuit that was ideally suited to the Aston Martins. Croft will be different, but it remains to be seen if either of the marques will gain an advantage over the other, or whether Croft will suit smaller cars than the Aston Martin and Viper. The end of the lap almost certainly won’t suit the bigger cars.

The third car firmly in the title hunt is the #3 Barwell Aston, driven by the increasingly impressive Guy Harrington and Ben de Zille Butler. Like their colleagues in the bio-ethanol car, a win and a podium at Thruxton supplied the momentum boost required to stay in contention.

With only five points separating the three cars, a title resolution this weekend is extremely unlikely. However, the events of the coming weekend will go a long way to deciding the ultimate direction in which the trophy heads, and none of the trio can afford to slip up.

Godfrey and David Jones were clearly unhappy after Thruxton, as they had seen their title hopes dealt a hammer blow - after a meagre haul of just five points that resulted in them slipping to 14 points behind Drayson and Cocker. The Team Eurotech / Preci-Spark Ascari was clearly uncompetitive in Hampshire, but despite their frustration, the twins will be back in the thick of it in Yorkshire, without a doubt.

Tom Alexander and Michael Bentwood will need a couple of podia at least this weekend in the #2 Aston to stay in touching distance, as will Hector Lester in the CiM Ferrari, but the reality is that both cars are now just mathematical title contenders. That said, this championship has already shown that it is unforgiving of mechanical issues or racing incidents, and any issues that affect the lead three cars could work to the advantage of the pursuers.

Away from the title hunt, the races at Croft will be notable for the fact that almost a quarter of the entry comprises Ascari KZ1Rs. In addition to the Preci-Spark car, Damax has just one entered, for Stephen Keating and Thomas Erdos (Robin Ward having followed through on his threat to withdraw the Keen/Bryant car), while Team Berlanga enters all three of its FIA cars. Eric Zwart and Michael Greenhalgh showed excellent pace at Silverstone but were stymied by mechanical issues, and will be hoping for more luck this weekend; Paul and Dan Gibson share the #32 car; but the most intriguing entry of the three is the #33, to be driven by Klaas Zwart and Tom Coronel. The Dutch sportscar ace will undoubtedly be a factor in the race, while his co-driver probably knows his way round the car by now.

In the ‘Italian’ race, Adam Wilcox and Phil Burton still seek that first win in the VRS Ferrari, but have to suppress the challenge of Hector Lester and Allan Simonsen in the CiM Ferrari. Both cars had a miserable Thruxton and barely registered in the points. Sadly, the Team Modena Gallardo is a no-show this weekend.

And let us not discount the threat (to the race and also potentially to the outcome of the championship) from elsewhere. Nick Foster and Nigel Redwood have shown that they have got to grips with the #7 Viper very quickly and that their racing talents are now showing through after being suppressed by the uncompetitive Porsche – expect them to feature near the front.

Cadena Motorsport enjoyed its collective self at the last meeting, and Barrie Whight and Gavan Kershaw will be looking for a share in the limelight in the yellow DBRS9; while Piers Masarati’s father Jamie will be doing his best to provide a competitive Porsche for Tom Ferrier and Matt Harris. They're both covinced that the 997 (with upgrade kit, below) will be much more competitive this weekend. And what price we’ll see Phil Keen alongside David Ashburn in the #14 Porsche?

Matt Griffin and Peter Bamford still have the potential to spring a surprise in the #8 RPM Porsche, while the Lotus Sport Exige of George Mackintosh and Alistair MacKinnon will be better suited to this track than the fast sweeps of Thruxton.

Neil Cunningham switches Vipers this weekend, racing the Team Trimite version (with TBA) having previously raced the Moore Racing car, and we have two newcomers to the series. Simon Blanckley joins Fergus Campbell in the Team 4Car Porsche after switching from the BTCC, while Steve Clark joins Henry Fletcher in the #5 RPM Viper.

The fight for the GTC title has distilled down to two cars, with Graeme Mundy and Jamie Smyth holding a ten point advantage in the RSS Porsche 996 over Andrew Howard and Aaron Scott in the Beechdean 360. The Ferrari duo has three wins to RSS’s two, but the Porsche has been more consistent over the season. Howard and Scott must score more points this weekend to carry the fight to the end.

The Morgan was hugely competitive at Croft last time out, and Keith Ahlers and Steve Hyde will be hoping that history repeats itself, while Richmond Racing will arrive in Yorkshire lifted by Nick Marsh and Richard Hollebon’s first podium finish in the Ginetta.

This weekend could potentially see the best racing of the season so far, in both classes, and the implications for the title chases will be very interesting indeed.