Few will argue that the 2007 Avon Tyres British GT Championship has been one of the closest in many years, with nine drivers in four different marques fighting for the coveted British GT title.
The decision to switch to GT3 as the main class in British GT was taken at the end of the last season and with at least twenty four cars at each of the eight meetings in 2007, representing 11 different manufacturers, British GT has underlined its position as one of Europe’s leading sportscar championships.
History was also made this year as Paul Drayson and Jonny Cocker became the first drivers to win a major championship race in the UK in a bio fuel race car. The Barwell Motorsport Aston Martin DBRS9 has shown that greener race cars can be competitive and win races.
However the laurels of victory belong to Bradley Ellis, Alex Mortimer and the Team RPM Viper Competition Coupe. The youngest driver pairing on the 2007 grid powered their way to four wins and four further podiums to take the coveted title, just 6 points ahead of Cocker and Drayson at the end of the 14 race season.
The 2007 Avon Tyres British GT Championship started off at the Easter weekend meeting at Oulton Park. Hector Lester was joined by 2006 British GT Champion Tim Mullen in the Christians in Motorsport Ferrari 430 and Lester would start on the front row alongside Jonny Cocker. The CiM Ferrari became the first winning car of the new GT3 era, with Tim Mullen finishing over 5 seconds ahead of Michael Bentwood’s Aston Martin and the Jones Brother’s Team Eurotech Ascari. Round 2 saw victory go to the Tech 9 Porsche 997 of Oliver Bryant and Matt Harris ahead of Cocker and Ellis.
Donington Park proved to a good hunting ground for Barwell, the team claiming five of the six podium finishes in the two races. British GT rookies Guy Harrington and Ben de Zille Butler claimed victory in race 1 ahead of Ellis and Mortimer, with Tom Alexander taking the flag in race 2 after Paul Drayson slowed down too much on the final lap while leading the race costing himself and Jonny Cocker a historic win. Ben de Zille Butler nipped past David Jones to claim 3rd.
It was at Snetterton that Cocker and Drayson finally rewrote the history books, securing a win in the first 2-hour race of the season ahead of the Jones Ascari and the Aston Martin of Harrington and de Zille Butler. However the fastest car on the track was the brand new Team Modena Lamborghini Gallardo, with Adam Jones setting a new lap record on the cars debut run.
With moral support from Miss England, Brands Hatch belonged to Bradley Ellis and Alex Mortimer. A pole to flag victory ahead of Alexander and Bentwood in the first encounter gave the pair their first win of the season and this was followed with an emphatic win in race 2 from 6th on the grid ahead of Hector Lester and Allan Simonsen in the CiM Ferrari.
Silverstone was the scene for the second 2-hour race of the year and it was a return to winning ways for Hector Lester and Tim Mullen. It was a Ferrari 1-2 as Adam Wilcox and Phil Burton scored their first podium finish in the VRS Motor Finance Ferrari 430 ahead of the bio fuel Aston Martin of Drayson and Cocker.
The second win of the season for the bio fuel Aston was scored at Thruxton in Round 9. Harrington and de Zille Butler were victorious in round 10 ahead of Cocker and Drayson, while two podiums kept Ellis and Mortimer in the championship hunt.
Two more wins for Hector Lester at Croft, this time with Allan Simonsen. Two second places for Harrington and de Zille Butler put them at the top of the championship table as Drayson and Cocker faltered with a 5th and 3rd. However Ellis and Mortimer’s championship aspirations was dealt a severe blow as a DNF in race two left them 8 points adrift with two races remaining. A 3rd and 4th kept David and Godfrey Jones in with an outside chance of British GT Championship glory. With nine drivers fighting for the overall British GT title, the scene was now set for the best season finale in many years.
At Rockingham the Aston Martin DBRS9’s seemed to be struggling for pace as the Ferrari’s and the Team Modena Lamborghini set the practice and qualifying pace. However when it came time to race it was the Team RPM Viper which took the initiative. A win from 3rd on the grid in race 1 was followed by victory from 7th for Ellis and Mortimer, enough to secure the 2007 Avon Tyres British GT Championship title. Paul Drayson and Jonny Cocker could only manage 4th and 7th in the two encounters but it was enough to take the runners up position, 6 points behind the new champions. Guy Harrington and Ben de Zille Butler finished 3rd overall in their debut season, their efforts helping to secure the British GT team title for Barwell Motorsport.
The 2008 season is already shaping up with more cars on the grid next Easter at Oulton Park. However 2007 will go down in the history books as one of the closest fought national series in many years and has set the standard for 2008 and beyond.
Curtain Call for GTC
While the GT3 class became bigger and stronger in 2007, the GTC class settled for quality over quantity with five season regulars joined by cars from Trackspeed and ABG Motorsport. The early running was made by the Team Tiger Marcos of Chris Beighton and Jon Finnemore with a double win at Oulton Park ahead of the RSS Performance Porsche of Jamie Smyth and Graeme Mundy in race 1 and the Team Aero Morgan of Keith Ahlers and Steve Hyde in the second race.
However at Donington Park the technical problems forced the Marcos out for the rest of the year. Donington proved to be a good track for the Beechdean Ferrari 360 of Aaron Scott and Andrew Howard with two wins putting them on level terms with Hyde and Ahlers at the top of the table.
The Morgan Aero 8 bounced back during the 2-hour race at Snetterton while the Ferrari faltered. Mundy and Smyth continued to score well taking another second place finish at Snetterton.
The Trackspeed Porsche 996 made an appearance at Brands Hatch taking class honours in race 1 at the hands of David Ashburn and Phil Keen. The ABG Motorsport Porsche 996 of Peter Morris and Colin Broster took the win in race 2 leaving Mundy and Smyth to take two further podiums.
The first win of the year for Graeme Mundy and Jamie Smyth came at Silverstone and this was quickly followed up by another at Thruxton. Thruxton also saw the first podium finish for the Richmond Racing Ginetta of Richard Hollebon and Nick Marsh, a result that delighted the entire British GT paddock.
Mundy and Smyth started to tighten their grip on the GTC title as the championship headed to Croft and a win, followed by a second place, put them twenty points ahead of Howard and Scott with two races remaining.
Two wins at Rockingham for Aaron Scott and Andrew Howard marked the end of a great year for Beechdean Motorsport but it was Jamie Smyth and Graeme Mundy who celebrated the 2007 title after they finished second in the opening race of the weekend.
