+ Howard and Gunn both top qualifying for first time since 2023
+ Simpson continues where Innovation left off at Silverstone; Mitchell fastest in Q4
+ Provisional results: Oulton Park Qualifying
Andrew Howard rolled back the years to bag Beechdean AMR’s first British GT pole position since 2023 before his co-driver Ross Gunn added a second in short order to cap a memorable Oulton Park qualifying session for the Aston Martin squad.
GT4 championship leader Hadley Simpson subsequently set Q3’s fastest time to secure Race 1 pole for Innovation, while another Ginetta driver – Toro Verde’s Jack Mitchell – starts Bank Holiday Monday’s second hour-long contest from P1.
But qualifying undoubtedly belonged to Beechdean which now has two prime opportunities to end its 11-year wait for a GT3 victory.
The team achieved both of its pole positions by less than a tenth: Rob Collard lapped 0.058s slower than Howard and Ben Barnicoat 0.019s shy of Gunn. On that evidence both Barwell’s Lamborghini and Optimum’s McLaren – neither of which, like Beechdean, have Compensation Time in Race 1 – will pose a significant threat on Monday.
More to follow.