Multiple champions to be crowned at weekend
MULTIPLE champions will be crowned when Donington Park hosts the season finale of the British GT and BRDC British F3 Championships on September 14-15.
British GT is the UK’s premier sports car racing category, with supercars from top marques such as Aston Martin, Bentley, Lamborghini and McLaren competing across two main categories.
Honours are up for grabs in both the GT3 and GT4 divisions, with five crews still in with a shout of winning the main GT3 element, and an incredible six still in contention in GT4. With so much up for grabs, the two-hour race is bound to be full of tension and drama, especially if previous Donington ‘deciders’ are anything to go by.
The Lamborghini Huracan of Phil Keen and Adam Balon heads to Donington in the championship lead. Keen has so often arrived at Donington as the favourite, only to see fortune slip away from him – could this finally be his year? Sports car ace Jonny Adam and teammate Graham Davidson are just six points behind though. Adam is a three-time champion and will be confident of taking the title again at the wheel of an Aston Martin Vantage, especially after clinching all his titles at Donington in previous years.
Joining the championship fight are Sam De Haan and Jonny Cocker in a Lamborghini, who will be out for revenge after their teammates Keen and Balon defied team orders last time out at Brands Hatch. De Haan and Cocker now have their
work cut out to win the championship. Meanwhile Aston Martin duo Ollie Wilkinson and Bradley Ellis, and McLaren pairing Shaun Balfe and Rob Bell must win the race and hope for misfortune for their title rivals to stand a chance of claiming the title.
It’s even more open in the GT4 division, with six pairings representing five teams and three manufacturers in with a chance of the title. Aston Martin, McLaren and Ford will do battle for this category, with former Emmerdale actor Kelvin Fletcher still in championship contention in his Aston Martin. Such is the nature of GT racing, there are several other sub-divisions and categories that also remain up for grabs, meaning there’s something to play for everywhere you look.
As well as the outcomes of the titles, the series will also celebrate its 300th race at the venue where it all started in 1993. A number of spectacular cars from the history of the championship are set to go on display and take part in parades on the main Sunday raceday. In addition, large supercar display areas will further add to the festivities at one of Donington’s biggest events of the year.
As well as the British GT titles, the BRDC British F3 Championship will also be decided at Donington Park. Four British drivers are set to go head-tohead to claim one of motorsport’s most prestigious titles, as they aim to reach Formula One. It’ll be Clement Novalak, Johnathan Hoggard, Ayrton Simmons or Kiern Jewiss who will take a title also won in the past by F1 legends including Jackie Stewart, Ayrton Senna and Mika Hakkinen. Novalak holds a solid margin in the title battle, but with three races across the weekend, all could change rapidly.
In addition, several other categories will be in action across the weekend including Ginetta sports cars, MINI Challenge, VW Cup, and the BRSCC Sports & Saloon Car Trophy.
Tickets for the British GT and BRDC British F3 Donington decider are available in advance priced from £20 for adults, with free entry all weekend for children under 13. For more information and to book, visit www.donington-park.co.uk