Howard wants different format

Andrew Howard has called on British GT to be “brave” with its format for the championship’s first of two visits to Donington Park next year, after the sale of Rockingham created a vacancy on the calendar.

The two-time champion hopes for the introduction of a longer into-thenight race to become an “ambassadorial round” alongside the category’s flagship Silverstone 500, the only three-hour event on the calendar.

“The key is to mix up the format,” Howard told

MN. “If the championship can be brave, if we go to a longer format that perhaps starts at 1800hrs and went through to 2200hrs, that would be awesome.

“It brings a new dynamic without being massively expensive.”

However, ERC Sport driver Lee Mowle felt it was a missed opportunity to reduce costs by cutting the calendar to six rounds.

“Speak to most of the pointy end in GT3 and they are spending some significant amounts of money, it has got stupid,” he said. “If you were going to question what you do with it, why don’t you move it to a sixround series and take 50-60 grand out of the budget? I thought it was an opportunity missed to do something like that.”

However, British GT championship manager Benjamin Franassovici says going back to six weekends would not be a viable option.

“It’s a national championship, so I think six is a bit on the low side,” he said. “I am working behind the scenes to get the format right and I think we’re going to get something different.”