ADAM WINS AGAIN
TF Sport duo were awarded the championship as controversy reigned. By James Newbold
Fourth British GT title for Aston man after controversial finale
Aside from race winners Rob Bell and Shaun Balfe, nobody knew whether they should be celebrating as British GT’S 300th race drew to a close. Barwell Motorsport’s Jonny Cocker and Sam De Haan crossed the line in fourth as the provisional 2019 champions, but with an investigation hanging over contact between Jonny Adam and
Dennis Lind at the Old Hairpin, the traditional post-race celebrations were conspicuous by their absence.
Tension on the track gave way to a cagey waiting game outside the stewards’ office, where it was eventually decided that Lind had gained an unfair advantage and would be docked five seconds, promoting Adam and TF Sport team-mate Graham Davidson to fifth position. After an appeal from Lind’s WPI Motorsport team was heard and dismissed, Davidson thus became the fourth different driver to partner Adam to a British GT title and the first to do so with the new-for-2019 Aston Martin Vantage GT3.
“A win is a win, but I don’t know how I feel. Relief mostly,” he said. “I really looked forward to hanging over that security fencing to cheer Jonny over the line, so I feel a bit robbed of that.
But we’ll make up for it in Las Vegas.”
It was an ending hardly befitting of a superb three-way scrap between TF and Barwell, and the latter’s hopes diminished early on when pre-race points leaders Phil Keen and Adam Balon dropped out of contention.
Balon had started second to poleman Balfe, but as the Mclaren romped away into a dominant lead – 27 seconds by the pitstops, more than enough to negate his 15s success penalty carried over from Brands Hatch – Balon soon dropped to fourth behind Ian Loggie’s RAM Racing Mercedes and Angus Fender’s Century Motorsport BMW.
Matters then came to a head when
Balon was baulked by the KTM of Mike Mccollum exiting the Old Hairpin on lap 11, allowing Davidson through. As Dominic Paul’s BMW – which later retired with a water leak – sought to take advantage and made it three-wide into the Schwantz left-hander, Balon was caught in the middle and made slight contact with Mccollum. Although able to continue, his pace was massively hobbled and he was over a minute off the lead by the pitstops.
“I chose the wrong side,” said a disappointed Balon. “It didn’t feel like a big tap at the time, but unfortunately it bent the steering and bent the toe-link, which then failed when Keeny went out.”
Keen rejoined after losing six laps to repairs, but his long wait for a British GT title goes on.
With a 20s success penalty looming over him, Davidson then turned his attentions to building a buffer over De Haan, who came into the race 5.5 points in arrears but with no success seconds to worry about. For much of the stint it looked like Adam would emerge behind Cocker, but Davidson – who had been forced onto the grass at Schwantz when Loggie rejoined from a grassy moment of his own at the Old Harpin – delivered the goods to just keep Adam ahead.
“I told the team not to speak to me too much,” said Davidson, his confidence restored after problems with the gearbox internals were fixed in time for Sunday morning warm-up. “I didn’t know I’d built the gap until I got out of the car and the guys started to clap.”
At this point TF Sport looked to have the title in the bag, with Cocker needing to clear Adam and the BMW Fender handed over to Jack Mitchell in order to make up the points deficit. But it had reckoned without the arrival of the safety car with half an hour to go, required when Connor O’brien’s Optimum GT4 Aston speared across the grass at the Craner Curves and left Aron Taylor-smith’s Mustang with nowhere to go, which brought factory Lamborghini driver Lind into contention.
It wasn’t long before he made his presence known. After passing Cocker, he ran into the back of Adam at Goddards and dropped behind Cocker again, only to re-pass at the Melbourne Loop and latch back onto Adam’s tail. With just four minutes to go and negotiating GT4 traffic at the Old Hairpin, Lind again touched the rear of the Aston and pushed it off-line. As Adam – now with the diffuser pushed up into the wheelarch and rubbing against his left-rear tyre – gathered it together, Lind eased off, allowing Cocker to pass them both into Mcleans.
Lind then followed Cocker around the outside and demoted Adam to sixth, which gave Cocker and De Haan the title
on the road before the stewards acted.
Meanwhile at the front, Bell was 19s up on Callum Macleod – the RAM Mercedes profiting from a 10s-success penalty for Fender and Mitchell – when the safety car intervened, but the first series win for the 720S was never in much doubt with Keen acting as an impromptu buffer between them.
Balfe’s first series win since 2003 lifted them to third in the points, just five shy of Adam/davidson, and gives credence to his assessment that the title fight might have been different had the season started at Snetterton after electrical issues forced their withdrawal from Oulton Park.
But it was truly TF Sport’s day, as Adam’s knack for winning titles at Donington continued.
“Actually as a circuit, I’m not that fond of it,” he admitted. “But somehow I love a Donington decider, so keep bringing them!”