Many changes and new faces for the 2016 British GT season
The 2016 British GT season, promoted by SRO Motorsports Group, starts this weekend at Brands Hatch with a variety of manufacturers and with more than 30 GT3 and GT4 cars on the strong grid.
One of the major changes before the start of the new season is new tires supplier. After using Avon tires for nine years, the British GT championship switches to Pirelli ones what should allow cars to score better lap times.
Many changes in the drivers line-ups
As it could be seen in the entry list, many teams changed their driver line-ups. The reigning champions Beechdean AMR will defend its GT3 crown with a refreshed line-up after GT4 title winner Ross Gunn joined the 2015 champion and team owner, Andrew Howard for the new campaign. Jonny Adam, Howard’s partner from the last campaign, joined TF Sport while the runner-ups Alexander Sims and Marco Attard parted ways. Attard is not even on the entry list while Sims will be a part-time driver for the GT3 championship winning team Barwell Motorsport.
Jonny Adam and Andrew Howard, 2015 British GT champions
Lee Mowle and Joe Osborne, a pairing who finished third in 2015, driving a Triple Eight Racing’s BMW Z4 GT3, now will drive the same car AMD tuning team. Ross Gunn stepped up to GT3 and he won’t defend the GT4 title won last year with Jamie Chadwick. The 17-year-old Jamie, who became the first female and youngest ever champion in British GT history last season, had previously confirmed a partial campaign alongside Paul Hollywood at Beechdean AMR.
Jamie Chadwick, 2015 British GT4 champion
In 2016, we will see the new Silver Cup and GT4 Teams’ championship winners because Ahmad Al Harthy and Academy Motorsport will not defend silverware they won in the previous season.
2016 British GT race calendar
April 17: Brands Hatch (120 minutes)
May 1: Rockingham (120 minutes)
May 30: Oulton Park (2×60 minutes)
June 12: Silverstone (180 minutes)
July 9: Spa-Francorchamps (120 minutes)
August 7: Snetterton (2×60 minutes)
September 11: Donington Park (120 minutes)
GT3 Teams and Drivers entry list
#1 Beechdean AMR (Aston Martin Vantage GT3)
Driver 1: Andrew Howard
Driver 2: Ross Gunn
#4 AMDtuning.com (BMW Z4 GT3)
Driver 1: TBA
Driver 2: TBA
#5 PFL Motorsport (Aston Martin Vantage GT3)
Driver 1: Peter Littler
Driver 2: Jody Fannin
#6 Barwell Motorsport (Lamborghini Huracan GT3)
Driver 1: Liam Griffin
Driver 2: Fabio Babini/Alexander Sims
Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan GT3
#7 AMDtuning.com (BMW Z4 GT3)
Driver 1: Lee Mowle
Driver 2: Joe Osborne
#8 Motorbase Performance (Aston Martin Vantage GT3)
Driver 1: Phil Dryburgh
Driver 2: Ross Wylie
#11 TF Sport (Aston Martin Vantage GT3)
Driver 1: Mark Farmer
Driver 2: Jon Barnes
#14 Optimum Motorsport (Audi R8 LMS GT3)
Driver 1: Ryan Ratcliffe
Driver 2: Will Moore
AMDtuning.com BMW Z4 GT3
#17 TF Sport (Aston Martin Vantage GT3)
Driver 1: Derek Johnston
Driver 2: Jonny Adam
#31 Team Parker Racing (Bentley Continental GT3)
Driver 1: Rick Parfitt
Driver 2: Seb Morris
#32 Tolman Motorsport (Ginetta G55 GT3)
Driver 1: Ian Stinton
Driver 2: Mike Simpson
Tolman Motorsport’s Ginetta G55 GT3
#33 Barwell Motorsport (Lamborghini Huracan GT3)
Driver 1: Jon Minshaw
Driver 2: Phil Keen
#56 Tolman Motorsport (Ginetta G55 GT3)
Driver 1: David Pattison
Driver 2: Luke Davenport
#79 Black Bull Ecurie Ecosse (McLaren 650S GT3)
Driver 1: Alasdair McCaig
Driver 2: Rob Bell
#88 Team ABBA with Rollcentre Racing (BMW Z4 GT3)
Driver 1: Richard Neary
Driver 2: Martin Short
Team ABBA’s BMW Z4 GT3
GT4 Teams and Drivers entry list
#40 Century Motorsport (Ginetta G55 GT4)
Driver 1: Sean Byrne
Driver 2: Aleksander Schjerpen
#42 Generation AMR MacMillan Racing (Aston Martin Vantage GT4)
Driver 1: Matthew Graham
Driver 2: Jack Mitchell
#44 Generation AMR SuperRacing (Aston Martin Vantage GT4)
Driver 1: James Holder
Driver 2: Matthew George
Generation SuperRacing AMR’s Aston Martin Vantage GT4
#45 RCIB Insurance Racing (Ginetta G55 GT4)
Driver 1: Jordan Stilp
Driver 2: William Phillips
#47 JW Bird Motorsport (Aston Martin Vantage GT4)
Driver 1: Kieran Griffin
Driver 2: Jake Giddings
#50 PMW Expo / Optimum Motorsport (Ginetta G55 GT4)
Driver 1: Graham Johnson
Driver 2: Mike Robinson
PMW EXPO’s Ginetta G55 GT4
#51 Lanan Racing (Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport)
Driver 1: Joey Foster
Driver 2: Alex Reed
#59 Black Bull Ecurie Ecosse (McLaren 570S GT4)
Driver 1: Ciaran Haggerty
Driver 2: Sandy Mitchell
#60 Ebor GT (Maserati GT MC GT4)
Driver 1: Marcus Hoggarth
Driver 2: Abbie Eaton
#66 Simpson Motorsport (Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport)
Driver 1: Nick Jones
Driver 2: Scott Malvern
#68 GPRM (Toyota GT86)
Driver 1: TBA
Driver 2: TBA
#70 Stratton Motorsport (Lotus Evora GT4)
Driver 1: Robin Shute
Driver 2: Will Hunholz
Stratton Motorsport Lotus Evora GT4, RCIB Racing Ginetta G55 GT4 and McLaren 570S GT4
#71 Stratton Motorsport (Aston Martin Vantage GT4)
Driver 1: David Tinn
Driver 2: Robin Marriot
#73 Century Motorsport (Ginetta G55 GT4)
Driver 1: Anna Walewska
Driver 2: Nathan Freke
#75 RCIB Insurance Racing (Ginetta G55 GT4)
Driver 1: Robert Barrable
Driver 2: Wilson Thompson
#86 GPRM (Toyota GT86)
Driver 1: Stefan Hodgetts
Driver 2: James Fletcher
GPRM’s Toyota
#407 Beechdean AMR (Aston Martin Vantage GT4)
Driver 1: Jordan Albert
Driver 2: Jack Bartholomew
#408 Beechdean AMR (Aston Martin Vantage GT4)
Driver 1: Paul Hollywood
Driver 2: Jamie Chadwick
Photo: britishgt.com
