Jonny Adam and Derek Johnston, driving the #1 TF Sport Aston Martin Vantage GT3, won the final round of the 2017 British GT Championship, heading a TF Sport 1 -2 after Jon Barnes, driving the sister #11 Vantage which took pole for the season finale, crossed the in second place.
Taking the final podium spot was Phil Keen, driving the #33 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 he shared with Jon Minshaw.
Seb Morris brought the #31 Team Parker Racing Bentley Continental GT3 home in fourth place after team-mate Rick Parfitt had handed the car over in third.
The fourth place finish was sufficient for Morris and Parfitt to secure their first GT3 Drivers Championship with Jon Minshaw and Phil Keen finishing second in the standings.
The HHC Motorsport pairing of Stuart Middleton and William Tregurtha, driving the #55 Ginetta G55 GT4 secured the GT4 Drivers Championship after twenty minutes of the start when title rivals Alex Reed and David Pittard went out after Reed spun the #55 entry.
The GT3 battle was hard-fought after pole-sitter Mark Farmer, in the #11 TF Sport Aston Martin Vantage GT3, was pushed hard by Derek Johnston in the sister #1 car, with brief contact between the TF Sport entries allowing Jon Minshaw in the #33 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini Huracán to briefly move into second place.
A spin by Minshaw, however, relegated the #33 Barwell Motorsport entry down to eighth place before Minshaw brought the bright green Lamborghini back up to fifth place at the driver changes.
Parfitt took third place from Liam Griffin in the #6 Barwell Motorsport entry with an opportune move after a yellow flag. An aggrieved Parfitt admitted that the move had been the best of the year for him.
“At the beginning it seemed like I was hit by every single Lamborghini,” said an exhausted Parfitt “(Liam) Griffin seemed to be attempting to drive me off the circuit. He wasn’t even turning into the corners. it was absolutely the most amateurish move I’ve seen all year and it was a real shame. Luckily M-Sport build the Bentley strongly and it’s a bit of a tank. Liam was holding me up and doing a very good job of that. He was using the strength of the Lamborghini to park it on the apex and the used their superior traction.”
I timed the move (for third place) absolutely perfectly. It was very opportunistic. I saw the yellow and saw the green and just as we hit the green I was alongside. I was absolutely bang on that move and it was probably my best move if the year. After that, it was just about keeping my head together and driving consistently.”
After the pit stops had cycled through it was 2016 British GT Drivers champion Jonny Adam, now at the wheel of the #1 TF Sport Aston Martin Vantage GT3, who held the lead, ahead of Jon Barnes in the sister #11 car.
Phil Keen, now piloting the #33 Barwell Motorsports Lamborghini pushed hard but was unable to mount a serious challenge for second place.
Seb Morris, meanwhile, in the #31 Team Parker Racing Bentley Continental GT3 held station in fourth place knowing that it would be sufficient to secure his and Rick Parfitt’s first GT3 drivers title.
Rick Parfitt is the first driver to win both the GT4 and GT3 drivers titles.
The GT4 class was won by 2016 GT4 Drivers Champions Graham Johnson and Mike Robinson in the #501 PMW Expo Racing / Optimum Motorsport McLaren 570S GT4.
Full race report to follow.
