That British GT’s visit to Spa ended with an empty top step of the podium for its overall victors – with the second and third-place finishers celebrating sheepishly either side – was an indication that this was no ordinary race.
On one level, it was quite the good news story. Nick Halstead and Jamie Stanley took their and the Fox Motorsport team’s first overall British GT race victory, and they did it with a formidable performance in their McLaren 720S that did not owe to the misfortune of others.
But, even before the race, things were not as they seemed, and it all went back to before qualifying when the GT3 McLarens got a Balance of Performance benefit – less weight and more boost. The Fox and Paddock Motorsport teams thus took second and fifth on the grid respectively, but it transpired that both of their McLarens were overboosting more than the BoP allowed, and so their lap times were scrubbed and they faced starting at the back of the grid.
The two crews chose instead to race under appeal, though, arguing the matter was outside their control (rather it was in McLaren’s, they said) and there was nothing untoward going on. This meant they could start from their earned qualifying positions as well as, more regrettably, the result of the race being provisional until the matter is heard at the UK’s National Court at an undetermined date. Sadly, it’s not the first time this season that a British GT race result has been left unclear leaving the venue.
Parking the off-track kerfuffle aside, the two-hour race proved to be a good one, particularly in its first half when the Am drivers provided a tight multi-car battle at the front of the field. Poleman Adam Balon led in his Barwell Lamborghini Huracan Evo, with James Cottingham’s 2 Seas Mercedes-AMG on his tail, along with three McLarens in the fight: Halstead, Graham Davidson’s Paddock machine and Morgan Tillbrook’s Enduro version. Redline’s Alex Malykhin was also in the mix at the wheel of a Porsche 911 GT3-R, rather than his usual Lamborghini, to help his 24 Hours of Spa preparations.
The McLarens looked the most potent, but two dropped out of contention when Davidson tapped Tillbrook into the final chicane. The Enduro driver was severely delayed by the spin and recovery, while Davidson – shortly after he’d climbed into first place – got a stop/go penalty for the collision. Later both cars were further impeded, the Paddock machine by a track-limits penalty and Enduro by a puncture.
Balon struggled to regain tyre temperature after a safety car period – brought about when Mia Flewitt’s 7TSIX McLaren was helped off at Eau Rouge by Michael Igoe’s WPI Lamborghini. Balon therefore dropped back, leaving Cottingham in front from Halstead’s Fox McLaren. Managing his tyres carefully, Halstead came on strong towards the end of the stint and, not long before the pitstops, got better drive than Cottingham out of La Source and swept past, via some contact, on the run down to Eau Rouge and quickly built a lead.
All came in at half distance to hand over to their Pro team-mates, which left Stanley in the Fox McLaren with a lead of about six seconds over Cottingham’s 2 Seas partner Lewis Williamson. The ever-rapid Jules Gounon, helped by Barwell and Redline success penalties, meanwhile had leapt to third in his RAM Racing Mercedes shared with points leader Ian Loggie.
But any thoughts of either Williamson or Gounon being able to haul in Stanley proved false as the trio largely matched each other for the rest of the race, with just over 5s the winning margin at the flag. The victors, despite the off-track background noise, were defiant. “We had pace,” Stanley said. “We did what we should have done, the appeal s*** will get sorted out in the background. Morally, we won Spa, so I don’t care what they say.”
Halstead added: “Once I got into my pace about halfway through [my stint], I definitely had the speed against everyone else and just slowly worked my way through them. The car felt mega, it proved that we can do it. We’ll wait for the appeal, but [the race was an] amazing experience.”
The RAM Mercedes’ third place meant Loggie extended his points lead even further with two rounds remaining, helped by the Igoe/Phil Keen WPI Lamborghini – second in the standings heading into Spa – enduring a frustrating time.
The team struggled for a set-up while Igoe was suffering with tonsillitis. Keen eventually, and atypically, crashed out at Eau Rouge, the cause of which was something of a mystery. It means Loggie could claim the title at Brands Hatch in September.
Spa British GT4: Day and Miller blow title fight open
If a metaphorical cloud hung over the GT3 race at Spa, the GT4 battle featured no such concern as the youthful R Racing Aston Martin Vantage pair of Josh Miller and Jamie Day claimed their second win in three races.
And the result sends them right into the thick of a hectic championship fight, placing them second between long-time chief title protagonists Matt Topham/Darren Turner (Newbridge Aston) and Richard Williams/Sennan Fielding (Steller Audi R8), with just two points covering the trio.
The Miller/Day Aston qualified third, confident of the car’s race pace even though they thought the track with its straights wouldn’t suit the Aston. The polesitting Marco Signoretti/Matt Cowley Academy Ford Mustang was not a race day factor due to excessive tyre wear, as Jordan Collard in the Toyota Gazoo GR Supra sensationally rose from sixth to lead within a couple of laps.
Collard stayed ahead for the rest of the stint, despite tyre pickup causing a vibration and requiring him to avoid kerbs, all while Miller gave close chase. Tom Edgar took over the Toyota from Collard but, after a time, struggled with tyre wear. Day – having taken over from Miller – therefore closed onto the Toyota’s tail and passed with a fine outside-to-inside move at Stavelot. The Aston stayed ahead until the end, winning by 11s.
Day said: “They [Edgar] had a bit of a gap, I made a bit of a mistake with the exit from the pits. We chased him down, it took a while. It was a really nice battle with Tom. As a team, we’re just learning more each weekend, being new to British GT, not only myself and Josh but as a team. Hopefully we’re going to make [winning] a habit.”
For much of the way, though, the smart money looked on Steller to win. The Audi effort had rediscovered its form with a new car for this weekend, having found a crack in the previous one. Fielding passed Day in the second stint, then looked set to take the lead from Edgar, but by now he had a stop/go penalty after a mechanic neglected to pull their goggles down at the pitstop.
The points-leading Topham/Turner duo struggled with brake problems as a practice off set them back, and the car’s relative straightline speed shortage made race progress difficult. Turner brought the car home sixth, only just short of the toiling Edgar as the pair finished side-by-side in a thrilling crescendo, both having been passed by the recovering Fielding on the final lap.
Spa GB3: Brilliant Browning bags the double
Hitech GP’s Luke Browning was almost unbeatable at Spa-Francorchamps as the second half of the GB3 Championship season commenced in the Ardennes.
The British driver took pole for both of Saturday’s races with lap times almost half a second faster than his closest rivals, before going on to dominate each encounter. Browning made a good start in the first race but was passed on the long run to Les Combes on the opening lap, with championship rival Joel Granfors taking full advantage of the tow to blast past.
Behind, a multi-car first lap incident exiting La Source eliminated James Hedley (racing for JHR having switched from Elite) and Nico Christodoulou (Arden), which brought out the safety car. When that pitted, Browning mirrored Granfors’s lap-one move to reclaim the lead and romped into the distance to win by over six seconds.
Fortec Motorsports driver Granfors settled for second ahead of Chris Dittmann Racing’s Branden Oxley, who benefited when a 5s track-limits penalty was given to Hitech’s Cian Shields after he had taken third on the road. Max Esterson (Douglas Motorsport) finished in Oxley’s wheeltracks to claim fourth, ahead of Carlin’s Javier Sagrera and Elite’s Tom Lebbon.
Browning’s race-two start wasn’t as strong as his first and that allowed Oxley, who started second, to take the lead. Along the Kemmel Straight, Browning and Granfors made it a three-way battle, with Granfors edging the Hitech driver onto the grass before challenging Oxley at Les Combes.
Granfors was later judged to have forced Oxley off the road after the latter skipped across the kerbs on the inside of the corner and clattered into the back of the Swede. Oxley was eliminated with front suspension damage, while Granfors somehow emerged unscathed and in the lead from Browning.
Next time around, Browning got into Granfors’s tow and made the move stick into Les Combes. While Granfors was close to replicating the same move on lap three, Browning was able to stretch his lead by a couple of tenths per lap to make it two wins from two.
Granfors finished 1.5s behind but, having been adjudged to be the guilty party in the Oxley incident, was given a 10s penalty that dropped him to fourth, and elevated Esterson to second and Oxley’s CDR team-mate McKenzy Cresswell to third for his maiden GB3 podium.
The fully reversed-grid race on Sunday morning proved to be almost a non-event as a colossal accident for Arden’s David Morales at Blanchimont brought out the red flags after less than three laps were completed. The American was able to extract himself from the car and was released from hospital after checks.
A restart took place with Carlin’s Callum Voisin initially declared the winner having taken the lead just as a safety car was deployed, which effectively ended the race. But officials deemed the restarted grid order to have been incorrect, so the result was instead taken from the first lap of the original race, with Tommy Smith (Douglas) named the winner ahead of Voisin and Fortec’s Zak Taylor.
Browning was classified 18th and leaves Spa with an increased margin of 30.5 points to Granfors at the top of the standings, with the next round taking place at Silverstone this weekend.
Reports by Graham Keilloh and Richard Randle. Photography by Jakob Ebrey Photography/Motorsport Images. Want more reports from the world of national motorsport? Subscribe today and never miss your weekly fix of motorsport with Autosport magazine
