British GT has always been a series for the ‘gentleman driver’ – the non-professional competitor in a driver line-up who often funds the race seat. While their professional counterparts are all usually separated by no more than a few tenths, the quality of the amateur can vary significantly, so they make all the difference.
It was evident in 2022 when Ian Loggie undertook more track time than others, the RAM Racing driver competing across five championships. This led to a title-winning British GT campaign, where he finished inside the top six for all but one round in his Mercedes-AMG GT3. And in 2023, Darren Leung worked seamlessly with BMW factory driver Dan Harper as the Century Motorsport pair clinched a maiden championship.
This year, Rob Collard has been the strongest bronze-graded driver, so it’s perhaps not a surprise that he and son Ricky lead the standings ahead of this weekend’s Brands Hatch season finale, where Collard Sr may claim a second title after winning British GT in 2020.
His co-driver that year was Sandy Mitchell, who is second in the other Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini, which sits 24.5 points behind with 37.5 left available. Therefore, the chances of the 24-year-old and co-driver Alex Martin clinching the title are pretty slim, and it’s silly errors in the past two rounds that have cost the #78 Huracan.
Firstly, the pair were set to leave Snetterton with a 22-point championship lead after two victories that weekend. But, in race two, Martin lapped GT4 traffic under safety car conditions and a post-race 30-second penalty dropped them to 10th, meaning the Collards instead led the standings by five points.
But given the #63 Huracan finished second in that race, it needed to serve an extra 15s in its pitstop at Donington Park, while Mitchell/Martin had no compensation penalty. They still only finished fourth, though, because Martin suffered a puncture after clipping the Fogarty Esses tyre stack while running second behind Collard Sr 45 minutes in. This prompted an unscheduled pitstop and ended their chances of winning the penultimate round, which was eventually claimed by the sister Barwell machine.
So, the title could easily be heading to Mitchell/Martin, who have won the most rounds, but a consistent and error-free season means their team-mates have one hand on the trophy. The father-son pair is yet to finish a race outside of the top five and, although Collard Jr has driven superbly in his first full British GT season, his dad has made a huge difference.
This was most evident at Snetterton, where Collard Sr climbed from seventh to fourth in the final five minutes of the second one-hour race before post-race penalties pushed the crew up to second. That proved pivotal for the championship, which might be taken by a father-son duo for the second time – after Jim and Glynn Geddie in 2011.
“This is history,” says Collard Sr, 55. “I’m at the age now where I haven’t got many years left, I might hang my helmet up at the end of this year, so it’s just fantastic – I couldn’t have dreamed for better.”
Morris could join his former team-mate Rick Parfitt Jr as the only drivers to have won both the GT3 and GT4 titles
They will seal the title with a top-five finish at Brands, but it’s still not yet over because the championship leaders must serve a 20s success penalty for their win last time out. Garage 59’s Shaun Balfe and Adam Smalley also have an outside chance of winning the title, the Silverstone 500 victors 36 points off the summit.
There are also four cars that could clinch the GT4 crown this weekend. Teenagers Mikey Porter and Jamie Day hold top spot in the Forsetti Motorsport Aston Martin, which has arguably been the surprise package given it is the team’s debut campaign.
Although the championship leaders have not won since the Oulton Park season opener, an incredible run of consistency has them in first place, just like the Collards. Porter/Day have claimed three podiums in the seven races since Oulton, which has also helped Forsetti to clinch the teams’ title.
Behind is the Optimum McLaren pair of Jack Brown and Zac Meakin, who trail by just 3.5 points. This comes after an agonising 2023, when Brown and co-driver Charles Clark led the championship until non-points finishes in the final two rounds handed the GT4 crown to Academy Motorsport’s Erik Evans and Matt Cowley.
Optimum boss Shaun Goff said in May that last year “still hurts us”, but the title might slip away again in 2024 after the championship lead was lost at Donington. The Artura finished third on track, but it was guilty of speeding under yellow-flag conditions, causing a post-race 30s penalty that dropped Brown/Meakin to 11th.
Seb Morris and Charles Dawson also cannot be discounted. Their Team Parker Mercedes is only 7.5 points off the top, after scoring the most points in the past four rounds. It means Morris could join his former team-mate Rick Parfitt Jr as the only drivers to have won both the GT3 and GT4 titles. The other Forsetti entry of Will Orton and Marc Warren also still has a chance – they are 13.5 points behind after scoring four podiums, albeit no wins.
With plenty still at stake, Brands Hatch promises to be an intriguing season finale as it caps off a campaign where the quality of a team’s amateur has once again proven incredibly important.
