British GT4 pre Silverstone500 - Five crews remain in contention 04.11.2020: Intelligent Money British GT #Silverstone500 7-8 November 2020 Just 2.5 points covers the championship’s top-two contenders ahead of what promises to be a thrilling GT4 #SilverstoneShowdown between TF Sport and HHC

Intelligent Money British GT
#Silverstone500
7-8 November 2020





Just 2.5 points covers the championship’s top-two contenders ahead of what promises to be a thrilling GT4 #SilverstoneShowdown between TF Sport and HHC Motorsport. While five crews retain a mathematical chance of winning the title, it’s Jamie Caroline and Daniel Vaughan, and Jordan Collard and Patrik Matthiesen who arrive there all-but locked together at the top.



Both are subject to Success Penalties – Collard and Matthiesen the maximum 20s, Caroline and Vaughan 15s – which must be served during the final mandatory pitstop. Over a three-hour race the five-second difference is more likely to made or lost on track, leading to a straight shootout for the class title between the two.



But that’s not quite the whole story. For waiting in the wings is TF Sport’s other Aston Martin crewed by Patrick Kibble and Connor O’Brien who find themselves 13 points adrift of their team-mates. That sounds like a lot, and especially so with a 10s Success Penalty to serve. However, a third victory of the season would force Caroline and Vaughan to finish second, while Collard and Matthiesen would lose out on countback even if they finished as runners-up.



It’s a different story for Matt Cowley, joined for a second time aboard Academy’s Mustang by Will Moore, and HHC’s other McLaren shared by Gus Bowers and Chris Wesemael. Neither crew carries a Success Penalty but both must win to have any chance of overhauling Caroline and Vaughan. The latter are 37.5 points behind – the same amount awarded for victory – so the title could be claimed on countback subject to all other contenders suffering a disastrous afternoon. Cowley, meanwhile, trails the current leaders by 30.5 points.



The largest GT4 entry of the season features several more candidates who could spoil the party for any one of the title protagonists.



Speedworks’ Toyota remains win-less this season, albeit not for a lack of trying, and should be amongst the front-runners again in the hands of Sam Smelt and James Kell. Likewise Mia Flewitt and Euan Hankey who will have a bona-fide Pro-Am battle on their hands against several non-points-scoring race-by-race entries.



Two of them – the McLarens of Jan Klingelnberg and Warren Hughes, and Lars Dahmann and Charlie Hollings – share Balfe’s garage with Flewitt and Hankey. There’s also the intriguing prospect of 2019 Silverstone winners Nick Jones and Scott Malvern returning to the class with their Mercedes-AMG, as well as a new-look line-up in Century’s #42 BMW which now features Rob Wheldon alongside Andrew Gordon-Colebrooke.



The addition of a third Aston Martin, entered by MSL Powered by Newbridge Motorsport, adds further spice to the campaign’s most competitive GT4 field.






GTC: BACK WITH A BANG!




GT3 and GT4 has dominated British GT entry lists for the past decade or so despite the GTC class – reserved for one-make ‘Cup’ cars – remaining a viable option. That changes at Silverstone where, in terms of pace, the five GTC entries will slot in between their two more prevalent class companions.



Both Team Parker Racing-run 911s are usually found in Porsche Carrera Cup GB where Justin Armstrong, 2013 GT4 champion Ryan Ratcliffe and Karl Leonard all currently compete. The odd one out is Tim Bridgman who last contested a British GT round, also at the wheel of a Porsche, in 2011.


Maranello’s contingent also features plenty of returning British GT drivers. 2014 GT4 champion Ross Wylie is part of the event’s only three-driver crew, which includes Lee Frost and newly-crowned Ferrari Challenge GB champion Lucky Khera, while John Dhillon and Phil Quaife join forces with the team headed up by Aaron Scott.



Another GT4 champion, 2010 winner Jamie Stanley, shares FF Corse’s example with Laurent de Meeus.






- Tom Hornsby, photo SRO