The British GT Championship reached its climax last weekend with its annual curtain call at Donington Park where the TF Sport Aston Martin Vantage crew of Derek Johnston and Jonny Adam grabbed both the team and driver championships. A direct duel for both championships was cut short when the Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini Huracán GT3 of Jon Minshaw and Phil Keen spun off the track and into the tyre wall.
Having held the championship lead all season, a poor pair of results at the previous round cost the Aston Martin team their championship lead, meaning TF Sport had to overcome an 11.5 point deficit to double Snetterton winners Minshaw and Keen. However all did not go to plan for the Barwell-run Lamborghini and just 35 minutes into the race Minshaw, circulating in third behind Alistair McCaig in the Ecurie Ecosse McLaren 650S GT3, touched the grass on the exit of the fast Craner Curves which was enough to spear him off the track, into the barriers and out of the race.
This left Johnson comfortably in the lead and just needing to keep the Aston on the track and finish no lower than seventh to clinch the championship. The only other potential challenger was the Team Parker Racing Bentley Continental GT3 of Rick Parfitt Jr. and Seb Morris who needed to win to have any chance of the title and with Minshaw and Keen out of the running their job was slightly easier.
Unfortunately, the Bentley was struggling for grip all weekend and could never quite get in touch with the leaders, leaving a visibly frustrated Seb Morris to claim the final podium position and third place in the championship, a still credible result for the GT3 debutants.
At the pit stops Johnson handed over to Jonny Adam who had to endure a fifteen second success penalty, which gave the lead to the McLaren. With Rob Bell now piloting the McLaren 650s to its only British GT win in 2016, the positions were set to the end of the race allowing Adam in the Aston Martin to secure the championship from second place just eight seconds behind Bell and Morris chasing Adam over the line two and a half seconds later for third.
The GT4 championship went to Graham Johnson and Mike Robinson in the Optimum Motorsport Ginetta G55. Having also seen their championship lead cut after a poor performance at the previous round, the team ran a solid race to finish in third and seal the championship victory. First place went to McLaren 570S GT4 youngsters Ciaran Haggerty and Sandy Mitchell, giving a clean sweep of victories to McLaren and the Ecurie Ecosse team. The win was ever more impressive as Haggerty was driving with his right arm in plaster after nearly losing a thumb earlier in the week having severed a tendon following an incident with a hack saw.
Taking their second victory of the season in the 570s, Haggerty and Mitchell led from the start and eventually crossed the line eleven seconds ahead of the Generation AMR Aston Martin Vantage GT4 of Jack Mitchell and Matthew Graham whose second place was their best result of the year.
The team title in GT4 went to RCIB Insurance Racing who were enjoying their first season of GT racing with a pair of Ginetta G55s piloted by William Phillips and Jordan Stilp in the number 45 car and Aaron Mason and Rob Barrable in the number 75 car.
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