British GT Silverstone Qualifying Analysis

Following qualifying for this afternoon’s British GT Silverstone 500 race we had a look at some of the data behind the session. Reviewing the top 3 in each session helps to reveals a little bit more about how the top drivers performed with some interesting details coming to light.

GT3 Qualifying 1

Fastest Lap: Kevin Tse in the #18 2 Seas Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo secured the top spot with a fastest lap time of 1:58.996.
Sector 1: All three drivers were very close in Sector 1 with Tillbrook in the #77 Garage 59 McLaren 720S GT3 edging out the others by a mere thousandth of a second (0.002 seconds).
Sector 2: Tillbrook also had the fastest time in Sector 2, but again by a very small margin (0.7 seconds) over Tse in the Mercedes.
Sector 3: Alex Martin in the #78 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini Huracán GT3 was slowest in Sector 3 by nearly a second compared to Tse in the Mercedes.
Sector 4: All three drivers were again very close in Sector 4, with Tse in the Mercedes edging out the field by a mere 0.033 seconds. However, it’s important to note that a fast Sector 4 tends to be due to a strong exit out of the final corner leading to a high speed on the pit straight, and doesn’t necessarily reflect a driver’s skill through the corners themselves.

Additional Observations:

All three drivers achieved their fastest lap times on their fourth lap (Lap 4).
There was very little difference in lap times between the top 3 qualifiers, with Tse in the Mercedes edging out the competition by a very narrow margin. This suggests an extremely close qualifying session.

Overall, the data suggests an incredibly close qualifying session between the top 3 drivers. While Tse secured pole position with a strong performance throughout the lap, the other drivers were very close behind. The race will likely be a tight battle between these three drivers.

GT3 Qualifying 2

Fastest Lap: Sandy Mitchell in the Barwell #78 Lamborghini he shares with Alex Martin completed the session at the top with a fastest lap time of 1:56.602.
Sector 1: Tom Gamble in the #27 Optimum Motorsport McLaren 720S had the fastest Sector 1 time at 150.1 seconds.
Sector 2: Gamble also had a clear advantage in Sector 2 with a time of 39.043 seconds. This suggests Gamble was likely carrying high speeds down the Hangar Straight and through the corners prior to this sector which includes the challenging Maggotts and Becketts complex.
Sector 3: Sandy Mitchell was the fastest in Sector 3 (41.459), indicating better acceleration or higher cornering exit speeds compared to the other drivers in this part of the track.
The lap times suggest Mitchell achieved the highest overall speed despite not having the fastest times in every sector. This could indicate Mitchell took more risks or had a more aggressive driving style to compensate for slightly slower cornering speeds.

Additional Observations:

All three drivers achieved their fastest lap times on their second lap.
Dries Vanthoor in the BMW lacked a little bit of pace compared to the other two drivers in sector 2 suggesting the #1 Century Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 was carrying less speed down the Hangar straight and into Stowe Corner. His teammate, Darren Leung, didn’t appear to have such problems in his session, posting the second best time through sector 2 in his session. Vanthoor however was down in 12 place albeit just 0.268 behind the fastest through the sector which was Hugo Cook in the #32 J&S Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3.
Looking at the data in sector 2 for the other professional drivers at Century BMW, Vanthoor is clearly the fastest and most consistent, completing 3 flying flaps with just 0.112 between the fastest and slowest lap. Dan Harper completed 4 flying laps losing time on each pass resulting in a 2.602 second gap between his fastest and slowest laps. Lewis Plato didn’t get below 25 seconds for the sector but his consistency matched Vanthoor with just 0.151 of a second separating his fastest and slowest runs through the sector.

Returning to the top 3 drivers in the session, the overall data suggests a close competition between Mitchell and Gamble. Mitchell secured the fastest lap with a strong performance in Sector 3, while Gamble excelled in Sectors 1 and 2.

GT4 Qualifying 1

Fastest Lap: Jack Brown in the #90 Optimum Motorsport McLaren Artura GT4 secured the best lap with a fastest time of 2:08.984.
Sector 1: All three drivers were very close in Sector 1, with Brown edging out the others by a very small margin.
Sector 2: Brown was again fastest in Sector 2, with a significant advantage over Stuart Middleton in the #56 CMR Ginetta G56 GT4 Evo (2.7 seconds) and Mikey Porter in the #7 Forsetti Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 Evo (3.2 seconds). This suggests Brown did well at carrying high speeds through the corners in this sector.
Sector 3: Stuart Middleton in the Ginetta had the fastest time in Sector 3, but the times were very close again with only 0.2 seconds separating the top 2 drivers (Middleton and Brown).
Sector 4: Mikey Porter in the Aston Martin was fastest in Sector 4, but again the times were very close with less than a second separating all three drivers.

Additional Observations:

Brown in the McLaren achieved his fastest lap time on his second lap (Lap 2).
Middleton in the Ginetta and Porter in the Aston Martin achieved their best times on Lap 4.
There is a trend of lap times getting slower as the laps progress, which could show an issue with tyre wear for the GT4 cars.

Overall, the data suggests a close qualifying session with Jack Brown in the McLaren securing pole position with a strong performance in Sector 2. However, the other drivers were very close behind, and the race will likely be a battle between these three. It will be interesting to see how tyre wear and track degradation affect lap times throughout the race.

GT4 Qualifying 2

Fastest Lap: Gordie Mutch in the #20 Mahiki Racing Lotus Emira GT4 secured the best time with a fastest lap time of 2:08.716.
Sector 1: Mutch in the Lotus had a significant advantage in Sector 1, with a nearly 2 second lead over both Meakin in the #90 McLaren and Tomlinson in the #56 Ginetta. This suggests Mutch might be particularly skilled at accelerating out of the first corner and achieving a high speed early in the lap.
Sector 2: Zac Meakin in the McLaren was fastest in Sector 2, but the times were very close with less than a second separating the top 2 drivers (Meakin and Tomlinson).
Sector 3: Freddie Tomlinson in the Ginetta had the fastest time in Sector 3, with a significant advantage over both Mutch in the Lotus (2.7 seconds) and Meakin in the McLaren (2.2 seconds). This suggests Tomlinson might be particularly skilled through the high speed corners in this sector.
Sector 4: Mutch in the Lotus had the fastest time in Sector 4, but again the times were very close with less than a tenth of a second separating all three drivers.

Additional Observations:

All three drivers achieved their fastest lap times on their first lap (Lap 1).

Overall, the data suggests a close qualifying session with Gordie Mutch in the Lotus securing the best time with a strong performance in Sector 1. However, the other drivers were very close behind, and each driver showed particular strength in a specific sector. The race will likely be a battle to see if Mutch can maintain his early lead or if Meakin and Tomlinson can capitalize on their strengths in the later sectors.