Thursday, July 21 2016

The British GT Championship returns to Snetterton on 6/7 August and the Norfolk venue once again hosts the penultimate event of the season, with plenty of drama expected to play out over two one-hour races.

With many of the world's most exotic supercars competing on a capacity grid, this will be one of the fastest races of the year at Snetterton. Cars from Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Lamborghini, McLaren, Porsche and more will combine to create the soundtrack of the season.

It's the second consecutive year that Snetterton has hosted the penultimate meeting, and last year's rounds marked a turning point in the destiny of the prestigious title. Heading into the Norfolk meeting, the reigning champion Ecurie Ecosse team was set to successfully defend its crown following a commanding victory at Brands Hatch.

After qualifying in ninth place on the grid for the opening race in their BMW Z4, reigning champion Marco Attard and co-driver Alexander Sims could only make up one place after Sims incurred a penalty for aggressive driving. Worse still, one of its title rivals, Oman Racing Team, claimed victory and the other, Beechdean, fourth place.

With valuable points lost, the team's expectations were raised for the second encounter, where they had pole position. However a downpour just as the race began caught out Sims, who ran wide at the hairpin and made contact with Rory Butcher in the Oman Racing Team Aston Martin. Sims was delayed with a puncture, as was Butcher, and this handed the advantage to the Beechdean Aston Martin, which went on to win the race, setting up the team's title success.

Beechdean's Jonny Adam moved to the rival TF Sport operation over the winter, and paired with Derek Johnston, is currently leading the standings following two wins at the start of the year. However a couple of low-scoring rounds has left them vulnerable to the rival Barwell squad, which ran the Ecurie Ecosse operation last year and their quick pairing Jon Minshaw and Phil Keen have won at Snetterton before. In third place, the Team Parker Bentley Continental of Rick Parfitt Jr and Seb Morris are also poised to attack after a strong performance last time out at Spa-Francorchamps.

Last year the GT4 class title was settled at Snetterton by Beechdean, but the junior squad faces its last chance to make an impact on the division this time round. Rival Optimum Motorsport has a healthy lead, and could wrap up the title in August. The GT4 class will also feature the first UK appearance in the series from celebrity baker Paul Hollywood, who will be driving a third Beechdean entry.

The event is co-headlined by the BRDC British Formula 3 Championship, with supporting action from the VW Racing Cup, VAG Trophy, Ginetta Racing Drivers Club and Sports 2000.

Tickets for the British GT and BRDC British F3 championships are available from £19, with free entry for under-13s. For more information call 0843 453 9000 or click here.