Five Trophies for Aston Martin at Spa

Aston Martin Racing took five podium spots at the British GT Championship at Spa-Francorchamps this weekend (12 July) as the pair of Oman Racing Team V12 Vantage GT3s finished second and third overall, the TF Sport V8 Vantage GT4 took its first class win and the Beechdean AMR GT4 took third and first in the two one-hour races.

In race one, the pair of Oman Racing Vantage GT3s, run by Motorbase, started the first race on slick tyres, despite the damp track. However, after the first of the two formation laps, the other cars – that had started on wets – pitted to change, leaving them free to move forward and pull away from the rest of the pack.

“Race one was great,” commented Ahmad Al Harthy (OM), who partnered Michael Caine (GB) in the one-hour long race. “My stint was really strong and we made the right call with the tyres. Second place was a great result and I was really happy with my driving.”

The sister-car from Oman Racing Team finished close behind in third.

The fastest lap of the two races was recorded in race one when Tom Onslow-Cole (GB) in the Strata 21 V12 Vantage GT3 was the only driver to get inside the two minute 22 seconds mark and four of the seven Vantage GT3s finished inside the top ten, with TF Sport in eighth and Beechdean AMR in ninth.

In the GT4 class, TF Sport’s V8 Vantage – driven by Andrew Jarman (GB) and Devon Modell (GB) – took the race win with the Beechdean AMR GT4 of Ross Wylie (GB) and Jake Giddings (GB) in second.

Aston Martin Racing GT4 Challenge of Great Britain race-winner Jarman commented: "We got a 12-second lead but a poor pit stop lost us the advantage and we had the Beechdean boys right on our back. Devon did a mega job and it was great to have a battle at the front for the whole hour.”

In race two, the Beechdean AMR GT4 team took its second championship win and eighth top-four finish to extend their GT4 drivers championship lead to 19 points.

“It was important to extend our lead and a first and second is almost a perfect weekend,” commented Wylie. “It was a great team effort and we’re in a strong place going into the final two rounds.”

At the end of the weekend, Beechdean AMR drivers Andrew Howard (GB) and Jonny Adam (GB) and the Oman Racing team of Al Harthy and Caine are in contention for the teams championship win, with two rounds remaining.

The next round of the British GT Championship is at Brands Hatch on 30/31 August.