Johnston, Adam on Pole for British GT Finale

Photo: Jakob Ebrey

TF Sport drivers Derek Johnston and Jonny Adam will start Sunday’s British GT round at Donington Park from pole position, as they aim to win the championship.

A combined time of 2:56.968 was good enough to put the No. 17 Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 at the top of the timesheets in Qualifying on Saturday afternoon.

Both drivers topped the timesheets in their respective sessions, with Adam’s 1:27.602 putting him fastest overall.

“We had a conversation at the start of the day about what to do if it rained, which it did, and the plan was to preserve the car for when it dried out,” Adam explained.

“Derek’s lap was good but I actually think there was a bit more in him. He was quicker when we tested here a few weeks ago, which bodes well for tomorrow.

“However, Minshaw also looked good and I’m sure Phil [Keen] will be up to speed in the race, so the ball’s still in their court.”

Rob Bell and Alasdair McCaig will start from second in their McLaren 650S GT3 run by Black Bull Ecurie Ecosse, while the two Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan GT3s will make up the second row of the grid.

Championship leaders Phil Keen and Jon Minshaw are set to start third in the No. 33 Barwell car, while fellow title competitors Team Parker Racing will line up fifth with Seb Morris and Rick Parfitt Jr.

Jon Barnes and Mark Farmer will start sixth in the other TF Sport Aston Martin, with Mike Simpson and Ian Stinton seventh for Tolman Motorsport.

Simpson went fastest in both of Saturday morning’s Free Practice sessions, with his Ginetta G55 GT3 performing well in the well conditions.

Ross Gunn went fastest in the GT4 session to take pole for co-driver Jack Bartholomew, who will be hunting for the class title in tomorrow’s race.

The No. 407 Beechdean AMR Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT4 set a combined time of 3:13.079, which was 0.147 seconds ahead of Ciaran Haggerty and Sandy Mitchell in the McLaren 570S GT4.

This puts Black Bull Ecurie Ecosse second on the grid in both classes.

Mike Robinson and Graham Johnson took third in GT4, and have a very narrow lead in the championship heading into the two-hour race.

British GT’s ‘Donington Decider’ will start at 1 p.m. local time on Sunday, and will be broadcast on Motors TV in the UK, starting at 12:30 p.m.

RESULTS: GT3 Qualifying
RESULTS: GT4 Qualifying

Jake Kilshaw

Jake Kilshaw is a UK-based journalist. He is a graduate of Politics and International Relations.