Weekly Racing Roundup (8.6.17)

Adam Breaks British GT Win Record at Brands Hatch

Jonny Adam took a record-breaking 14th overall British GT Championship win at Brands Hatch on Sunday, with his and Flick Haigh’s second victory of the season.

The Optimum Motorsport drivers inherited the points lead at the penultimate round despite a ten-second success penalty in the two-hour race.

Haigh built up a 12-second lead during the opening stint in the No. 75 Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 but lost her progress when the safety car was called for a crash involving Mike Newbould on the pit straight.

Adam eventually exited the pits in second after a quick driver-change stop, behind Barwell Motorsport’s Sam de Haan, while Darren Turner, Phil Keen and Maxime Martin all dropped back.

The Scot passed de Haan on the exit of Hawthorns in the final five minutes, giving him and Haigh the win and a 17.5-point championship lead over Keen and Jon Minshaw.

Graham Johnson and Mike Robinson scored their first GT4 win of the season from 13th on the grid, meanwhile.

The defending GT4 Pro-Am champions finished eighth overall in their Balfe Motorsport-run McLaren 570S GT4.

RESULTS: Brands Hatch

Talbot Scores Double Australian GT Win in Sydney

Liam Talbot won two of the weekend’s three CAMS Australian GT Championship races at Sydney Motorsport Park, while Peter Hackett picked up the remaining victory.

Both drivers had a clean run of top-two finishes, with Hackett trailing Talbot in the first two races before the positions switched in Race 3.

Talbot had a brand-new Porsche 911 GT3 R chassis heading into the weekend, passing early leader Hackett in the pit stops during Friday’s Race 1.

The second race became a four-way battle between Talbot, Hackett, Fraser Ross and Geoff Emery, meanwhile, but Talbot came out on top when the race ended behind the safety car following a crash for Nick Kelly and David Crampton.

Eggleston Motorsport driver Hackett passed Talbot on-track during the final race of the weekend and extended his lead with a quick pit stop in his Mercedes-AMG GT3.

RESULTS: Race 1; Race 2; Race 3

News & Notes

***A post-race investigation stripped Ricardo Feller and Christopher Haase of their second-place finish in ADAC GT Masters Race 1 at the Nürburgring on Saturday. The BWT Muecke Motorsport drivers were given a 30-second penalty after they were found to have jumped the lights at the start, promoting Andrea Caldarelli and Mirko Bortolotti to second for Grasser Racing Team.

***The British GT standings are provisional due to an ongoing appeal concerning the result of Race 1 at Snetterton in May. Haigh and Adam initially finished fourth overall but dropped to ninth following a 30-second post-race penalty which Optimum has appealed. If the MSA National Court overturns the penalty, their points lead would increase by ten points.

***Next Monday’s edition of the Weekly Racing Roundup will include reports of the DTM and Pirelli World Challenge TCR races at Brands Hatch and Utah Motorsports Campus.