British GT 2021

[kipper]

Originally Posted by pimmy

There wouldn't be a problem if they got rid of all this Pro/Am rubbish. All drivers should be treated equally.

I understand the point - however, in a number of cases, it is the 'am' paying for the car and 'pro' to be there. I suspect that abandoning the pro/am format would result in a decline in entries as some 'ams' would no longer be competitive.

[tux]

Originally Posted by Columbus

Good to see British GT is promising "Harsher deterrents" for the next round at Spa, although that will be little consolation for the many innocent Donington casualties. With limited workshop time between the races and budget-busting repair costs, I'd be surprised if they all make the trip to Belgium.

There also appears to be some doubt over the eligibility of one of the Donington shunt culprits. British GT Pro/Am rules say all "Am" drivers must be FIA-graded Bronze. But Chris Salkeld - the driver responsible for eliminating four GT4s at Donington - is one of two FIA-graded Silver (professional) drivers in the Pro/Am class-leading Century Motorsport BMW.

Seems pretty unfair when he's causing havoc and running away with the championship - when all the others are playing by the rules!

Silver/silver pairings are still allowed in GT4 IIRC.

[Columbus]

You're right Tux. Silver/Silver pairings are allowed in GT4 - there are seven Silver/Silver entries in the British GT "Silver Cup" class this year. The problem with Salkeld seems to be that he is racing with another FIA-graded Silver driver in the Pro/Am class and cleaning up!

The rules clearly state:
"Pro/Am driver crews are the bedrock of British GT. These consist of professional drivers graded as Silver (or higher) and amateur/gentleman drivers graded as Bronze."

Apart from pleasing BMW by virtually gifting them a title - I can't understand why British GT has allowed this as it undermines the effort and investment of every other Pro/Am crew and the championships already dwindling credibility.

[Columbus]

Looks like British GT "fixed" the Silver Salkeld problem:

https://www.britishgt.com/news/746/b...-francorchamps

He's in the correct (Silver Cup) championship from the next round at Spa. Bizarrely, he and his co-pilot get to keep all the points they scored in the wrong (Pro/Am) championship and 2nd place overall in GT4. They haven't complied with the regulations for either class at any point this season.

Other competitors must be a bit peeved!

[tux]

After everything that happened at Donington Park its unacceptable that you have 4 cars out with damage before they even reach turn 1 at Spa. We are now down to just 5 GT3 cars.

[BertMk2]

Originally Posted by tux

After everything that happened at Donington Park its unacceptable that you have 4 cars out with damage before they even reach turn 1 at Spa. We are now down to just 5 GT3 cars.

That was a particularly boneheaded move wasn't it? I'm not entirely sure what he thought he was doing? I've only seen the replays of it so I don't know if there were any mitigating circumstances but that was shoddy.

[Bcarr6]

Pleasure to be at Snetterton for my second time this year. Always a great track, but with open paddock for the first time this year.

Debating a knock over to Donington for the finale should be a chilly one!

Only down side this weekend was the small GT3 grid, but it was great to see the Oman Racing by TF guys back and looking very strong

[Anyopenroad]

I was at Snetterton for practice on Saturday. First session started dry, drizzled a but, dried again, then started raining heavily, forcing all the teams to pit for wets and to change lots of settings etc, at which point it dried out again .

The second session started just after a biblical cloudburst, with the sun bursting through after a few minutes to cause such rapid drying that clouds of vapour rose from the fields around and the track itself.

Then a fire in the paddock (no-one hurt thankfully) delayed qualifying. An eventful day!

[Truckosaurus]

The cars sliding through the corners towards the end of the race looked good on the TV coverage.

Not a total banger race this time, for that we should be thankful.

Also, good to see the Mustang win.

[dwh43scale]

An initial selection from yesterday at Snetterton. Mainly BGT but also a few from supporting series. Wet'n'dry day but at least at Snetterton you can see the rain coming. https://flic.kr/s/aHsmWs3Bii

[Anyopenroad]

Snetterton pics from me: http://bit.ly/2Wn4Nmr

Dry, wet, very wet, dry! These are all from the two Saturday free practice sessions. As always, a big album of amateur snaps, cropped and resized but otherwise unedited.

Hope you enjoy!

[dwh43scale]

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmWDopWM

A sample of shots from yesterday at Oulton Park. Dry, dry, wet ...

[Anyopenroad]

My pics from Saturday practice: https://bit.ly/3EgVPIy.

Oulton Park is so pretty. I hope these pictures do it justice!

[Bcarr6]

I'd post the 2022 calendar in a new thread, but its basically as normal, with the exception that Donington gains a 3hr race in addition to its 2hr race, replacing a pair of 1hr's.

Solid calendar as always, doesnt clash with GTWC Europe where several teams also compete, just has 2 clashes with BTCC which really is about on par, I dont think you can avoid clashes with both BTCC and GTWC Europe these days

[Anyopenroad]

Unusual post-meeting dq from Oulton Park for the Abba team. Damage to the gearbox from their crash at the Donington GT Cup meeting a week later meant the removal of British GT scrutineer seals, preventing an inspection and leaving the team in breach of regulations:

https://www.britishgt.com/news/768

One of those “rules are rules but boy that’s harsh!” moments.

[Greem]

Aaaand it's all over.

Loggie & Buurman couldn't make up the points deficit to Machitski and Lind despite only being a second behind the position they needed, Igoe dropped the #18 twice at the start of the race and ended up in my gravel trap at Coppice (that was pretty gutting TBH), and the race ended a couple of minutes early when one of the RJN McLarens stopped with a "technical issue" at Coppice (which, when I spoke to Collard when it was safe for me to do so, may have been a lack of burny stuff for the engine).

I haven't watched it back yet but it felt like a good race to me. The mixed conditions certainly made it challenging!

[dwh43scale]

Went a bit monochrome (with occasional splashes of colour) in this first summary of the day - https://flic.kr/s/aHsmWWDAan - more detailed galleries will follow in due course.

Hard to beat GTs at full tilt. Not been huge fan of GB3 but watched them at the exit of the Esses - some impressive commitment there including one attempt to "do a Legge".

It's slightly weird watching the racing in colour and processing images in black and white. I do have colour versions too.

[dwh43scale]

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmWY6Dh4

... and now "in full color"

[Anyopenroad]

My pics fom Donington: https://bit.ly/3mhdA3j

From the two free practice sessions on Saturday. Enjoy!