SPA FRANCORCHAMPS BELGIUM British GT Round 5 11th July 2015
Circuit du Spa Francorchamps is known to many as the greatest race track in the world and I'm still coming down to earth after round 5 of the British GT Championship which was hosted at the Belgium circuit last weekend.
The Motorbase Performance Aston Martin V12 Vantage showed tremendous speed in both Friday practice sessions as I clocked the second quickest GT3 lap time in session 1 and then we topped the time sheets in session 2.
Qualifying was next and it was crucial I carried this pace forward as works drivers Jonny Adam (Aston Martin) and Alexander Sims (BMW) never let up.
Both drivers in each car set a lap in qualifying and both their best lap times count towards the overall starting position for Saturday's 2 hour race allowing the strongest driver pairings to rise to the top.
I knew what I had to do - stay committed through the fast stuff and keep it tidy in the tight, technical sections. I also had a trick up my sleeve from practice as I felt confident that the mighty Eau Rouge had the potential to be taken flat in 6th gear - with new tyres, a qualifying set up and a light fuel load, I had a shot!!
I gave it everything and left nothing out on track and went on to score seconnd overall in the Pro category while Liam hooked up a tidy lap (while being scuppered by slower traffic) and secured 5th in the Am class - when added together it placed us on the front row of the grid beside pole sitters Jonny Adam and Andrew Howard (Beachdean Racing - Aston Martin) and just ahead of the championship leaders Alexander Sims and Marco Attard in third (Ecurie Ecosse - BMW Z4)
Oh and I made it through Eau Rouge absolutely flat to the floor so that's another box ticked!
It was a good day and it was natural to feel confident heading into Saturday's race.
The adrenaline was pumping in the Motorbase camp on race day as we eagerly awaited the race start.
Liam would start along with the other Am drivers and I believed he had the pace to lead the race. The cars headed towards the main straight for the rolling start, the red lights turned off and the race was on!!
He got a swift start and arrived at La Source hairpin in the lead and began to lay down tremendous pace from the word go, gradually increasing the gap on second place driver Stuart Leonard, who had carved through from sixth place.
The gap was up to 5.5 seconds on lap 9 when bad news popped up on the timing screen - "Car 6 - Drive Through Penalty for Jumped Start" - it turns out Liam was so eager to make a good getaway that he was deemed to have jumped the start.
I felt for him after putting on such an awesome performance!!
The team radioed Liam and he entered the pits to take his penalty, dropping down to 14th.
The half way point arrived and Liam had threaded his way through the field back to ninth place before heading in for our driver change pit stop, with me jumping behind the wheel ready to push for the remaining sixty minutes!
As I joined the track I got my head down and let the Aston stretch it's legs, then quickly realised my radio system had failed so there was no communication back to the pits - team manager Oliver Collins would regularly keep us up to date on everything we needed to know from our pace to race position and changes in strategy, so it was going to be a lonely stint.
I pulled a gap on championship leader Alexander Sims in the BMW Z4 and kept the pressure at 100%, but the car became harder to drive as the tyres degraded, however it still filled me with confidence through the fast and slow stuff and every car in front I caught and passed.
Michael Meadows was in sight and I had the feeling I may be in the top five now and there couldn't have been much time left judging by the amount of sweat I had lost - I could see him getting closer and closer as the gap decreased lap by lap and he was now almost within striking distance.
I exited the Bus Stop chicane on his tail and was greeted by the chequered flag - in this scenario all I wanted was one more lap. (Unbeknown to me, Michael was actually in 3rd place so we almost made it on to the podium.)
Great job by Jonny and Andrew who eventually went on to take a fantastic race win and I took home the Sunoco Challenge Award for scoring the fastest lap of the race so we didn't go home empty-handed by any means.
The Spa 2 hours turned out to be a rollercoaster ride with a foot to the floor moment at Eau Rouge, a front row start, a momentary race lead, a drive-through penalty and a fastest lap.
Not bad for one weekend and we came out the other side sharing our second place in the championship with the Beachdean Aston Martin.
It's tightening up as we pass the mid way point in the season but Liam and I are working well together and I can't wait to take on the mighty Brands GP circuit on the 1st & 2nd of August for another 2 hour spectacular.
© Celtic Speed 2026
