British GT Championship – Brands Hatch – Preview
Sheer Pleasure In Prospect

There are times when the anticipation of what is to come is a simple pleasure all on its own. Then there’s the pleasure of previewing it in words…..followed by the entertainment of watching it unfold on Sunday afternoon, followed by the task of explaining what happened. I’m a lucky chap, aren’t I?

Looking further afield, it’s been a funny old season of sportscar and GT racing. Le Mans became a Bentley rout of everyone else, the FIA GT Championship is heading the way of Ferrari drivers (definitely – GT) and Porsche drivers (probably – N-GT), the ALMS classes should go the way of the predicted big guns, the FIA SCC was anti-climactic, Grand Am is close in two classes but uninspiring – and of the main series we cover in depth, that leaves the little old British GT Championship.

As we’ve said before, you simply could not have predicted this back in April. You just couldn’t.

Shaun Balfe / Jamie Derbyshire 184
Shane Lynch / Piers Johnson 180
Tom Herridge 179

With points on offer 25-20-17-15-14-13 etc., plus a point for fastest lap, you work out the possible permutations – I can’t.

We’ve gone from a Balfe whitewash at the start of the season, to Balfe problems in the middle, through Eclipse dependability (and pace), through Rollcentre driver changes (Herridge and Barff or Short, then Short) and second places, to the most remarkable Spa 1000 Kms – and now this four week gap, which is almost over. Big races with sensible gaps in between, that’s what we like. And that’s what we’ve got.

From Spa to the Brands Hatch GP track – what a perfect way to end the first season of the British GT Revival. There have been a few low points (19 at Rockingham for example), but plenty of highs – and some controversy too. With the addition of the Point Preparation Porsche, it looks like a stunning 31 in the sun at Brands Hatch this weekend. Now all we need is a thriller to end the year….and at least 25 to commit to the whole season in 2004. Plus there are plans afoot to revamp the meetings (lessons learned from Rockingham?) and make the TV much more meaningful next season. No SEAT perhaps on the support list, but the company might regret a move elsewhere: F3-GT is going to be the place to be, you’ll see.

Apologies for concentrating on the ‘big three’ and not the other 28, but these three have been the main players in GTO all season, and all three richly deserve a Championship title.

Logically the starting drivers will be Shane Lynch (Eclipse), Jamie Derbyshire (Balfe) and Tom Herridge (Rollcentre). Logically, they’ll pit once the window opens at 30 minutes, leaving their ‘masters’ to complete the shoot-out over the remaining 45. Johnson versus Short versus Balfe. Who’s your money on? The quiet man in the Eclipse Tuscan? Piers has driven beautifully again this year, and has had the benefit of some remarkable TVR reliability. Can he catch a Mosler or two? Or will it be Short against Balfe? What a contest that would be: two hard men, two outspoken men, two men as determined to win as any on the planet. Mosler importer versus Mosler customer – they’ll be a few Florida eyes focused on Brands, not Miami, this weekend.

Shane Lynch versus Jamie Derbyshire versus Tom Herridge is just as appealing: what a responsibility these three carry. The quiet and thoughtful Englishmen against the wild-looking Irishman - with the fascinating pop star past. You couldn’t make this up if you tried. Shane is just as thoughtful as the other two out of the car, but a hard charger in it. Is John Griffiths winding him up or calming him down (below)?

Throw in the DeWalt TVR for Caine and Barff, the Ultima, the Corvette, the other TVRs, the big Camaro and LM600, and the start could be fairly lively – as well as the middle and the end.

We’re anticipating a thriller: if it doesn’t work out like that, well, we had Spa anyway, the race of the year, anywhere.

We’ve also got 17 Cup Class cars: Pearce and Griffin will be out for another win, their ninth, but there’s going to be action aplenty among this lot.

David Lord sadly won’t be able to conjure up any Dingle Dell flying shots, but the changes to the circuit there do give us a chance to use this image (below) one more time. No, it isn’t real – Marcus Potts elevated the Rollcentre TVR (using Photoshop) by a couple of feet or more, but Simon Pullan was well off the ground anyway.

Fingers crossed for a Brands Hatch classic: testing is on Friday, and we’ll be there throughout the three days. May the best men win. Will they have enough fuel?
MC