British GT, Brands Hatch: Transmission's Top 20: Mustangs and Mayhem

The anticipation that both the GT3 and GT4 titles might be settled ahead of the end of season Donington Decider was shattered with seconds of the start of British GT’s return to the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit last weekend.

As the procession of cars jockeyed for position, heading through Paddock Hill bend for the first time, John Ferguson’s Mercedes-AMG GT3 made contact with rival Ian Loggie, turning the 2 Seas car around, causing mayhem and scattering all those around and following.

In GT3, championship leaders James Cottingham & Jonny Adam had hoped to make a clean break and overcome the 20-second pit stop success penalty faced (following the pair’s victory in Portimao last time out), but two safety car periods put paid to this, leaving the Century BMW of Darren Leung & Dan Harper, and the Beechdean Aston Martin of Andrew Howard & Ross Gunn to fight for the spoils.

But in GT4, the chaos caused by the errant Mercedes’ was skilfully avoided by Erik Evans in the #61 Mustang, who seized the advantage and then set about thwarting multiple challenges from the pace-setting McLarens and R-Racing’s Vantage. Evans is new to British GT this year but has steadily built pace and confidence under the partnership with Matt Cowley. We’ve long-championed Cowley’s speed and manner and these two drove superbly, pushing the Mustang to new highs (and fastest laps), finishing an incredible 19 seconds ahead of the Aston.

Here are twenty of our favourite images from Round 8:

Images by Howard Fielding and Steve Hindle

Mere seconds into the race, Ian Loggie's Mercedes-AMG was turned around by John Ferguson ...

... causing those behind to scatter in all directions.

But all credit to Loggie and partner Jules Gounon, they recovered superbly, determinedly driving to P4 by the end.

Ferguson, however, suffered suspension damage and ultimately had to retire.

Darren Leung & Dan Harper once again proved their class and stayed in the title fight by winning outright.

James Cottingham & Jonny Adam were unlucky to see their hard-earned advantage undone (twice) by safety car periods.

The duo having been pace-setters right through the weekend.

Equalling their season best of P2 were Andrew Howard & Ross Gunn in the Beechdean Aston Martin.

Shaun Balfe and Sandy Mitchell showed strong early pace but just couldn't hold on to their podium challenge, finishing in P5.

Unusually, it was a poor weekend (in terms of results) for the Mercedes-AMG squads, Team Abba Racing (l) joining RAM with an early retirement.

Also taking an early bath were the McLaren pairing of Simon Orange & Michael O'Brien.

In GT4, Erik Evans & Matt Cowley proved an unbeatable partnership, both delivering fastest laps on their way to their first win of the season.

Despite their team's disqualification from both Snetterton rounds, Evans & Cowley's performances over the course of the season sees them still in title contention as the championship heads to Donington for its decider.

There might only have been two Aston Martins in the race but Josh Miller & Seb Hopkins made sure that they too brought their car home in P2 (in GT4).

The McLaren of Josh Rowledge & Aston Millar earned pole position in GT4 but the DTO car struggled for race pace, keeping the early title favourites still winless.

Harry George has found a very capable partner in Darren Burke. If Enduro can keep this pairing, car and livery together in 2024, I don't think we'll be their only fans.

Despite finding the gravel on Saturday, there were valuable Pro-Am points in GT4 for Kavi Jundu & Tom Rawlings.

There were Pro-Am points too for Aaron Morgan & Bobby Trundley, making a return to the championship following their disqualification at Silverstone.

In a coat of new colours, drivers Zac Meakin & Dan Vaughan launched a new partnership between Team Parker Racing and Elite Motorsport.

But by the end of the race, it was Academy Motorsport who won the day, somehow also conjuring a line-abreast finish, despite the #62 car of Will Moore & Matt Nicoll-Jones being a lap behind.

Written By

Steve Hindle

Steve has lived his life with motor sport; from childhood years as a fan, to racing around the greatest tracks in Europe, first as a driver and later as a team principal. Today he's a familiar sight trackside and in the pit lane, notebook in one hand, camera in another, capturing moments and contributing to some of the leading titles in motor sport and automotive media.