A thrilling finale to the 2015 British GT season saw Beechdean AMR drivers Andrew Howard and Jonny Adam keep their cool to add the GT3 drivers’ title to the team’s GT4 championship.
The ice cream team’s junior pairing of Jamie Chadwick and Ross Gunn had sealed the GT4 prize at the penultimate round, but Howard and Adam entered the final event of the season at Donington Park on Sundae two points behind the leaders and with a 20 second success penalty hanging over them from their race win at Snetterton.
Despite this the pair didn’t wafer, and helped by their rivals melting under the pressure, drove an assured race to lick the competition and seal a sweet-tasting title success.
Starting second on the grid for the two-hour race Beechdean boss Howard studiously avoided getting involved in the chaos that unfolded in the opening stint as hard-charging rivals tried to chase the win, and his steady strategy paid off as championship contenders Liam Griffin and Marco Attard were both forced to retire due to damage sustained in racing incidents.
At the same time Beechdean’s GT4 crew of Gunn and Chadwick also had their race ended early as a result of a clash with Attard, but while the whippy-snappers were disappointed not to finish the final race on a high the fact they already had their title secured softened the blow slightly.
When Andrew Howard handed over the Beechdean Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 to Jonny Adam on the hour mark the dairy-fuelled duo were tenth in the order following the driver changes and their extended pit-stop success penalty, but needed to finish at least ninth to secure the points they required to take the championship.
Adam started mint-choc chipping away at the cars in front, and whilst being careful not to take any major risks, steadily picked his way though to fifth by the time the chequered flag dropped.
The result sparked jubilant scenes in the Beechdean pit lane garage, adding a cherry on top of a hugely successful season for the Buckinghamshire-based squad.
Andrew Howard said:
“Coming into this weekend we knew we had it all to do, but we just raced sensibly and consistently and that gave us the result we needed to become British GT champions again. To win this championship this time with my team-mate Jonny Adam is brilliant, but a huge thanks go to everyone involved at Beechdean AMR and all of our partners who have been fantastic. We’ve won both GT3 and GT4 championships and set a few new records along the way. I am proud to be involved in the British GT Championship as a team owner / driver and to win such a hard-fought championship again is a great feeling.”
Jonny Adam said:
“This is a fantastic feeling to win the British GT championship. In 2013 I missed out on getting my name on the trophy along with Andrew due to a technicality, but to do it this time at the last race of the season is incredible. Massive thanks to the whole team, everyone at Beechdean, Aston Martin Racing and of course my long term driving partner Andrew Howard. It’s cool to have the #1 back on a Beechdean AMR GT3!”
Jamie Chadwick said:
“It was a shame that our race ended in the way that it did, we were hoping to finish the season with a podium, if not a win, but an incident packed race proved costly. Nonetheless, I am delighted for Andrew and Jonny – I cannot thank all of Beechdean AMR enough for what has been history and record-breaking season.”
Ross Gunn said:
“First of all, massive congratulations to Andrew and Jonny on winning the British GT3 title. They have both been fundamental to both my and Jamie’s development as drivers and people, and they have done a great job all year. It was a shame for us to not end the year as we would like but these are experiences to learn from and it will only make us stronger. It’s been an incredible season and I would like to thank everyone in the Beechdean AMR team that helped me in my first full year of car racing.”