Team BRIT is celebrating a second place championship finish after the 9th and final round of the Intelligent Money British GT Championship.
At the Donington Decider held on Sunday 17th October, drivers Bobby Trundley and Aaron Morgan finished fourth in class during the race, but their overall point tally secured them second place overall in the pro-am championship.
With Thursday as a testing day Bobby and Aaron were put to work over three test sessions, where the team gathered valuable feedback about the car, and Aaron and Bobby were able to familiarise themselves with the Donington Park tack once again. The team also completed a track inspection in the evening, which allowed both drivers to notice any changes and see where they could maximise the car even further.
The official event began on Saturday, where thousands of spectators flooded through the gates in time for Free Practice. It was productive for the team, with two one-hour sessions completed with changing conditions – a wet track to start, through to dry for FP2. The mixed conditions in practice also meant the team had to develop and change the setup of the car to match the ever-changing track conditions. Both drivers analysed their performance post sessions, and thus took the feedback onboard ready for qualifying.
Qualifying brought an actioned-packed 30 minutes for the whole of the GT3 and GT4 grid, when the heavens opened just minutes into the first session. With a greasy track, Aaron managed to keep up with the changeable conditions, with some corners drying up and others not. After a quick pitstop, he managed a 1:43.914 on slicks. Bobby had a less chaotic session, and maximised the potential of the McLaren, rapidly became quicker and quicker every lap as the track dried out. On a very competitive grid, third place to eleventh was separated by under half a second – a time Bobby was well in the mix of. With the combined times put together, the team qualified on the front row of the Pro-Am class in second place.
Sundays for British GT don’t only just mean race day, but also the autograph session and grid walk. The team were fortunate to have 40 guests at the track too, who were able to see the team in action during warm up and the race itself.
A rather unpredictable race was to follow, with multiple safety cars deployed – the first just 30-minutes into the race. Aaron unfortunately lost some positions to other GT4 cars in the pro-am class but kept his fight on until the end of his stint, putting in a solid performance. He was also caught out under a safety car restart, which meant the car suffered damage to the bonnet and radiator – which therefore affected the car’s performance.
After the pitstop, Bobby was then at the helm and was aiming to chase down third place in the class. During his stint, it became apparent that there was also some further damage to the brakes but he was fortunately able to continue, and focused on brining the car home.
Jamie Falvey, Team BRIT Manager said: “We’re incredibly proud to have finished our first ever British GT Championship with a second in class. We’ve had so much to learn and develop from in every race, and we have done all we can to make improvements for each round.
“The drivers and crew have worked exceptionally, and have been warmly welcomed into the paddock by our British GT competitors, race organisers and marshalls. I would like thank everyone who has made this season possible, including our sponsors, who we would not be here without.”
Aaron Morgan said: “Finishing 2nd in Pro-Am is an incredible achievement for the entire team, Bobby and I in our debut season in this prestigious championship. I am bursting with pride. The crew have worked tirelessly throughout the season to give us this platform and I could not be more grateful to them.
“Words cannot describe how grateful I am to my personal sponsors CDW UK and Stratos Control Systems for their support this season. Without this, and the support of our wider team sponsors and partners, none of this would have been possible.”
Bobby Trundley said “A championship 2nd place is a phenomenal achievement for us. Adding this to the p1 in class and p3 overall that we delivered at Spa, shows that we have more than proven ourselves as a team.
“It’s such an hour to be part of the British GT grid. It’s been such a brilliant experience, the whole team has worked so hard to get us here and I can’t them enough. Thank you also to my personal sponsors and to that of the whole team, we’re forever grateful.”
This weekend the team heads into the final round of the British Endurance Championship and Britcar Trophy, with hopes of an all out win for drivers Chris Overend and James Whitley who currently lead the Britcar Championship.
