Optimum Motorsport duo Jonny Adam and Flick Haigh head into the two-hour Donington Decider weekend with one hand on the British GT3 trophy.
The Aston Martin duo lead the standings by 27.5 points and are in a commanding position. Adam just happens to have won two titles in the East Midlands before, while he won there last year.
For Haigh, history beckons.
She would become the first woman to ever win a British GT championship outright after becoming the first to win a British GT race at Oulton Park in March.
It is far from cut and dried despite the big gap between Optimum and their challengers.
Haigh and Adam’s 20s pitstop success penalty gives second-placed Barwell Motorsport’s Jon Minshaw and Phil Keen a chance after retirement at Brands Hatch, but they must win the race.
Mark Farmer and Nicki Thiim are a point further back and have a 10s penalty of their own. Should they win and Optimum finish lower than seventh, the TF Sport Aston Martin crew would win on countback with three wins to Optimum’s two.
TF Sport are in a good position to win the teams championship with a 31-point lead over Barwell Motorsport’s Lamborghini entries.
As with Farmer and Thiim for TF Sport, Barwell also have to contend with handicaps.
As a result of their second place at Brands Hatch, Sam De Haan and Jonny Cocker will wait an extra ten seconds in the pit lane.
Keen and Minshaw will not and will need no extra motivation with individual honours on the line, while Derek Johnston and Marco Sorensen are also without obstacle in Johnston’s last ever GT race following his retirement announcement.
The event marks the final time that the British GT series will see the Aston Martin V12 Vantage as a factory GT3 entry after seven seasons, before being replaced by a V8 Vantage based around the World Endurance Championship GTE entry for next year. There is still a possibility of the V12 Vantage being used by privateers next year.
Kimi Raikkonen will finally leave Ferrari at the end of the season having spent the previous three years fielding questions about his future at Maranello.
And, while he now has a five-and-a-half year wait for a victory after spending a lot of that time as the rear gunner for Sebastian Vettel, Raikkonen has given us a lot of fun in his second stint with the Prancing Horse.
The 2007 World Champion’s career has gone full circle as he announced a return to Sauber, where he first burst on to the scene in 2001 while Ferrari’s protégé Charles Leclerc leaves Sauber for Ferrari.
Don’t think that this is just a farewell tour so that he can safely break the record for GP starts held by Rubens Barrichello at 323.
The Finn certainly has the speed and arguably now a point to prove. He is still level on victories with Mika Hakkinen with 20 apiece and he’s stood on the podium in seven of the last eight races and has 100 in total.
While many will be saddened that due to Vettel’s fight with Lewis Hamilton in the World championship Raikkonen won’t get the chance to break the Finnish F1 record, there are still more moments of magic, and indeed the odd blunt radio message left for us over the next two years.
Realistically, this is the right move for Ferrari. Had Leclerc had to spend more time at either of their affiliate teams (Sauber or Haas) then they ran the risk of the 20-year-old Monegasque being poached by another manufacturer.
Given the promise Leclerc has shown this year, where he has well beaten the experienced Marcus Ericsson, they couldn’t afford for that to happen.
Leclerc will do great things at Ferrari alongside Vettel, who will be motivated to avoid a repeat of the 2014 season at Red Bull where Daniel Ricciardo thrashed him after stepping up from Toro Rosso.
But for the rest of the season, Raikkonen deserves a proper farewell from Ferrari.
At every motorsport event, there is an army of marshals, prepared to deal with whatever the racing throws at them – from cleaning the track after an incident to waving warning flags, the marshals are vital to any and every race weekend, be it club racing or F1. We caught up with Karen Richards, a marshal with four years’ experience, to find out about what the job entails.
Emily Inganni: What inspired you to start marshalling and how long have you been doing it for?
Karen Richards: We, my husband and I, have been keen motorsport spectators for many years. I think my earliest memories are of Hunt vs. Lauda, especially the epic 1976 season and of course later on Senna vs. Prost. A few years ago, we were at Goodwood Festival of Speed & dropped into the Goodwood Marshals Club tent for a chat & the rest as they say is history! We have been marshalling for 4 years now and love every minute. It gives you the opportunity to be more involved with racing at all levels and of course, the views are great when you’re on post!
EI: What is the training process for new marshals? How long does it take?
KR: There are training programme for new marshals run by various Marshal clubs, we belong to the British Motorsport Marshals Club (BMMC). Potential new marshals can attend a ‘taster day’ at their local circuit where they shadow marshals on post to get an idea of what the role is all about. Then it is advisable to join a club and attend a training programme before becoming a trainee marshal. Training sessions include both theory and practical sessions, also covering firefighting and rescue unit work. Training will cover all aspects and disciplines of the sport and whilst being a trainee there will always be experienced marshals to guide and advise you at race meetings.
Full details of the training process and membership advice is available on the BMMC website at: www.marshals.co.uk
Image courtesy of Karen Richards
EI: Which events have you marshalled at so far? Do you have any favourites?
KR: We have covered a multitude of different events from club racing, Formula E and endurance racing. I think my favourite is the Le Mans 24-hour event closely followed by the London EPrix in 2016, there was something special seeing cars racing around the streets of London.
EI: What does a race weekend entail for you day-by-day as a marshal?
KR: Race weekends always start with a daily sign on and allocation of post and duties/role for that day. This could be anything from flagging, track or incident depending on experience, other roles can include paddock marshal, start line marshal, pit marshal and scrutineer amongst others
Once on post there are checks and distribution of fire extinguishers, ensuring the circuit equipment is available e.g. flags, brooms etc, then the post chief will brief everyone before the meeting starts
EI: What safety protocol is in place for incidents near your marshal post? What kind of ones have you had to deal with?
KR: There is a general safety protocol for all incidents which is covered in training. There will also be an allocated incident officer, an experienced marshal, who will direct proceedings in the event of an incident. Generally speaking you will deal with cars stuck in gravel traps, car fires, collecting debris from the track etc.
EI: Do the procedures differ from event to event or is there a universal way of doing things?
KR: There is a universal approach to dealing with events with safety for marshals, drivers & spectators being paramount.
EI: How much contact do you have with race control during a race?
KR: The post chief is in contact with Race control throughout the meeting & will pass on relevant information as appropriate.
EI: Are there any specific events that you’d like to marshal at in the future?
KR: Not specifically but I am always looking forward to the next Le Mans 24 Hours!
EI: Finally, what would you say to people thinking of marshalling? Do you have any advice?
KR: If you love motorsport then try marshalling as it gives you a different perspective on the art of motor racing… I don’t think you will be disappointed!
Thanks to Karen for taking the time answering my questions, if you want to find out any more information about marshalling or are thinking of giving it a go, hit the link above!
5. By entering this giveaway, an entrant is indicating his/her agreement to be bound by these terms and conditions.
6. Closing date for entry will be 24th of August 2018 23:59 UTC. After this date the no further entries to the giveaway will be permitted.
7. No responsibility can be accepted for entries not received for whatever reason.
8. The promoter reserves the right to cancel or amend the giveaway and these terms and conditions without notice in the event of a catastrophe, war, civil or military disturbance, act of God or any actual or anticipated breach of any applicable law or regulation or any other event outside of the promoter’s control. Any changes to the giveaway will be notified to entrants as soon as possible by the promoter.
9. The promoter is not responsible for inaccurate prize details supplied to any entrant by any third party connected with this giveaway.
11. The winner will be notified by Twitter/Facebook. If winner cannot be contacted or do not claim the prize within 14 days of notification, we reserve the right to withdraw the prize from the winner and pick a replacement winner.
12. The promoter will notify the winner when and where the prize can be collected / is delivered. The promoter’s decision in respect of all matters to do with the giveaway will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.
13. Entry into the giveaway will be deemed as acceptance of these terms and conditions. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook, Twitter or any other Social Network.
14. The winner will be picked at random from all complete entries.
15. The promoter also reserves the right to cancel the giveaway if circumstances arise outside of its control.
5. By entering this giveaway, an entrant is indicating his/her agreement to be bound by these terms and conditions.
6. Closing date for entry will be 11th of August 2018 23:59 GTM. After this date the no further entries to the giveaway will be permitted.
7. No responsibility can be accepted for entries not received for whatever reason.
8. The promoter reserves the right to cancel or amend the giveaway and these terms and conditions without notice in the event of a catastrophe, war, civil or military disturbance, act of God or any actual or anticipated breach of any applicable law or regulation or any other event outside of the promoter’s control. Any changes to the giveaway will be notified to entrants as soon as possible by the promoter.
9. The promoter is not responsible for inaccurate prize details supplied to any entrant by any third party connected with this giveaway.
11. The winner will be notified by Twitter/Facebook. If winner cannot be contacted or do not claim the prize within 14 days of notification, we reserve the right to withdraw the prize from the winner and pick a replacement winner.
12. The promoter will notify the winner when and where the prize can be collected / is delivered. The promoter’s decision in respect of all matters to do with the giveaway will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.
13. Entry into the giveaway will be deemed as acceptance of these terms and conditions. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook, Twitter or any other Social Network.
14. The winner will be picked at random from all complete entries.
15. The promoter also reserves the right to cancel the giveaway if circumstances arise outside of its control.
Optimum Motorsport were the class of the field at Brands Hatch as Jonny Adam and Flick Haigh took the championship to the wire with one round remaining.
Mike Robinson took a much needed victory for Balfe Motorsport in GT4 alongside Graham Johnson in the #501 McLaren that started the race 13th in class ahead of Bens Green and Tuck in the #42 BMW, who snatched second from Martin Plowman and Kelvin Fletcher on the run to the line.
Adam passed Barwell Motorsport’s Jonny Cocker late in the race after the Lamborghini had led for most of the second stint, with the first hour punctuated by a long Safety Car period caused when Mike Newbould and Paul Vice collided on the start straight, severely damaging the Ginetta and the tyre wall.
Nicki Thiim took third from Darren Turner at the death while the championship leading Barwell Motorsport duo Phil Keen and Jon Minshaw retired late with engine failure to blow the title race wide open ahead of the decider at Donnington Park.
As Brands Hatch basked in glorious sunshine, Flick Haigh made hay and quickly built the gap that was needed to negate the 10s pit stop penalty as Andrew Howard provided stern resistance for Graham Davidson.
Dean MacDonald had fallen back to second in GT4 class behind Century Motorsport teammate Ben Green as the BMWs bossed the early stages the race in that category.
Haigh had got the gap to 12.6 seconds before the first Safety Car was brought out as the #88 Ginetta of Graham Roberts was spun off after contact with Minshaw, who was in the process of lapping the GT4 runner.
A short Safety Car period ensued, and Haigh quickly got the hammer down again to build the gap up to seven seconds before a longer Safety Car period ensued, as Mike Newbould in the #55 Ginetta collided with Paul Vice in the #44 Invictus Jaguar on the start straight.
Newbould in particularly was fortunate to be able to walk away, and indeed gesture angrily at Vice – his Ginetta totally destroyed.
Haigh only had five laps to build another gap and while she didn’t get the 10s needed, six seconds was nevertheless an impressive effort. A crowded pit lane and the associated chaos meant that her teammate Adam only lost position to Sam De Haan and Jonny Cocker.
Adam hounded Cocker for almost the entirety of the last hour, and it didn’t look like the Lamborghini would wilt under immense pressure.
But it only needed one mistake for Adam to pounce, as Cocker ran wide on the kerb at Dingle Dell with four minutes remaining to steal a vital victory ahead of the final round in September.
Jack Mitchell saw his GT4 Championship lead cut to 10 points after finishing seventh in class after starting pole with Dean MacDonald.
A 20s pit stop penalty and two Safety Car periods in the opening stint meant it was always going to be difficult for the #43 BMW to convert pole into a win.
Fortune and strategy in the pit stops melee meant that the #501 McLaren of Mike Robinson ended the round of stops in the lead, and while he didn’t drive off he was never troubled by Martin Plowman in the #53 Nissan and Scott Malvern in the #66 Mercedes.
Malvern was faster than Plowman but the Nissan was wider than ever and the Mercedes simply could not batter the door down, while Ben Tuck recovered well for the #42 BMW to climb back from eighth.
Tuck caught Malvern and Plowman at the end and quickly deposed Malvern with a minute left, before he outdragged Plowman on the run to the chequered flag.
Jamie Chadwick took a historic victory in Race Two to become the first ever woman to win a BRDC British F3 race, after Pavan Ravishankar was penalised for a jump start.
Krish Mahadik was second ahead of Kush Maini and Sassakorn Chaimongkol, while Ravishankar dropped back to tenth after a 10s penalty.
Chadwick got most of her work done on the opening lap – moving up to second on the road at the expense of Ben Hurst and Arvin Esmaeili.
A Safety Car bought out to recover Ben Hurst’s car after he spun off at Clark Curve lasted for five minutes, and Mahadik was stuck behind Esmaeili for two laps allowing Chadwick to build a gap.
Once Mahadik did eventually clear the Swede, the gap was 2.5 seconds with three laps left of a shortened race.
The Indian, who won at Brands Hatch last year, bridged the gap and finished just four tenths behind Chadwick at the flag but had to be content with leading compatriot Maini home in third.
Race One winner Jamie Caroline retired after deciding not to risk the car ahead of Race Three, while championship leader Linus Lundqvist was 11th and Nicolai Kjaergaard ninth after difficult races for the lead pair in the standings.
After the race, Chadwick was pleased with her groundbreaking victory.
“Obviously I am delighted with that win, I didn’t know that (I was the first woman to win a BRDC British F3 race) and it is a big weight off my shoulders.
“Ultimately I’m so happy even if it was the reverse grid race win.”
While Ravishankar crossed the line first on the road before his penalty, Chadwick was quite sure of his fate from early in the race.
“I I felt like I knew he’d get a penalty, I saw him moving at the start. I was still pushing to try and put a move on him in the first half of the race to try and get a better lap for the last race too.
“As soon as I saw that the penalty was confirmed, I just sat behind him and stayed sensible.”
Jamie Caroline took his first British F3 pole position in a qualifying session that ebbed and flowed at Brands Hatch.
On the longer GP circuit, Caroline was one of the earlier pacesetters, swapping pole with Carlin teammate Billy Monger.
Once he usurped Monger towards the end of the session, Caroline gradually bettered his time from a 1:21.7s to the 1:21.596s that he eventually ended the session on.
Caroline was just 0.062s clear of Nicolai Kjaergaard’s late surge. The Dane had been towards the end of the top six before a last-gasp 1:21.658 put him second on the grid.
That knocked teammate Monger down to third to complete the Carlin 1-2-3, although man from Reigate was just 0.011 seconds further back after earlier being the man to beat at his home circuit.
Championship leader Linus Lundqvist was fourth, only a tenth away from Caroline. The Swede has a comfortable 120-point lead over Kjaergaard in the standings, and can afford to start from fourth on the grid.
The other two drivers with faint Championship hopes start sixth and eighth respectively.
Kush Maini lines up on the third row of the grid after being pipped to sixth by Sun Yue Yang, while Gamble was surprisingly off the pace after a stellar weekend at Spa-Francorchamps last time out.
The session was brought to an end early by a red flag with just over a minute to go, as Caroline completed his all action session by spinning into the pit wall before recovering back to the pits.
Race One of three this weekend gets underway at 5:35pm on Saturday.
A red flag waved during a Formula One race. Image courtesy of Joe Barbosa (under CC 2.0)
Red Flags are used when Safety Cars are not enough of a safety precaution following an on-track incident.
As well as giving drivers the chance to change to fresh set of tyres and potentially gain track position, red flags are in place to make sure that the drivers do not race in conditions that are just too dangerous.
Red flags are typically seen when after an accident in which there is an incredible amount of debris on the track that should not be driven around even under a safety car. Or when one of the barriers is so damaged following a crash that it cannot absorb impacts efficiently, or during a wet race when there is so much standing water on the track that it is too dangerous to continue. At such point the race is suspended. Red Flags do count towards time limits in races.
During the Red Flag period, the drivers line up in position order in the race in the pit lane to await a restart. The race will only be restarted once the stewards and marshals deem that it is safe enough to resume racing.
Once the race is restarted, it will be restarted behind the safety car, and the race will then be resumed either with a standing start or a regular safety car restart.
If it is thought that it is too dangerous to resume the race, or that there is no point due to a lack of remaining laps in the Grand Prix, then the session will be abandoned. Should it be abandoned before the race is halfway completed, then half points will be awarded.
Red Flags can also be used in Practise, Qualifying and Test Sessions. The cars will then return to their garages at a very low speed, before being allowed back out once the danger is cleared. Again, if there is not enough time left in the session or it is too dangerous to continue, the session will not be restarted.
Silly season has officially started. The driver market got a major shock on Friday the 3rd of August when Red Bull surprisingly announced that Daniel Ricciardo is set to leave the Austrian team after the 2018 season.
Team Principal Christian Horner commented on this news saying: “We fully respect Daniel’s decision to leave Aston Martin Red Bull Racing and we wish him all the best in his future. We would like to thank him for his dedication and the role he has played since joining the Team in 2014, the highlights, of course being the seven wins and the 29 podiums he has achieved so far with us.”
With the Australian set to leave the team, there’s now a very much sought-after seat to take. Red Bull Racing know that and are now looking for an alternative.
“We will now continue to evaluate the numerous options available to us before deciding on which driver partners Max Verstappen for the 2019 season. In the meantime, there are still nine races left in 2018 and we are fully focused on maximising every opportunity for Max and Daniel for the remainder of the season” Horner added.
Daniel Ricciardo has been part of the Red Bull Junior Team since 2008 and made his F1 debut at the 2011 British Grand Prix. After only two seasons at Toro Rosso he joined Red Bull Racing. He achieved seven victories, two pole-positions, twenty-nine podium finishes and brought the team 904 points. His last victory was at the prestigious Monaco Grand Prix this year, an absolute highlight for the ‘Honey Badger’ at Red Bull.
In another shocking announcement that same day- just an hour after the Red Bull announcement- Renault confirmed that Daniel Ricciardo has signed for 2019 at the French team. Completing their line-up for 2019 is Nico Hülkenberg. This means that Carlos Sainz will leave Renault at the same time, now looking for another team.
Ricciardo said in an official announcement from Renault: “It was probably one of the most difficult decisions to take in my career so far. But I thought that it was time for me to take on a fresh and new challenge. I realise that there is a lot ahead in order to allow Renault to reach their target of competing at the highest level but I have been impressed by their progression in only two years, and I know that each time Renault has been in the sport they eventually won. I hope to be able to help them in this journey and contribute on and off track.”
With these announcements we are left with a very mixed-up driver market. There’s now one space available at Red Bull next to Verstappen. Most likely to go there are either Carlos Sainz or Pierre Gasly. Pierre Gasly has impressed the Milton-Keynes team at their sister team Toro Rosso, whilst Carlos Sainz is still awaiting a renewal of his Red Bull Junior Team contract.
A lot of predictions for 2019 will probably have gone wrong after this announcement. Ocon won’t go to Renault as they already signed Ricciardo and Hülkenberg. Ricciardo isn’t staying at Red Bull as many -even himself- had predicted.
Now it’s waiting for the next announcements as the 2019 grid finally shapes up a bit.
