Jun
26
Andy Jaye Blog: Closer than you could possibly imagine
After the history and excitement of the Nurburgring and the endurance special that saw places endlessly swapping at Rockingham, how could the British GT step up to the next level? Simple – by heading to Brands Hatch for another two-hour epic.
Without question this was the best British GT race I’ve ever seen. There was so much action on the track I’ll leave it to more experienced writers to provide a comprehensive breakdown of the action, but what I will say is there was more fighting than I’ve ever seen in British GT.
The pits were so busy as cars kept shunting each other and several of the drivers told me about just how littered with debris the track was. It felt like every driver really had the bit between their teeth as they muscled their way around this brilliant track, often at the expense of any car they could get close to!
Ahead of the racing, the drivers were clearly excited and they were telling me about how much they love Brands. The race itself saw so many drivers tussle for position that it was impossible to call who was going to come out on top. The Nissan had a strong lead in the first hour, but there was something in the air that meant you just couldn’t call it.
Amazingly the Aston Martin that we had seen in pieces at Rockingham had been rebuilt in time to make the race… and what a race it had. With a handful of laps remaining it really took hold of the track and started passing cars for fun. What we then witnessed was the most amazing finish seen in the history of British GT. For a 2 hour endurance race to end with a photo finish is just incredible!
Nissan did hold on, but as I said to the drivers at the end, if the race had been just ten metres longer then the Aston would have probably taken it. Just brilliant.
Andy