Blimey, it’s here!

After all the speculation, announcements and surprises, the 22nd season of the British GT Championship bursts into life this weekend at Oulton Park, with two one-hour races. We’ve already taken a look at a hugely impressive GT4 field, so how does GT3 stack up for 2014?

22 cars make the trip to Cheshire, forming a capacity grid alongside the dozen GT4s, and there have been numerous changes since the series last visited the circuit. At first glance, it may seem disappointing that we will not have the likes of Matt Griffin (no BGT for the Irish racer for the first time since 2003), Richard Westbrook, Nick Tandy and Allan Simonsen with us this year – and of course they will be missed – but fresh, new and emerging talent has flooded in and the prospects are that this season could be the most competitive yet. There are new teams, new cars and new faces, but there are also a number of driver-pairings who return stronger after a year of racing together.

There have been times when the BGT wasn’t far off being a Porsche-Ferrari challenge series, but, my goodness, how times have changed! Oulton Park sees no fewer than nine marques in the GT3 entry, with four of those – 10 cars in total – hailing from these shores (add in the same number of home-grown GT4s and we can justifiably call this the British GT Championship); and, given that this is the ‘home circuit’ of Bentley, we’ll begin with the two Continental GT3s in the field.

There are many unknowns surrounding the new car, given its still very-short lifespan and race history, and the fact that this will be the first time that we will see a customer version in competition, but there is no doubt that the Bentley Continental is packed with potential. David Appleby’s Generation Bentley took delivery of their car at the start of the month and was fired up for the first time at the Preview Day at Donington Park last week.

Gremlins prevented anything beyond token running being undertaken that day and it is not known how many miles have been put on the clock since then, so expectations will have to be tempered for the opening round at least. However, the car looks fabulous in its chosen livery and will no doubt be the centre of attention, as well as the recipient of much local support. James Appleby is still an unknown quantity in BGT, but is young and eager, while Steve Tandy is a seasoned Am racer who will not have walked away from another year of BMW competition with 888 without the expectation of results.

The second Bentley – as yet unseen – is even more of an unknown, but given that it is being run by M-Sport and features factory driver Steven Kane, the chances are that teething problems will be fewer at Oulton.

Northern Irish racer Kane brings a wealth of racing experience on his return to the BGT, after previous outing with APEX and Chad, and will certainly be amongst the very quickest on track. He and 2014 teammate Humaid Al Masaood know each other well from outings in the ALMS and Grand-Am with Oryx, and both raced for JRM last season in the Blancpain Endurance Series, albeit in separate cars. The UAE driver’s pace against his fellow Ams is likely to be the key to how well this effort performs this season.

The two Bentleys go up against six examples of the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 this season in the battle for Best of British bragging rights, with Beechdean AMR this year proudly sporting the number 001 – and Scooby Doo stickers – on their 2013 championship-winning car.

Andrew Howard and Jonny Adam left Oulton Park last year with nul points after two bruising encounters with Trackspeed Porsches and must have thought that their title challenge was already over. However, the Anglo-Scottish duo rallied superbly – Howard himself showing great confidence and consistency to perfectly support Adam’s pace – and clinched the title at the death; only a technicality denying Adam a share of the title. They return in 2014 with only one aim – to defend their title.

Michael Caine took the title in 2012, but although he and Ahmad Al Harthy formed an impressive partnership in 2013, the extra 75kg penalty ballast carried by their Motorbase Porsche ultimately proved too much of a handicap. For 2014 the two have switched to Aston Martin, but have been obliged to retain the extra weight. Now entered under the Oman Racing Team banner – and an official Omani team, owing to the racing licence it has entered under – David Bartrum’s team will not have made the switch lightly and will be confident that the results will come quickly.

Electrical issues may have ended their Monza BES outing prematurely, but the team will have learned from the experience and will pitch up at Oulton Park confident of a good result. Al Harthy has already proven himself to have pace, maturity and ambition, and is not here to make up the numbers.

The team’s second car sees a new partnership in Rory Butcher and John Hartshorne, but this is one that combines pace with experience and which is unencumbered by extra weight. Both are new to the Aston, but Butcher has an enviable winning record in various series, Hartshorne has raced extensively at international level, including Le Mans. If the package comes together quickly, there might be a few surprises on the cards here.

We only saw a glimpse of the potential of the Mark Poole/Richard Abra partnership in a part-season in 2013, but they return for a full-season effort this year under the MP Motorsport AMR banner and with Abra having recently landed a factory contract. With the team now being run by Prodrive, Poole and Abra – twice winners of the Britcar 24 – are highly likely to be much more visible in 2014 and have the benefit of a concurrent BES campaign from which to further gain experience.

Paul Bailey and Andy Schulz landed the GTC title during their toe-in-the-water exercise last year, and now return with Tom Ferrier’s TF Sport and a Vantage GT3, again entering as Horse Power Racing.

The two have raced together in Britcar and Supercar Challenge and know the car well, so should be competitive straight out of the box. Ferrier is also eager to take his team places after splitting from Scuderia Vittoria, so we can expect this car to be in the mix from the off.

The sixth Aston is that of PGF-Kinfaun AMR, with Scots Phil Dryburgh and Prodrive MD John Gaw continuing their long-standing partnership. Consistent results eluded the pair in 2013, but with the ever-cheerful Dryburgh now more confident after a year of competition in the Vantage and with Gaw consistently quick, things may well be different in 2014.

The two final British cars are the Preci-Spark McLaren MP4-12C GT3 and the IDL-CWS Ginetta G55 GT3; for this round at least the only representatives of their respective marques.

David and Godfrey Jones are, to say the least, very familiar faces in the BGT paddock and an entry from them seems almost automatic. However, while they have not yet been able to reproduce their title-winning form of 2009, they take their racing very seriously and are still to be considered a threat, especially in the longer races. Having chosen the McLaren over the Mercedes SLS, they will be hoping for less misfortune in 2014 than they suffered last year. Will this car finally come into its own this season?

The Ginetta also ‘enjoyed’ a troubled season last year, with Oulton seeing two examples going up in flames in spectacular style. Colin White was behind the wheel when the IDL-CWS car rolled to a stop at Deer Leap and the resulting damage may have seen less resolute teams call it a day. But White and BRDC SuperStar Tom Sharp not only rebuilt the car in time for the following round, but went on to demonstrate continuous progress; even if that was not rewarded with an equal amount of good fortune. Certainly, a total of six championship points was in no way an accurate reflection of their efforts. The car and drivers return in 2014 with a new livery and with renewed optimism (and, if the Donington test times are any indication, good pace).

It wouldn’t take much of a change for this car to be a real challenger.

By rights, the Porsche 997 GT3 R should have cleaned up all the titles last season with several races still to go, but Trackspeed Team Manager Keith Cheetham was several times a mere onlooker as his wonderfully-prepared cars were removed from races in ever-more bizarre manner; and nothing sums up his team’s season more perfectly than Nick Tandy’s record: 2nd, 1st, DNF, DNF, DNF, 1st, DNF, DNF, 1st, DNF. All three Trackspeed cars took wins in 2013, but only the Team Title came their way. Now slimmed down to two cars, things are looking promising for a more disciplined assault on the title.

Warren Hughes and Jody firth have proven time and again that they complement each other perfectly, and you can read about their aspirations – here.

Jon Minshaw, meanwhile, embarks on his third consecutive season in BGT and his second alongside Phil Keen. Minshaw began 2013 with a win and a licence endorsement, following an astonishing airborne assault on the Beechdean Aston, and that wasn’t his only meeting with the stewards that year. However, the signs were that he was becoming more disciplined as the season progressed, and if he can match his pace with the necessary self-control this year, the points tally may well be considerably greater than 48 in 2014.

Just one Audi R8 LMS ultra graces the grid at Oulton Park, but one that is sure to again be in the hunt for the title from the off.

Mark Patterson and Matt Bell renew the partnership at United Autosports that took the win at Donington Park and came so close to landing the title in 2013. They failed to score points at just one round last season, but crucially that was the Silverstone 500, where points-and-a-half were on offer, and even ninth place would have given them enough points to claim the trophy. But that was last year, and the races in hand will be the only things on both drivers’ minds in 2014. Despite the age gap, both drivers have busy international racing seasons ahead – Patterson also being on duty for RAM Racing in the FIA WEC at Silverstone this weekend, which should make for some interesting commuting – and they have the pace and experience to challenge once more.

The third German marque is BMW, with 888 again fielding a brace of Z4 GT3s, while Ecurie Ecosse has just the one this year.

Lee Mowle teams up with Joe Osborne in the #8 ‘Batmobile’ Z4 and will no doubt be hoping to outpace DC Comics’ lawyers as much as the rest of the grid. Another pairing with a season’s experience under their belts, they too will be entering this season with expectations raised; and let’s not forget that last year was also a learning one for Ian Harrison’s 888 team. Now a director in the company, Mowle has even more motivation to push for the title. He had no illusions going into 2013 that his first season in GT3 was going to be a tough one, but his stint in the season finalé at Donington was hugely impressive and the penalties that arguably denied the team their first win that day were controversial, to say the least. If Mowle continues to grow in the same manner this season, then he and Osborne – the second BRDC Super Star in the field – could be a different proposition.

In the #888 car we have the intriguing pairing of Derek Johnston and Luke Hines.

The two paired up in an MTECH Ginetta G55 GT3 at the final two meetings of 2013 at Zandvoort and Donington; and despite indifferent results, they appear to have gelled well. Both drivers are well known to DSC – Johnston as the first Sunoco Rolex Challenge winner and as a former GT Cup champion, and Hines as…well, Luke Hines – and both still have considerable pace between them, even if both of their driving styles can be described as ‘lively’. But both want to win and have the ability to do it, and Hines has a further motivation this season; “I want to come back in a proper car for one last shot at the title for my Dad,” he told your scribe after the final race last year. This car will definitely be one to watch.

As will the Ecurie Ecosse Z4 of Marco Attard and BMW works-driver Alexander Sims. Attard has established himself as among the very quickest of the Am drivers – without undue fuss or bother – since his return to the championship in 2012 and fully deserved his victory at Silverstone last May. He finished joint-third in the title chase last year and will be confident of challenging again this time around, especially with his new Platinum teammate (and despite the extra 10kg they will have to carry). Sims actually has considerably less GT experience than Attard and will be making his race debut in a Z4 this weekend, but BMW don’t sign duffers and the 26 year old is sure to be on the pace from the off.

Still two marques to go.

Nissan makes a welcome return to the championship after a season’s absence (save for a ‘feeler’ outing for JRM at Oulton last April), with a GT-R GT3 apiece for Nissan GT Academy Team RJN and Strata 21.

Both cars have been making headlines, with the Strata 21 car – now confirmed as being on the Oulton grid – containing ex-BTCC star Tom Onslow-Cole. Alongside him is Strata 21 boss Paul White, who has extensive endurance racing experience in Britcar and elsewhere. The two have already enjoyed success together, with a class win in the recent Mugello 12H, and will be hoping to carry that over as they embark on their Nissan adventure.

Over at RJN, meanwhile, Sir Chris Hoy will have cameras covering his every move in 2014 as he begins his GT3 career alongside Alex Buncombe. Whilst we can’t expect a Jann Mardenborough-like season from the multiple Olympic champion, it will be fascinating to see how he develops under the auspices of Bob Neville and the Nissan GT Academy programme. Buncombe, meanwhile, has been with RJN since 2007 and knows the Nissan like few others; and he came very close to taking the BGT title in 2012.

That just leaves the four Ferraris in the field, but that doesn’t in any way mean that they won’t be in contention; far from it in some cases.

AF Corse returns for a second year with a brace of 458 Italia GT3s for John Dhillon/Aaron Scott and Lasin Pathouras/Richard Lyons, and with a third car for Jacques Duyver/Charlie Hollings making selected appearances later in the season.

Dhillon was in many ways the success story of 2013, with his pace showing huge improvement under the tutelage of Aaron Scott and with the confidence that comes with a very well prepared car. The Leicester-based Am was another to shine at Donington last year and he will be raring to go for the 2014 season. Scott, meanwhile, has turned a few heads since beginning to drive for AF and another good year may well open up a few doors for further, well-deserved, opportunities.

London-based Thai student Pasin Lathouras teams up with Japanese GT veteran Richard Lyons in the #29 458, with both drivers making their BGT debuts. Lyons’ role will be to develop Lathouras as he makes the step up to BGT. The 20 year-old has already shown potential in winning the Asia Pacific Ferrari Challenge, and Lyons’ experience will be crucial in the much more competitive environs of the BGT. Lyons’ own biggest challenge, meanwhile, will be in reacquainting himself with the British circuits after many years away.

The FF Corse pairing of Gary Eastwood and Rob Barff was this scribe’s dark-horse pick for 2013, and although that didn’t come to fruition, the two (and the team) were certainly firing on all cylinders by season’s end, with three consecutive podium-finishes. If they can carry that momentum over to 2014, then they will certainly be in with a shout by the time Donington comes round again in September.

Of course, the darkest moment of 2013 was the loss of Allan Simonsen; and while many mourned the Great Dane’s untimely passing, the pain was nowhere greater than for Allan’s brother Benny and for his great friend Hector Lester. In the weeks following the tragedy, it looked as though Hector had lost all interest in racing, but a change of heart over the winter led to the incredibly well-received news that Hector would be returning with his Rosso Verde Ferrari 458, and that Benny would be sharing the car with him.

Benny will be the first to admit that he is not his brother, but Hector Lester is making no demands on the younger Dane and the results this year will be what they will be. Wherever they race, though, this team will be the recipient of huge amounts of support.

So that’s the GT3 field for what should be the start of a truly epic season. There are other factors to consider this year, such as the stringent track-limits rules that have come in to force and the BoP; and are the cars really unchanged from 2013 despite the upgrade ban? We’ll find out soon.

Who’s going to win the title?

How the heck would I know!

MH