After enjoying its first taste of the podium champagne last time out, Paddock Motorsport is fired up to fight for more honours when the British GT Championship rolls into the legendary Spa-Francorchamps this weekend.
Having been absent from the calendar last season in favour of a trip to Portimão in Portugal, the iconic venue in the Belgian Ardennes returns for 2024 and presents perhaps the biggest challenge on the British GT schedule. Spa’s mixture of medium- and high-speed corners demand complete commitment from drivers, and more than few big stops thrown in to add to the challenge of the 7km lap.
The track also boasts the highest top speeds of the year, with the fastest GT3 cars nudging 170mph by the end of the Kemmel Straight. Large sections of the track have also been resurfaced, meaning lap times could tumble on the fresh Tarmac, with British GT being the first championship to try the new surface.
Paddock will field its regular trio of cars, but with a key change in the #11 McLaren Artura GT4 as Adam Hatfield makes his British GT return after a two-year absence to partner Alex Walker in the car that scored second place in GT4 Silver last time out at Donington Park. Walker has proven himself a frontrunner in the class, and Hatfield has already shown formidable speed by claiming podium finishes in the GT Cup during his return to racing earlier this season. Together the two should be well in the mix.
American Mark Smith and Martin Plowman are up for the fight this round, especially with the duo having great experience around Spa. The team held a successful test at the track earlier in the year, and Smith also contested the 12 Hours of Spa back in April, so is already well attuned to the track layout.
The Mercedes-AMG GT4 crew is unchanged, with Ed McDermott and reigning British GT4 champion Matt Cowley keen to overturn a disappointing start to the season and finally get some big points on the board in GT4 Pro-Am.
This weekend a total of 38 cars will take part in the year’s first two-hour race, which presents a more straightforward format, with just a single pitstop and driver changed required, otherwise it’s flat out to the flag.
Mark Smith of the McLaren GT3 says: “Spa could be a great one for us. We did a two-day test there back in April and it was wet both days, which we initially thought was bad luck, but looking at the mixed weather predicted for this weekend it could be the perfect preparation! I also did the 12-hour endurance race there, so I feel really comfortable with the track. We’ve just got to go out and attack it 100%. I’ve already experienced having to go fully opposite-lock up Raidillon this year! We’re looking forward to putting everything we’ve learned from testing there, and the races this year so far, into this weekend and hopefully finding our first big result of the year.”
New arrival in the Artura GT4 Adam Hatfield says: “I can’t wait for this weekend, and I’m so grateful to my sponsors and the team for this opportunity. After a year out of racing I got straight back into the swing of things in the GT Cup with the Artura, and then to jump straight back into British GT… I wasn’t expecting to get the chance so quickly but I’m determined to make the most of it. I haven’t been to Spa since 2018 so I’ve got some learning to do, but I’m looking forward to the challenge and getting to work with Alex. Spa is such an iconic track. Getting a big result there on my championship return would be amazing.”
Matt Cowley of the Mercedes-AMG GT4 team says: “It’s no secret the season hasn’t started in the way we’d have liked, through no fault of anybody… it’s just been bad luck. We finally got the chance to have a proper run last time at Donington and the weather just made that a crazy race, so hopefully we can have a more straightforward time this weekend. Ed and I are in good spirits about this weekend, and for the rest of the season, because we know the pace and potential is there in the car, we’re just hoping for a little more luck to be able to prove it.”
Action for round five of the British GT Championship gets underway with testing on Friday ahead of two practice sessions on Saturday morning, with qualifying set to begin at 16:40 local time (15:40 UK). Sunday’s two-hour race is scheduled for 13:00 CEST (12:00 UK). Both qualifying and the race will be shown live on SRO’s GT World YouTube channel, with all sessions featuring live timing.