British GT’s 2018 champions, as well as those from every series organised by SRO Motorsports Group, gathered at Old Billingsgate in London on Saturday evening (November 24) for the organisation’s annual end-of-season prize giving ceremony.
It is the only time of the year that champions from Intercontinental GT Challenge, Blancpain GT Series, Blancpain GT Series Asia, Macau FIA GT World Cup, GT4 European Series, Blancpain GT Sports Club and several more regional GT4 championships, as well as British GT, are united in the same place at the same time to be honoured by their rivals and peers.
Optimum Motorsport duo Flick Haigh and Jonny Adam were on hand to collect the British GT3 Drivers’ Championship trophies following their history-making campaign in the senior class, while Derek Johnston accepted the Teams’ title award on behalf of TF Sport.
There was also no shortage of prizes for Century Motorsport and Jack Mitchell who collectively cleaned up the GT4 Teams’, Drivers’ and Silver Cup championships. They were joined on stage by Pro/Am class winners Nick Jones and Scott Malvern (Team Parker Racing).
Meanwhile, Haigh was presented with a limited edition and personally engraved Blancpain 8885S chronograph timepiece after being named Blancpain Driver of the Year.
But the evening was also a chance for British GT to acknowledge two special achievements that might have gone unnoticed during the season.
The Allan Simonsen Award has become a highly prized accolade within the championship. It is traditionally won by a driver with the same speed and spirit that epitomised Simonsen, who tragically lost his life at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2013. This year the panel selected TF Sport’s Nicki Thiim as the sixth recipient of the award.
Whether it be on Instagram, Youtube or in the paddock, Thiim’s infectious personality is only matched by his hirsute features. However, the Dane also proved his credentials behind the wheel with two victories, a virtuoso pole lap at Snetterton and incredible pursuit of Phil Keen at Donington. That ultimately resulted in he and Mark Farmer finishing third in the Drivers’ standings, while TF Sport claimed the Teams’ crown.
However, there is also a personal connection between Simonsen and Thiim who completed 2013’s FIA WEC campaign aboard the same Young Driver AMR Aston Martin previously driven by his fellow countryman. Thiim has remained part of the manufacturer’s factory line-up ever since.
Elsewhere, there was no denying the winner of 2018’s Professional Motorsport World Expo Team of the Year Award: Tolman Motorsport. Not only did the outfit finish second in the GT4 Teams’ standings but it also won the individual weekend award twice in as many events after working around the clock at Spa and Donington.
The 2019 British GT Championship begins at Oulton Park on April 20 & 22.
2018 BRITISH GT CHAMPIONS AND AWARD WINNERS
British GT3 Drivers’ Championship
1st Flick Haigh and Jonny Adam, Optimum Motorsport (Aston Martin)
2nd Jon Minshaw and Phil Keen, Barwell Motorsport (Lamborghini)
3rd Mark Farmer and Nicki Thiim, TF Sport (Aston Martin)
British GT3 Pro/Am Drivers’ Championship
1st Flick Haigh and Jonny Adam, Optimum Motorsport (Aston Martin)
2nd Jon Minshaw and Phil Keen, Barwell Motorsport (Lamborghini)
3rd Mark Farmer and Nicki Thiim, TF Sport (Aston Martin)
British GT3 Silver Cup Drivers’ Championship
1st Struan Moore, RJN Motorsport (Nissan)
2nd Jordan Witt, RJN Motorsport (Nissan)
3rd Devon Modell, RJN Motorsport (Nissan)
British GT4 Drivers’ Championship
1st Jack Mitchell, Century Motorsport (BMW)
2nd Ben Green and Ben Tuck, Century Motorsport (BMW)
3rd Charlie Fagg and Michael O’Brien, Tolman Motorsport (McLaren)
British GT4 Pro/Am Drivers’ Championship
1st Nick Jones and Scott Malvern, Team Parker Racing (Mercedes-AMG)
2nd Kelvin Fletcher and Martin Plowman, UltraTek Racing (Nissan)
3rd David Pattison and Joe Osborne, Tolman Motorsport (McLaren)
British GT4 Silver Cup Drivers’ Championship
1st Jack Mitchell, Century Motorsport (BMW)
2nd Charlie Fagg and Michael O’Brien, Tolman Motorsport (McLaren)
3rd Ben Green and Ben Tuck, Century Motorsport (BMW)
British GT3 Teams’ Championship
1st TF Sport (Aston Martin)
2nd Barwell Motorsport (Lamborghini)
3rd Optimum Motorsport (Aston Martin)
British GT4 Teams’ Championship
1st Century Motorsport (BMW)
2nd Tolman Motorsport (McLaren)
3rd HHC Motorsport (Ginetta)
Awards
Allan Simonsen Award Winner: Nicki Thiim
Blancpain Trophy Winner: Flick Haigh
Sunoco GT3 Fastest Driver of the Year Winner: Marco Sorensen
Sunoco GT4 Fastest Driver of the Year Winner: Daniel Mckay
PMW Expo Team of the Year Winner: Tolman Motorsport
EDITOR’S NOTES
Allan Simonsen Award:
Following the tragic loss of popular Danish driver, Allan Simonsen, at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2013 British GT Championship organisers, SRO Motorsports Group, announced that a special award would be created in his honour. Allan had been a regular in the series since 2004 and the prize was intended to ensure his spirit and legacy lived on.
Allan was a familiar face in the British GT paddock and Rosso Verde garage, but it was his ability to produce last-gasp pole position laps and thrilling race stints that really elevated him from the rest. The stylish trophy created in his honour is awarded annually to the driver that races with pace, humility and good humour; characteristics that Simonsen possessed and demonstrated during every British GT weekend.
Previous winners:
2017: Joe Osborne
2016: Phil Keen
2015: Alexander Sims
2014: Jonny Adam
2013: Nick Tandy
