Bartholomew crowned British GT Silver Cup Champion but just misses out on overall championship title
Jack Bartholomew arrived at the final round of the British GT Championship at Donington Park with a genuine chance of taking the 2016 British GT4 title. Trailing the championship leaders, Johnson and Robinson, by just 2.5 points, he was the only other driver in a position to win the title. Saturday saw wet conditions for free practice but the track dried in time for qualifying. The Beechdean AMR pairing of Bartholomew and Gunn stepped up to the mark and secured pole position.
With so few points between Jack Bartholomew’s Aston Martin and the Ginetta of Graham Johnson, the destination of this year’s GT4 class crown would boil down to whoever was ahead at the finish. A grandstand finish looked in store between the two title contenders but sadly it was not to be. As Jack set about chasing down the title leader after being overtaken at the start, he was soon right on the tail of the Ginetta and it looked as though the battle for the championship was well and truly on. Sadly, the 407 Beechdean Aston Martin developed a brake problem to such an extent that Jack was soon fighting to hold position. With further deterioration of the brakes, he dived into the pits after 50 minutes for the mandatory driver swap, also serving his 20 penalty for winning at Snetterton in the last round. With Ross Gunn now in the car he continued to struggle with the ongoing brake problem, eventually finishing 6th behind Robinson and Johnson’s Ginetta. This result secured them the GT4 crown, finishing 13 points ahead of Jack.
Although he missed out on the outright title, Jack’s success over the season has won him the GT4 Silver Cup championship. His nearest rivals were the Mclaren pairing of Mitchell and Haggerty who finished in second place 41 points behind.
Jack Bartholomew
“Obviously I’m very disappointed not only for myself but also for the Beechdean team who have worked extremely hard. I would have loved to have won the outright championship as it was such a close run contest this year, sadly luck was not on our side today. However, to have finished second in the British GT4 Championship and winning the Silver Cup in my first year of GT racing in such a competitive field of drivers is a huge achievement for me. We have already started working on our plans for next year and I am sure we will come back even stronger now that I have experienced a season of British GT racing. I want to thank the Beechdean Aston Martin Racing team for giving me such a great car to mount my challenge for the GT4 title and thanks also to all of my sponsors, partners and supporters because without them it would not be possible.”
