Richard and Sam Neary set the pace in a chilly first practice session at Brands Hatch, while the drama in Kent started early with a major technical issue for the championship leaders.
While a late improvement for Team Abba Racing’s Mercedes-AMG in the hands of Sam Neary helped move the car to the top of the times, an engine issue sidelined the championship-leading Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan for much of the session. Rob and Ricky Collard managed just a handful of laps before the #63 Huracan had to be wheeled back into the garage for inspection on its engine. The technical crew will now have to change the unit in the hope of making Qualifying later, putting the Collards on the back foot early on.
In GT4 the Optimum Motorsport McLaren Artura of Jack Brown and Zac Meakin set the benchmark, with both drivers enjoying a spell at the top before Brown’s ultimate best put the car clear of its rivals.
When the session went green in autumnal temperatures, McLarens led the way with Marcus Clutton making the fastest start in Garage 59’s 720S GT3 Evo he shares with Morgan Tillbrook. Benjamin Goethe then took a turn in the Orange Racing car, before Tom Gamble put Optimum’s version out front for much of the session.
Gamble’s best lasted until the final 10 minutes when Clutton once again improved right before a short Full Course Yellow looked to have sealed the result. But Sam Neary made the most of the final few minutes of green-flag running to snatch top spot with his final effort.
Sandy Mitchell’s late best moved the title-chasing #78 Barwell Lamborghini he shares with Alex Martin up to second, ahead of Clutton/Morgan Tillbrook and Simon Orange/Goethe. Mark Radcliffe/Tom Gamble and Adam Smalley/Shaun Balfe made it a McLaren 3-4-5-6, ahead of the stricken car of the Collards, which still finished seventh quickest.
The Optimum McLaren of Brown and Meakin was well in the mix from the very start of the session, and both of the drivers helped gradually improve the car’s pace to eventually run clear by 0.2s.
The Mahiki Racing Lotus Emira GT4s made a strong start, with Gordie Mutch putting the #20 chassis out front early on as Nathan Harrison chased his best time in the #69. Harrison did eventually move ahead, but only briefly before Meakin beat his time.
Cue the driver changes and Brown built on Meakin’s work to further whittle the time down, his final effort being enough to keep the McLaren a few tenths clear of Harrison/Steven Lake’s Lotus.
Jamie Day and Mikey Porter improved to third in their Forsetti Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage AMR, just edging ahead of Mutch/Ian Duggan. Freddie Tomlinson and Aston Millar were fifth in the DTO Ginetta, with Seb Morris and Charles Dawson rounding out the top six in Team Parker Racing’s Mercedes-AMG.
Pre-Qualifying at Brands Hatch is set to begin at 12:10.