This season’s British GT Championship will come to its formal conclusion at the Tower of London on Sunday evening as part of SRO’s Night of the Champions. As well as crowning title winners from all of the promoter’s championships, several special British GT awards are also up for grabs.
The past three years have seen Nick Tandy, Jonny Adam and Alexander Sims take home the coveted Allan Simonsen Award. This recognises the achievements of a driver who has consistently displayed the same characteristics as the late Allan, a firm favourite in the British GT paddock whose life was tragically cut short at Le Mans in 2013.
Indeed, the stylish trophy created in his honour is awarded annually to the driver that races with pace, humility and good humour. And there are certainly no shortage of candidates for this season’s prize.
2014 recipient Jonny Adam became the first driver ever to defend a British GT title, while the campaign will also be remembered as the season Phil Keen emerged as a bonafide GT star. Seb Morris’ first year with a roof over his head resulted in him finishing third in the standings and winning the Sunoco Whelen Challenge, and who can forget Jon Barnes scoring his first victory since 2008 en route to fourth in the GT3 points.
The Rookie of the Year award is also highly coveted. Traditionally presented to a GT4 driver whose achievements might have gone unnoticed, its roll of honour includes Daniel Cammish and Luke Davenport.
The large number of British GT debutants in 2016 makes choosing a winner particularly tricky, with several standout performances catching the eye. Silver Cup champion Jack Bartholomew won twice on his way to second in the GT4 class standings, Ciaran Haggerty and Sandy Mitchell both impressed during the McLaren 570S’s development year, and Alex Reed turned heads with his consistency and maiden victory at Spa.
Scott Malvern’s talent was clear for all to see after starting the year in a Ginetta and ending it aboard a virtually production-spec Porsche, while Matthew George was often amongst the fastest Pro drivers on show.
Finally, a new-for-2016 prize - the PMW Expo Team of the Year Award - will honour the squad that consistently went above and beyond during the course of the season. Finalists are based on the winner from each round.
Equally, one GT3 and GT4 ace will pick up the Sunoco Fastest Driver of the Season Award, which is calculated on quickest race laps from each of British GT’s seven weekends.
The winners of all four awards will be revealed on Sunday evening, while trophies are also presented to the GT3 and GT4 drivers’ overall, Pro/Am and Silver Cup champions, as well as GT3 and GT4 teams’ title winners.
2016’s SRO Night of the Champions begins at 16:30 on Sunday evening. @BritishGT will have live updates throughout the night and will be the first place to discover this year’s Allan Simonsen Award, Rookie of the Year, PMW Expo Team of the Year and Sunoco Fastest Driver of the Year winners.