> Bellagio Hotel hosts 2019 SRO Awards
> Jonny Adam wins second Allan Simonsen Award
British GT’s 2019 champions were crowned in Las Vegas on Sunday night when the Bellagio Hotel played host to this year’s SRO Motorsports Group Awards.
London and Paris most recently staged the global promoter’s annual ceremony, which gathers together its national and regional title winners from Europe, Asia and the USA. But with Las Vegas Motor Speedway staging the final rounds of America’s Blancpain GT World Challenge and GT4 series, Sin City was considered the ideal location to crown 2019’s champions.
And a 10,000-mile round-trip posed no issues for British GT’s champions, most of whom were in attendance.
They included GT3’s overall champions, Graham Davidson and Jonny Adam, who led a TF Sport contingent also featuring GT4 overall and Silver Cup champions Tom Canning and Ash Hand. They were joined on stage by team boss Tom Ferrier, who collected the GT4 Teams’ trophy.
Lamborghini Motorsport boss Giorgio Sanna picked up the GT3 Teams’ award on behalf of Barwell, and Optimum’s Ollie Wilkinson and Bradley Ellis were presented with their GT3 Silver Cup crown. Martin Plowman, minus his Beechdean AMR dance partner Kelvin Fletcher, was also on hand to receive the GT4 Pro/Am title.
History was also made when Jonny Adam became the first driver to receive a second Allan Simonsen Award, British GT’s highest non-championship achievement, in recognition of another momentous campaign. The award 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.
Adam racked up a record-extending fourth British GT title – no other driver has more than two – despite being 54 points adrift with four races remaining after teaming up with Graham Davidson for the first time at the start of 2019. The Scot also reclaimed the GT3 and overall wins record from Phil Keen driving Aston Martin’s new Vantage.
Adam last won the award in 2014, one year after it was first presented.
Award winners not in attendance were Barwell’s Sam De Haan and Jonny Cocker (GT3 Pro/Am), Nicki Thiim (Sunoco Fastest GT3 Driver), and Dean Macdonald (Sunoco GT4 Fastest Driver).
2019 BRITISH GT CHAMPIONS AND AWARD WINNERS
British GT3 Drivers’ Championship
1st Graham Davidson and Jonny Adam, TF Sport (Aston Martin)
2nd Sam De Haan and Jonny Cocker, Barwell Motorsport (Lamborghini)
3rd Shaun Balfe and Rob Bell, Balfe Motorsport (McLaren)
British GT3 Pro/Am Drivers’ Championship
1st Sam De Haan and Jonny Cocker, Barwell Motorsport (Lamborghini)
2nd Graham Davidson and Jonny Adam, TF Sport (Aston Martin)
3rd Shaun Balfe and Rob Bell, Balfe Motorsport (McLaren)
British GT3 Silver Cup Drivers’ Championship
1st Ollie Wilkinson and Bradley Ellis, Optimum Motorsport (Aston Martin)
2nd Jack Mitchell, Century Motorsport (BMW)
3rd Ryan Ratcliffe and Glynn Geddie, Team Parker Racing (Bentley)
British GT4 Drivers’ Championship
1st Tom Canning and Ash Hand, TF Sport (Aston Martin)
2nd Sebastian Priaulx and Scott Maxwell, Multimatic Motorsports (Ford)
3rd Dean Macdonald and Callum Pointon, HHC Motorsport (McLaren)
British GT4 Pro/Am Drivers’ Championship
1st Kelvin Fletcher and Martin Plowman, Beechdean AMR (Aston Martin)
2nd Graham Johnson and Michael O’Brien, Balfe Motorsport (McLaren)
3rd Mark Murfitt and Michael Broadhurst, Fox Motorsport (Mercedes-AMG)
British GT4 Silver Cup Drivers’ Championship
1st Tom Canning and Ash Hand, TF Sport (Aston Martin)
2nd Sebastian Priaulx and Scott Maxwell, Multimatic Motorsports (Ford)
3rd Dean Macdonald and Callum Pointon, HHC Motorsport (McLaren)
British GT3 Teams’ Championship
1st Barwell Motorsport (Lamborghini)
2nd TF Sport (Aston Martin)
3rd Balfe Motorsport (McLaren)
British GT4 Teams’ Championship
1st TF Sport (Aston Martin)
2nd Tolman Motorsport (McLaren)
3rd Multimatic Motorsports (Ford)
Awards
Allan Simonsen Award Winner: Jonny Adam
Blancpain Driver Trophy Winner: Sam De Haan
Sunoco GT3 Fastest Driver of the Year Winner: Nicki Thiim
Sunoco GT4 Fastest Driver of the Year Winner: Dean Macdonald
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:
2018: Nicki Thiim
2017: Joe Osborne
2016: Phil Keen
2015: Alexander Sims
2014: Jonny Adam
2013: Nick Tandy