Result: Free Practice 2
They may have left it late, but Jonny Adam and Andrew Howard did enough to lead the pack during the second practice session at Brands Hatch, launching their Beechdean AMR Vantage to the top of the times in the dying moments of the session. In contrast, the Toyota Gazoo Racing UK GR Supra of John Ferguson and Scott McKenna took command of the GT4 field early to nail down the fastest time.
During a session punctuated by two red flag stoppages, Adam and Howard held station within the top six for much of the proceedings, but early on the outing appeared to have all the hallmarks of a Phil Keen double act as he put the WPI Lamborghini he shares with Michael Igoe top of the times almost immediately.
Things were just getting going when the first red flags flew to allow the recovery of the #2 Team Rocket RJN McLaren from a gravel trap.
When running resumed, Igoe/Keen continued to hold top spot, just ahead of Leo Machitski/Dennis Lind’s Barwell Lamborghini and the Team Parker Racing Porsche of Nick Jones/Scott Malvern.
Then, just as times began to fall once more, another of RJN’s McLaren driven by Alain Valente/Michael Benyahia suffered an engine issue that led it to deposit oil at turn five, prompting a second red flag period to clear up the liquid.
The session resumed once more with just over 20 minutes remaining, but the earlier spillage appeared to prevent any improvements – but nobody told Adam, who vaulted Beechdean’s Aston to the top of the times inside the final few minutes.
Igoe/Keen retained second – just 0.3s behind – with the G-Cat Racing Porsche of Shamus Jennings and Greg Caton flying into third, deposing the Lamborghini of Machitski/Lind. Yelmer Buurman was one of the few to also find a time late on, bringing the #6 RAM Racing Mercedes-AMG he shares with Ian Loggie into the top five.
Things were more settled in GT4 after McKenna and Ferguson put the Toyota GR Supra top of the pile early on and couldn’t be moved.
Matt Cowley had set the early pace – back aboard the Academy Motorsport Ford Mustang after its earlier session-one prang – but the Toyota crew forged ahead mid-session and were never headed after that.
Cowley/Will Moore held second place, just ahead of the Century Motorsport BMW M4 of Will Burns/Gus Burton.
Ciceley Motorsport’s Mercedes-AMG again showed strongly, with Jake Giddings/Dave Whitmore finishing the session fourth fastest, just clear of Harry Hayek/Katie Milner aboard RJN’s sole remaining McLaren.
The first segment of British GT’s four-part qualifying session gets underway at 16:05 BST.