TF Sport entered the season finale of the British GT Championship this weekend at Donington Park in the hunt for both GT3 and GT4 drivers' championships and ultimately put in a sensational performance to claim both titles in style.
For the GT3 side of the garage, the title crucial moment came about in the closing stages of the two-hour race when Jonny Adam's #47 Vantage GT3 was hit from behind by a rival Lamborghini – sending Jonny wide into the turn and losing his position. Post-race it was adjudged that the #18 WPI Motorsport car had ‘gained an unfair advantage' and was handed a five-second penalty.
This moved Jonny and Graham Davidson to fifth in the results, clinching the championship. For Jonny, he is now a four-time champion in the series, while Graham – in just his second season in the category – takes his first of undoubtedly many crowns.
For the pairing, the challenge was a little tricky as they had to overcome a six-point deficit to championship leaders Adam Balon and Phil Keen as well as a 20-second success penalty courtesy of winning the last round at Brands Hatch.
Qualifying saw the duo record the fourth fastest time combined, but there was plenty of drama yet to come. A safety car even before the green flag set the tone for the day but once the racing got underway, it was a surprisingly clean start with Graham battling with #72 Barwell of Balon before making the pass on lap 11 before traffic intervened and he lost a spot to the #9 Century BMW of Angus Fender. He soon regained the ground to pit third and hand over to Jonny in third position, and significantly overcome his 20-second success penalty.
All was going smoothly for the highly-experienced Aston Martin Racing racer until the closing stages, running in fourth position with the points advantage over Barwell Motorsport's Jonny Cocker. With one Lamborghini taken care of, it was the sister WPI of Dennis Lind that ultimately made contact and put something of a cloud over what should have been a super double celebration. Ultimately, the stewards ruled in favour of Jonny and Graham.
After a difficult start at Oulton Park for the team, the race to the flag in the season finale has been exemplary and they're next on track in the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup in two weeks' time in Barcelona. There they aim to wrap up the Pro-Am championship for the second time in three seasons.
Graham Davidson
"It's a fantastic result and there were doubts, but in the end we got the job done. A huge thank you to TF Sport and Jonny for a very memorable season. For me, the safety car start was a bit of a missed opportunity as we were unable to push and try and pass. As ever at the Donington Decider, there were plenty of people getting into trouble and my aim was for a good steady pace whilst avoiding the incidents. As the race progressed and the tyres started to wear, I found better pace.
"It was frustrating to follow Angus, but I just focused on my job with good clean laps. I knew I could overcome the 20-second penalty and it was then just a case of where are we and when Phil Keen went out – I do feel for him, he must be cursing that car – but in the end we got the job done!"
Jonny Adam
"It's been a brilliant event, for everyone in the team and on both sides of the garage too. I think we were all a bit nervous coming into the weekend, but it really couldn't have gone any better – or any closer! I'm chuffed to bits and really happy for Graham as he's driven so well, so I'm delighted."