History was made at the weekend in the final round of the 2014 Avon Tyres British GT Championship as the first ever holders of the Oman Automobile Association Licence to win the GT3 Teams’ Championship.

In a sensational two-hour race, Ahmad Al Harthy led for the first hour in the number four Oman-backed Aston Martin Vantage GT3 but in a fiercely competitive second half of the race the car’s 75kg weight penalty and a 15-second pit stop penalty proved just too big a handicap as Michael Caine brought the car home in fourth. One place behind, after a tremendous performance from both drivers, was the number five Oman car in the hands of reunited pairing Liam Griffin and Rory Butcher.

The result was enough for Al Harthy and Caine to be named Vice Champions in the drivers’ championship while the Motorbase Performance-run Oman Racing Team celebrated the end of its first season running the Aston Martin marque as Teams’ Champions.  Butcher also secured a top ten championship spot, claiming ninth in the drivers’ standings after an excellent debut season in British GT.

Reflecting on an excellent season, and how close they came, Al Harthy said: “It just didn’t happen. We could see it coming and we knew it was premature to celebrate. It was just not meant to be, but we did an amazing job and we should keep our heads up. We won the teams’ championship and came second in the drivers’ championship, so it has been a very good season. Next time, hopefully!”

A superb performance during Saturday’s qualifying put the Al Harthy/Caine car on pole by just three-thousandths of a second from title favourites Marco Attard and Alexander Sims, with team-mates Griffin and Butcher claiming a fine fourth place on the grid as Griffin made a welcome return to the championship.

From the start, Al Harthy took control of Sunday’s two hour race and moved into a theoretical championship lead when Attard’s BMW retired with gearbox problems. Meanwhile, Griffin was delivering a hugely impressive drive to hold second despite intense pressure from a gaggle of cars.

Both cars carried pit stop penalties due to podium finishes at Brands Hatch last time out and that negated the leading margin that Al Harthy had built. Caine rejoined with a slender lead, but the car’s weight penalty was really hurting it under braking at a track where the car has to make three big stops in quick succession. Caine raced very hard but eventually had to give best to his pursuers and crossed the line fourth, 10 seconds down on the leading car. Without the 15-second pit stop penalty, race victory would have clinched the drivers’ title.

Meanwhile, Butcher continued the excellent work put in by his Oman Racing Team team-mate Griffin and took fifth place under pressure from the Aston Martin of former World Touring Car racer Alex MacDowall.

The result marks the end of highly successful season for David Bartrum’s team and the second title in three seasons for the Motorbase collective. A lightening turnaround is now in order though, with a quick stop off at the Kent workshop before the team heads out to Germany to compete in the final round of the Blancpain Endurance Series on the challenging Nurburgring circuit this coming weekend.

Speaking after the weekend Team Principal, David Bartrum said: “It was a very, very big task. We had to win the race so to get pole, provide a reliable car, to lead the race was very good: we gave it our all. We won the teams’ championship, which I’m over the moon with, as that’s a reflection on the team and the boys have done a really good job this year. The drivers acquitted themselves brilliantly.

“All four drivers have been first class this weekend and qualifying was a fantastic effort by all. But we gave it our best, won the teams’ championship and were runners-up in the drivers’ championship, so it’s not too shabby a year.
“We’ve been a Porsche team for 10 years and this was our first year with Aston Martin. If there was any doubt that we could run an Aston Martin, I think we’ve got rid of that. I’m very proud of the team and a big thank you goes to everyone involved.”