2022 British GT Championship: Spa-Francorchamps Preview
19th July 2022The British GT Championship heads to Belgium’s iconic Spa-Francorchamps for the seventh round of the 2022 season, with Ram Racing’s Ian Loggie on top of the standings.
Motorsporting action, in the Ardennes, isn’t only isolated to British GT racing. The GT2 European Series, Championnat de France FFSA Tourisme and Championat de France FFSA GT and the GB3 will also be taking part this weekend.
Loggie stands tall in the championship’s GT3 standings and looks to be the best equipped driver to secure the title this season. On the other hand, in the GT4 class, Newbridge Motorsport’s Matt Topham and Darren Turner stand as the new championship leaders ahead of Steller Motorsport’s Richard Williams and Sennan Fielding.
Despite the iconic venue’s prestigious hertiage, ahead of the 2022 season, Spa-Francorchamps has undergone some significant changes.
Loggie’s championship?
With only three rounds left to go, will the Ram driver secure the title this season? The 59-year-old currently tops the drivers standings with 100.5 points to his name, 32.5 points more than his closest rival: Michael Igoe, WPI Motorsport.
Because the British driver is in this favourable position, he is one of the clear favourites to win the title.
Igoe, who only has 68 points, is only separated from third, fourth and fifth place by a single point.
WPI teammate, Phil Keen, in third, is currently tied with his compartiot on 68 points. Meanwhile, Redline Racing’s Alex Malykhin and James Dorlin sit P4 and P5, respectively, on 67 points.
If Loggie was to secure the highest set of points, this weekend, or even finish on the podium, he would certainly have one hand clenched around the championship.
GT4 heating up
Newbridge’s Topham and Turner now stand as the GT4 British GT championship leaders after they toppled Steller’s Williams and Fielding from the top spot.
As a result, of their third place finish in Snetterton’s first and second races, the Newbridge pairing have an eight-point lead at the top of the table.
Unlike their GT3 counterpart, there looks to be no clear winner – at the moment. However, Topham and Turner look to be on their way to secure the title as they are yet to secure less than nine points per race.
The Newbridge pairing look to be in incredible form after they secured back-to-back podiums, in Snetterton, despite a Success Penalty in the second race last time out.
However, with three rounds left to go, and only separated by eight points, Williams and Fielding still have time to return to the top of the standings.
Spa-Francorchamps changes
Since 2021, the iconic Belgian circuit has undergone some significant changes in a bid to be more suitable for motorsports, across the spectrum.
One of these reasons is to increase track safety for the drivers, who will put their life on the line for motor racing.
Eau Rogue and Radillion is the first area to see changes with an increased run-off area up the memorable section of track.
This was an issue that has been brought up alot in recent times, after the likes of Anthoine Hebert’s tragic Formula 2 accident in 2019 and McLaren F1 driver Lando Norris horrific crash at last years Belgian Grand Prix.
The hillside, at the same corner, has been also been removed to incoperate the addition of a new grandstand.
In addition, gravel traps have also been added in several corners throughout the circuit.
However, its not only the track which has undergone changes, some slight changes will be conducted as part of the British GT weekend.
Drivers who start the GT4 race have to complete a minimum of 58 minutes, while in GT3 it is 62 minutes. Regardless of class, the driving time is capped at a maximum of 70 minutes.
In addition, GT4’s Silver pitstop handicap has been increased to 26 seconds.
That’s it for the article: 2022 British GT Championship: Spa-Francorchamps Preview! What are you looking forward to this weekend? Let us know in the comments!
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
