Without doubt one of the biggest appeals of endurance racing is the multi-class format that it provides, allowing cars and drivers of different performance and abilities to take to the track at the same time. It means that simply being the fastest is not enough to guarantee a crew victory, as traffic management and strategy all become more significant factors in reaching the top step of the podium than in other racing disciplines. British GT is no different, and the dynamic of the faster GT3 cars trying to find a way past the comparatively slower GT4s has provided lots of action this year.
Most recently at Snetterton, John Ferguson’s audacious move on Ian Loggie into Murrays as they approached GT4 traffic was the epitome of endurance racing, and ultimately set the RAM Racing driver on course for victory. But, while the multi-class racing has provided plenty of spectacle, it’s also produced several incidents this season and it was no different last weekend.
Championship leader James Cottingham was found at fault for a collision between his 2 Seas Mercedes-AMG GT3 and Freddie Tomlinson’s Raceway Ginetta G56 GT4 in the second practice session at the Agostini hairpin. After unsuccessfully appealing the decision, Cottingham was handed a third behavioural warning point which, combined with the two he’d collected in the Silverstone race, meant that he received a five-place grid penalty for the opening Snetterton contest.
Cottingham lost his well-earned pole position, and it led him to question the respect between drivers in the two classes. “I think it’s a deep-rooted set of circumstances this season,” says Cottingham, who still leads the GT3 standings alongside co-driver Jonny Adam after Snetterton. “The GT4 drivers feel like the GT3 drivers are not respecting them, and the GT3 drivers feel like the GT4 drivers are not respecting them. Everyone just needs to take a step back. It’s a two-way street and I think everyone needs to respect each other.”
Source: Autosport