Commanding GT4 Victory for Academy Motorsport at Brands Hatch

Academy Motorsport dominated in this weekend’s British GT Championship two-hour endurance at Brands Hatch, claiming a GT4 victory and fastest lap. This was the first race win for the team in a number of years, and the first since making the switch to the Ford Mustang.

After narrowly missing out on a podium spot at Oulton Park a few weeks ago, the team climbed aboard the top step of the podium to collect a well-earned triumph.

A drastic change in weather conditions during the weekend saw the British GT Championship grid battle everything from a torrential downpour to sunny and dry conditions. Following qualifying on Saturday afternoon the team detected a technical issue, however with more hard work the car was quickly prepared for Sunday’s race.

Jordan Albert navigated the opening hour-long stint, carving his way through the GT4 pack from eighth on the grid. Upon handing control over to Matt Cowley at the half-way stage, it was Cowley’s role to bring the car home, something he delivered on in style.

Cowley soon steered his way to the head of the GT4 troop, where he remained for the final 30 minutes. An eleventh-hour safety car period looked set to challenge the team, as the pack closed in on Cowley. However, despite immense pressure from the trio behind for a number of laps, he kept a cool head where others faltered.

After two hours the chequered flag was shown to the elation of the Academy Motorsport team, who were awarded with a commanding race win.

Commenting on their victory, the team’s Managing Director, Matt Nicoll-Jones, said: “It still hasn’t sunk in. This has been a long time coming and it’s something the team thoroughly deserve. We’ve shown we’ve got the pace, and we’ve proven at both Oulton Park and Donington Park that we are competitive, but it’s amazing to finally get that win.

“The car hasn’t missed a beat, it’s been superb this season. I’m so proud of the whole team, but Matt and Jordan have done a brilliant job today. They were focused and did exactly what they needed to do. Both drivers drove well beyond their years, I’m extremely impressed with them.”

Albert said: “Academy and Multimatic did an amazing job overnight to find and rectify the issue. Today the car just came to life, it was transformed. I’m absolutely over the moon.”

Cowley added: “What a brilliant day! We knew the pace was there and it’s great to finally get a result like this. A huge thank you to the team for their hard work and support. The whole team deserves this more than anything.”

After a busy few weeks, there is a three week break now before the next round at Donington Park, which takes place during 19th-20th September. Looking ahead to the next round, Matt Nicoll-Jones added: “We’re feeling confident heading back to Donington Park. We’re going there following our strongest result, and we have raced there already this year, so we know what to expect in terms of performance.”