Successful weekend at Spa
Academy Motorsport claimed another strong result during the fifth round of the British GT Championship at Spa Francorchamps last weekend (20th – 21st July). Following a busy few weeks for the team, it was great to secure another competitive performance.
It has been a whirlwind of a season so far for the squad, competing in both the British GT Championship and the GT4 European Series, with many of the rounds back-to-back.
There was also a slight change in the team’s machinery at Spa, following a heavy impact for one of its Aston Martin Vantage GT4 race cars at Zandvoort just one week ago, through no fault of the driver. Due to the scale of the damage, and no other Aston Martin race cars being available, Academy Motorsport swapped to a McLaren 570S for this one outing.
It was certainly going to be a challenge for Ben Hurst and Micah Stanley, faced with a different car on one of the most challenging circuits on the motor racing calendar. Despite this, the pair conquered the task ahead, and were ready for the two-hour race.
Will Moore and Alex Toth-Jones were reunited in the sister Aston Martin for their Spa weekend. With luck on their side once again, the pair raced their way through the melee to claim a strong top 10 finish.
Sadly, luck was not on the side of Stanley and Hurst, with the pair retiring from the race in the early stages.
Commenting on the team’s Spa weekend, Managing Director, Matt Nicoll-Jones said: “It was great to bank another top 10 finish this weekend. They are gradually all building up, and providing we continue to secure competitive results, it should stand us in good stead come the end of the season.
“To say the last few weeks have been hectic is an understatement, but as ever the team has buckled down and put the hours in to make sure we’re back on track each weekend.
“We would like to thank McLaren for their help at such late notice, in providing such a strong contender for us.”
There is now a slight break for Academy Motorsport before the next round of the British GT Championship, which takes place at Brands Hatch during 3rd-4th August. This will be the penultimate round of the 2019 championship.
