By Tarek Ramchani
United Autosports won the final 2013 British GT Championship race at Donington Park. The Anglo-American team narrowly missed the title in dramatic fashion.
Matt Bell and Mark Patterson had a perfect race with their Audi. The drivers of the #25 Audi R8 LMS ultra took the checkered flag with victory after an eventful 2-hour race. Mark Patterson had a strong stint in the opening stages of the race, before handing over the car to his team-mate. Matt Bell took over the car and was able to pass several rivals on track. Several laps later Bell took the race lead and at that moment United Autosports' drivers were virtually champions, based on the running order at that stage of the race.
The two Audi drivers knew that the race win alone was not enough, as their remaining rivals from Beechdean AMR were still in the running for the title as well. With 20 minutes left the third placed BMW Z4 from Triple Eight Engnineering was forced to retire, giving fourth place to the Aston Martin drivers. That fourth place was enough to secure the driver's title for Andrew Howard and prevent Matt Bell and Mark Patterson from being champions by a margin of just 1.5 points.
Mixed feelings for the United Autosports squad. A fine race win to end a competitive season and some disappointment for losing the title with such a narrow gap.
Further behind was the #11 Audi R8 LMS of team PE Group Blendini Motor. / Dom Evans. The car was driven by Dom Evans and Tom Roche. They finished in sixteenth place.
We at the Audi Motorsport Blog want to congratulate United Autosports for their heroic effort throughout the 2013 British GT Championship. Some ups and downs all season long, but the team and drivers never gave up and came so close to their big target.
Photo credit: United Autosports
