2003 British GT Launch

The countdown is on - 2003 series launched at Silverstone today

By PH Staff / Thursday, 27 March 2003 / Loading comments

Today the 2003 British GT Championship was officially launched at Silverstone. A few of the teams attended although many were obviously still wielding spanners back in their workshops in preparation for the first race weekend on 5th/6th April.

This year we won't see the Saleens wipe the floor, nor will we be graced with the mighty Lister Storm or TVR Cerbera Speed 12. We will see a lot of new sports cars entering thanks to the introduction of the GT Cup class which will allow a greater variety of cars to compete.

The class system isn't entirely without confusion this year though. There will be GT class cars competing with GTO class cars but they will be fighting for the same points positions. If and when the Stealth B6's hit the track, they could streak out in front depending on how effective the 'equalisation' system proves to be. We should see some close racing though. Expect former TVR racer Martin Short to be a front runner as he attempts to leave TVRs behind - literally. We expect to see up to four of TVR's T400Rs (formerly known as the Tuscan R) competing.

The car most likely to attract media attention is the 'Girl Power' Viper. The CMS entered car will be driven by Amanda Stretton, Annie Templeton and Vickie Butler Henderson. Stretton's just had a baby and reckons anything will be easy after that whilst Templeton is getting fitness training from her next door neighbour - Frank Bruno.

Race distances have also been increased this year. Seventy five minutes will now be the norm, with some longer races thrown in too. It will be a real test of endurance for the teams and the drivers, particularly when it comes to the three hour race at Silverston and the Spa 1000km.

Once again TV coverage will be provided by Channel 4 on Saturday mornings with additional coverage on Motors TV. Support races will include TVR Tuscans, Caterhams, Minis and the Seat Cupra championship. That series could be particularly entertain with twenty 250bhp Cupras doing battle at each meeting.

Look out for the cars with PistonHeads stickers adorning their bodywork (

marked TeamPH in the entry list),

as we'll be following their exploits particularly closely. These include the CDL TVR and the GruppeM Tech 9 Porsche 996 GT3. These are also the teams that PH members can blag cups of tea from