Fareham racing driver leads first ever GT3 Campaign with one round to go
A racing driver from Fareham is on course to secure a championship win as he nears the final round of the season.
44-year-old Paul Fullick is a driver for Team BRIT, the world’s only competitive team of all-disabled racing drivers and competed in the penultimate race weekend of the year in the GT Cup championship on the 19th and 20th September.
Paul and team mate Jamie Falvey competed at Brands Hatch, competing across both days, with two races held on both Saturday and Sunday.
They went into the weekend leading their GT3 class and hoped to do everything possible to build on that advantage.
The pair started in the best possible way, securing P2 in qualifying and missing out on pole position by a fraction. Jamie then took on the 20 minute sprint race, bringing their BMW M4 GT3 home in P1.
Next up was a 40 minute pit stop race, which was less successful, with the pair finishing P5.
Sunday saw a P3 in qualifying before a pit stop race that had just about everything. Multiple yellow flags were shown before a red brought the race to a halt. Unfortunately, Jamie was involved in one of the incidents, and ended up on the gravel. The Team BRIT crew got the car back to the garage and repaired in time for the restart. Paul then did an amazing job at fighting back to secure P3 and another podium position.
Jamie rounded the weekend off with another P1 in the second sprint race of the weekend.
The points tally mean Paul and Jamie continue to lead their class with just one race weekend remaining at Snetterton Circuit on the 10th and 11th October.
Since its formation in 2015, Team BRIT has been dedicated to revolutionising disability motorsport, breaking down barriers and proving that nothing is impossible. Over the past decade, the team has progressed from entry-level racing to offering a variety of levels of racing for drivers at all levels of experience, right up to GT3.
Paul is a lower leg amputee following a motorbike crash. He has been with the team since 2022, and has progressed rapidly from driving a BMW 118i, to competing in a McLaren 570S GT4 and a BMW GT3 this year.
Jamie served in the Royal Marines commandos to the rank of lance corporal. He was medically discharged after sustaining hearing damage, resulting in permanent tinnitus and severe hearing loss in one ear, which curtailed his career in the military.
Paul said: “Despite the successes, this was a challenging round! Due to some changes to the car set up, we missed out on the usual level of testing we would have before a race, so didn’t have the chance to get to grips with the track and the changes that had been made to the car.
“Free practice on Saturday became the chance to do this. Once the racing started, the goal was just to try and hang on whilst developing an understanding of the track. We found ourselves on the back foot throughout, but still managed to get some podiums and all-important championship points.
“Brands is an unforgiving track with very small margins for error. The GP section is fast and the walls are close! The weekend saw multiple crashes, red flags, race restarts and serious damage to lots of the cars. Thankfully, we managed to come away with only minor scrapes!
“As always, there was a lot of learning and incredible teamwork. To be going into the final round at the top of our class in our first ever year of GT3 racing is just incredible, and a testament to the efforts every member of the team has put in so far. On to Snetterton!”