The great Scots on top in British GT

Scotland has a fine tradition of success in motorsport, where it has arguably punched above its weight for several decades when it comes to producing great drivers: from Jim Clark and Jackie Stewart to Colin McRae and David Coulthard, as well as Dario Franchitti and Allan McNish. Today, there are no Scots in Formula 1 or the World Rally Championship full-time, but among those proudly flying the Saltire on top of the podium are this year's British GT GT3 champions Jonny Adam and Graham Davidson.

As a factory driver for Aston Martin, Adam is a winner at Le Mans (in the GT class) but it's in British GT where he's really made his mark. His latest success in the series was a record-extending fourth title: all of them in the last five years and, most impressively, with four different co-drivers.

Most British GT entries are driven by Pro-Am driver pairings: a partnership between professional racers like Adam and people frequently referred to as ‘gentleman drivers', who often come to racing later in life as a hobby, maybe combining it with running a successful business. 

The Pro driver's job is not only to drive the car as fast as possible, but also to help their co-driver drive as quickly as they can thanks to coaching and advice, because speed from both is crucial to victory when they share the driving.

Adam has proven especially adept in this scenario. His first title came alongside Andrew Howard for Beechdean AMR in 2015, before joining TF Sport and Derek Johnston in 2016 (when Pirelli began supplying the series) and defending his crown. In 2018, Adam joined Optimum Motorsport, where he helped Flick Haigh make history as the first woman to win British GT's senior title. His success has extended to Europe too, having claimed the Pro-Am title in the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup – which uses the same Pirelli tyres – with Ahmad Al Harthy in 2017.

This year, Adam found himself back at TF Sport to team up with Davidson: already a winner in British GT with Aston Martin in 2018. Davidson, 34, runs several businesses, including one specialised in transporting and storing classic cars. A mountain biker in his youth, he turned to motorsport in 2014, racing at his local Knockhill circuit in a car from the small British manufacturer, Noble. 

Three years later, Davidson was dominating the GT Cup Championship (also supplied by Pirelli) in a McLaren MP4-12C. British GT was the obvious next step for 2018, when he shared an Aston Martin with Belgian ace Maxime Martin, who helped him to a maiden win at Spa-Francorchamps.

For 2019, Aston Martin introduced its new latest-generation Vantage GT3 to British GT, and Davidson found the ideal partner in Adam, who had played a key role in the car's development.

Already the championship's most successful manufacturer in the modern era, Aston Martin had a lot to live up to entering its new Vantage into British GT this year. Initially, results proved hard to come by, with Adam and Davidson scoring just seven points from the first two races at Oulton Park. In race five, Adam was leading the prestigious Silverstone 500 three-hour endurance race into the final minutes, before a heart-breaking retirement that was the result of contact while lapping a slower car.

The duo didn't give up though and bounced back immediately in the next race at Donington Park in June, taking a first win together. Another victory at Brands Hatch meant they went into the deciding race, back at Donington Park, within reach of the championship leader.

With five minutes remaining of the two-hour race, they were on course to win the title when Adam was pushed wide by a rival and lost two crucial places. So the title was set to be decided in the stewards' room. Justice prevailed however, and they were eventually crowned champions: a fourth title for Adam and the first for Davidson. Perhaps the start of a special partnership as well, at the end of a remarkable season.