Devon Modell established himself as an exciting talent who is destined for a bright future, after finishing runner-up in the Avon Tyres British GT Championship GT4 standings and conquering Germany’s Nürburgring on his Blancpain Endurance Series debut in 2014.
Opening his account with a second in-class victory in the Dubai 24 Hours, Modell concluded an 11th hour deal to compete in the highly competitive British GT Championship with TF Sport, an official Aston Martin Racing Partner Team – a prestigious accolade shared among only a handful of teams worldwide.
Running in TF Sport’s sole GT4-spec Aston Martin V8 Vantage, Modell and his Milton Keynes-based teammate Andrew Jarman marked themselves out as title contenders by taking a class win and a podium finish at the first time of asking at Cheshire’s Oulton Park circuit.
Modell climbed the winners’ rostrum at Rockingham Motor Speedway, before overcoming a great deal of adversity and closely-fought tussles at the ‘Silverstone 500’ three-hour endurance race with a third place finish.
As part of the championship’s fly-away round at Belgium’s iconic Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Modell “flexed his mussels” in another hotly-contested fracas to stand atop of the podium and remain within reach of the title with two rounds remaining.
The Kent-domiciled racer’s home circuit, Brands Hatch, played host to the penultimate round of the ten-round British GT season and there was a chance for the TF Sport duo to snatch the championship initiative from Beechdean Aston Martin rivals, Ross Wylie and Jake Giddings ahead of the season finale.
Qualifying an underwhelming sixth, Jarman propelled the car to second in class by the close of the fourth tour of Brand Hatch’s Grand Prix configuration before handing over the reins to Modell, who, in a determined attempt to reduce the deficit to pole-sitter Giddings, put in a personal best lap time.
However, his best efforts were in vain as a mismanaged Safety Car saw a potential race victory snatched away and hopes of the GT4 title slip out of reach.
Continuing his impressive GT form, the Maidstone-based driver entered the Blancpain Endurance Series’ blue ribbon event, the six-hour iRacing.com Nürburgring 1000, in a Black Falcon Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3.
The heavens opened over the 3.20mile German F1 Grand Prix circuit and Modell excelled in the tricky conditions, lapping several tenths faster than many of his more practiced rivals to propel himself to sixth overall and second in class on an impressive debut.
Returning to the Courier Connections Renault UK Clio Cup for a second season, Modell entered the fray with a private fourth-generation Clio Cup car, run by Westbourne Motorsport.
Notching up several top ten finishes, Modell concluded a frustrating season tenth in the Drivers’ standings with only one DNF to his name.
Since the start of the New Year, Modell has been back to the Middle East for the annual Dubai 24 Hours (8-10 January), where he piloted a Speedworks Motorsport-run Aston Martin Vantage GT4 to finish a demanding race third in class.
“It has been a really successful year for me in 2014 and has opened a lot of doors,” said Modell. “If you had offered second in the Avon Tyres British GT Championship at the start of the year I would have bitten your hand off, but it was disappointing not to have won due to decisions going against us. Nonetheless, it was a fantastic season and gave me a great deal of experience and knowledge that I took with me to the Nürburgring.
“Finishing second in class against high quality drivers in a more powerful car was a season highlight for me, especially in the torrid conditions. The Black Falcon team was fantastic and provided me with a great car, the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3. I think I showed that I have the ability to jump into anything and compete at the front.
Modell continued: “A week after the New Year, I headed over to the Dubai 24 Hours with Speedworks Motorsport, who were running an Aston Martin Vantage GT4. It was a nice change hopping into a car I know very well, but there were technical issues at the start of the weekend, which the Speedworks team overcame, to take third in class. On the whole, 2014 was a great year for me and I’m excited about what the future might hold. Choosing to go down the GT route was definitely the right choice.”
For more information on Devon Modell and his racing activities, please follow @Devon_Modell on Twitter.