Chris Niarchos and Tim Mullen successfully defended Scuderia Ecosse's British GT Championship crown after securing a double points finish in the season finale at Magny Cours.

With only the two title challengers making the trip to France - Emotional Engineering withdrawing the Monaro prior to the weekend – Niarchos and Mullen were aware that they only needed to finish the two races to claim the title won last season by team-mates Andrew Kirkaldy and Nathan Kinch.

Although the Ferrari qualified on pole for both races ahead of Tom Kimber-Smith and Luke Hines in the LNT Panoz, Niarchos and Mullen elected to drive with the championship in mind rather than take risks in a bumper FFSA GT grid, but it was more then enough to clinch the crown for the first time.

Torrential rain that began to fall just before the start of the opening race was the worst possible scenario for the Scottish team as the wet Avon tyres used in the British Championship seem to suit the Panoz more than the Ferrari. Struggling for grip throughout, Niarchos and Mullen could only watch on as LNT won the race and picked up five points, but four points for the leaders meant they held a three point lead into the final round.

With the Ferrari only needing to complete 70 per cent of the second race to take the title, the team played it safe, letting Kimber-Smith through at the start to run for the race win, leaving Niarchos and Mullen to take it easy and take the championship after a season that saw them claim ten wins to LNT's four.

“How do I feel about being British GT Champion? It's actually a bit surreal and definitely hasn't sunk in yet!” Niarchos admitted. “I'm so pleased we got the job done; we went out there to do a very level-headed, sensible job today and we achieved our goal.

“I want to pay tribute to the team; the guys have worked incredibly hard during what has been a very busy season for us so this is as much for them as it is for me and Tim. The guys from LNT came and congratulated us too after the race which was good of them. Healthy competition is a great thing and I'm delighted we beat them!”

Team-mate Mullen was equally delighted to have clinch the crown after a hard fought season of competition.

“The championship wasn't really just about this weekend,” he said. “We've all worked hard all year and that gave us the comfort to come here and cruise to the finish. We've had an incredibly successful year with ten wins and lots of pole positions and fastest laps and I want to thank the team for all their efforts, they did a fantastic job, and of course Chris, who has driven like a pro all year!”

For team boss Stewart Roden, the decision to defend the British GT title paid dividends as Scuderia Ecosse lifted a second straight title and he paid tribute to his two drivers for getting the job done.

“The guys did a great job today,” he said. “It's not easy to be told to slow down! Chris has been amazing this year, especially when you consider this is only his fourth year of racing. He was up against two professionals in the LNT car and beat them fair and square so I'm very proud of him. Tim has done a fantastic job too, always professional and very calm, which is what wins championships.

“This title was won before we came to Magny Cours really but we had to come and finish the job off and I'm glad we came out on top!”