British GTs Race of Champions this weekend from Brands Hatch

British GTs Race of Champions this weekend from Brands Hatch



This weekend’s final round to the 2026 British GT Championship from Brands Hatch will literally by this years “race of champions’ as most of the GT3 and GT4 Drivers, Class and Team’s titles remain unresolved.

The only caveat to that statement will be that the #27 Grange Racing with FSR Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4 pairing of Dan Lavery and Darren Turner have already secured their GT4 Pro-Am Drivers Championship following their race results last time out at Donington Park just a few weeks ago, but the rest remain fair game.


 

Going into this weekend’s final two-hour race around the full Brands Hatch circuit will feature another equal pairing of eleven GT3 powered crews with another eleven GT4 powered crews with three of the five Aston Martin Racing powered crews still very much in contention for one (or more) of these available championship wins.

Starting in the numerical order of each AMR powered team sees the #007 Beechdean AMR Vantage GT3 powered crew of Andrew Howard and Ross Gunn still in the hunt for both the Overall Championship win as well as their specific GT3 Drivers Championship. Going into this round, the #007 stands 27.5 points behind the present overall class leaders whilst being 20.5 points behind the present GT3 Pro-Am leaders and with 37.5 points still on offer – anything is possible even if they may need a little luck coming their way to do so.


 

This will also be Howards final race at this level after his announcement to step back a bit at the end of the season so he will want to give himself and his team their best chances of grabbing yet another British GT accolade at the end.

Moving into GT4 and it will be the #21 MK Racing AMR Vantage GT4 crew of Will Orton and Jessica Hawkins next as they have a much lower points deficit to overcome as far as both their available GT4 Drivers and GT4 Silver class championships go being just 6 points behind overall and just 1.5 points behind in silver.


 

What will really help these guys this time around will be their lack of pit stop compensation time at the halfway stage this is in addition to that of their silver/silver status whilst those ahead of them within either championship do have something extra to carry over from their Donington Park results.

Next up is the #27 Grange Racing crew who have already secured one significant class prize at their first time of asking but they do also remain in contention for the overall GT4 Drivers Championship as well, being just 10 points behind the leaders with also no pit stop compensation time to factor in thanks to their Pro-Am status.


 

That leaves just the #40 Townsend Racing and #97 GBR Stratton Motorsport AMR Vantage GT4 crews of James Townsend with Joe Wheeler and John Hartshorne alongside Jordan Collard again after his class podium winning debut performance last time out at Donington Park.

Neither crew are sadly at the sharper end of their Pro-Am or Overall leaderboards as both have suffered from more than their fair share of on track misfortune or post-race penalty. So far, Hartshorne has had a habit so far this season of finding himself within a class podium finishing position in many of the seven races so far to presently lie fourth overall within Pro-Am but with the potential of moving up higher should those ahead and actively chasing the ultimate prize mess up along the way.


 

It is similar for the #40 crew who lie sixth overall in class going into this round after they lost out on their podium finish last time out thanks to a post-race technical infringement penalty.

There will be plenty of Pro and Am based drivers fired up for this weekend’s finale and the final round has always had a tenancy in upsetting the apple cart somewhere along the way – we’re sure that the same will happen somewhere between testing this Friday and the end of the season at 15:30hrs on Sunday when everything will be realised.
Wednesday, September 23, 2026 | Read more...
Full Send Racing prepare for British GT finale with a little dapple (again) within GT Cup from Brands Hatch

Full Send Racing prepare for British GT finale with a little dapple (again) within GT Cup from Brands Hatch


Full Send Racing are back in action at Brands Hatch a week early for their main programme as they embark upon another round of the GT Cup Championship just a weekend before one of theirs goes for the Overall GT4 Drivers Champiosnhip at the circuit next weekend within the British GT Championship.\

This time around, it will be Steve Lloyd and Dan Lavery who will be racing the team’s slightly older 17A variant of the GT4 Vantage as they take on two solo driven sprint races and two pit stop races around the full Grand Prix circuit layout in what will be the penultimate round of the GT Cup Season.


 

Never full season entries, the team have no championship aspirations within this event other than to beat their two P5 class finishes that they gained within the Silverstone round of the season back in the warmer months.

Lavery of course, has already picked up the British GT GT4 Pro-Am Drivers Championship title alongside that of co-driver Darren Turner of the last round of that championship a couple of weeks ago. With one more round of that championship still to come next weekend – strangely from Brands Hatch, the #27 Grange Racing by FSR duo also lay in good stead for the overall GT4 title should results go in their favour.

 

So, there’s no harm in preparing yourself for what might or could be….!

Photo credits – Team
Wednesday, September 16, 2026 | Read more...
Podiums won and champions made in British Gas visit to Donington Park

Podiums won and champions made in British Gas visit to Donington Park

 


Donington Park in the British GT Championship this weekend was never quite the old #doningtondecider that it has become renowned for in recent rounds as this weekend was just the penultimate round to the season, but class championships were still there to be won.

With Qualifying having been ran yesterday, the #007 Beechdean Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 of Andrew Howard and Ross Gunn had had a challenging time against their peers to secure their P7 overall/ P5 in Pro-Am starting position but all four Vantage GT4 crews had benefitted from the disqualification of the three Ginetta cars for their ride height technical infringement.


 

That elevated the #27 Grange Racing AMR of Dan Lavery and Darren Turner up to the head of the AMR pack in their P2 overall start with the #21 MK Racing AMR of Will Orton and Jessica Hawkins just behind. The #97 GBR Stratton AMR of John Hartsorne and a season debuting appearance of Jordan Collard next P7 in class with the #40 Townsend entry of James Townsend and Joe Wheeler just behind them in eighth out of a combined grid size of just twenty-three cars.

Just before the start of this penultimate two-hour race, Mother Nature threw in her curved ball with a short but torrential downpour, particularly around the second half of the lap that forced many to opt for the full wet tyre over that of the slick as a choice of being between a rock and a hard place considering the track conditions.


 

Miraculously, the opening laps were without major incident or accident beyond that of the expected first few corners panel bashing between cars as Howard retained his starting position but both Lavery and Orton dropped a couple of places upon that opening lap. The first spinner wasn’t too far away as the Ferrari GT3 dropped a wheel off the track but was fortunately able to recover itself to the track without the need of further intervention.

Ten minutes in and the wet shod cars were already looking for the wetter sections of the track as a distinctive dry line was rapidly forming as the rain had now long since passed as the GT3 leaders were soon upon the heels of the GT4 class. The first significant incident on track came at the half hour mark when the delayed Ferrari founds itself in the way of the leading GT3 cars who were also lapping other GT4 cars which saw both the Ferrari and a Lamborghini spinning off into the gravel after the Lambo had hist the Ferrari into a spin. Again – both cars were able to recover themselves onto track without race interrupting intervention.


 

The #27 car of Lavery was an early pit visitor to change from wets and onto slicks, still just half-way through his opening hour-long stint as the transition between wets or slicks being quickest on the rapidly drying track had been reached as the slick runners were now six seconds per lap quicker. The #007 and #40 AMR’s of Howard and Townsend had similar ideas too.

Just ahead of the start to the pit window, the first (and thankfully only significant) incident took place at the hairpin when the GT3 Pro-Am Championship leading McLaren lost the back end of his car going into the braking zone to then turn and knock into the pole setting BMW GT3 to take both cars out of the race. What followed was an equally scary moment for Howard who spun around at the same position to thankfully pass the #77 McLaren by through the gravel. No contact made and Howard was able to rejoin and complete his stint before handing over to Gunn whilst fifth overall – P3 in class.


 

That allowed the four AMR Vantage GT4 crews to complete their compulsory stops where their faster drivers would now be aboard. Lavery had done his stuff as he handed over to AMR factory driver Turner whilst importantly holding onto their Pro-Am class lead thanks to their early change from wets. On the flip side, the #21 MK Racing AMR crew would see their silver class championship aspirations take a knock as Orton was served with a drive through penalty for speeding in pit lane during their stop – who was liable for that was inconsequential.

After the GT4 stops, the race action on track kind of died down a bit as gaps became insurmountable on track but errors on track still came with a consequence as the #42 Pro-Am contending Ginetta was first given a DTP of their own for track limits before having to visit pit lane again with unknown issues – that all fell in favour of the #27 crew and their championship hopes.


 

Going into the final minutes of the race, the #007 Beechdean was still looking good for another podium finish in class at least as they would come home fourth overall – P3 in class whilst the GT4 field would see two of the four cars finish in similar positions.

Whilst the #27 crew would win the Pro-Am class and clinch the class championship win as a result of the issues with the #42 car, the #40 AMR of Townsend/Wheeler would finish P3 within GT4 Pro-Am but a post-race check would see the car disqualified from the results for a technical infringement where the #97 GBR Stratton car of Hartshorne and Collard would benefit.


 

The final race of the season will be from Brands Hatch in two weeks’ time and will be where the final championship titles will be decided.

Photo credits - Jacob Ebrey

 

 

 

Sunday, September 06, 2026 | Read more...
Grid has been been set (and changed) ahead of the British GT two hour race from Donington Park

Grid has been been set (and changed) ahead of the British GT two hour race from Donington Park



Qualifying was completed a couple of hours ago ahead of tomorrow’s penultimate round of the British GT Championship but between then and us getting home, everything has changed as the three (faster) Ginetta’s have all been disqualified from their sessions on a technical infringement.

Having had a few hours of track time on Thursday to get in some early laps during private testing, the lower-than-normal grid of twenty-seven GT3 and GT4 cars were back in business this morning for the first of two one-hour sessions (Free Practice and Pre-Qualifying) before this afternoons all important individual qualifying runs.


 

The Grange Racing by FSR were reporting how their new BoP for the event had been challenging for them as they had to deal with additional ballast amongst others things although the #27 Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4 of Dan Lavery and Darren Turner were always up at the sharper end of the timing screen despite these apparent hardships.

The #97 GBR Stratton Motorsport were welcoming back their new young gun in Jordan Collard to join their full season entrant John Hartshorne for these remain two rounds of the season. He laps on Thursday were his first competitive laps within any race car for about four years he said over the circuit commentary.


 

The #21 MK Racing AMR Vantage GT4 Silver pairing of Jessica Hawkins and Will Orton gave their team an early headache after an off-track excursion during todays morning session had damaged the front splitter without another seemingly being available at the circuit. Despite this, the necessary repairs were made and that didn’t seem to affect the pairing too much over the remaining sessions.

The #40 Townsend Motorsport AMR of James Townsend and Joe Wheeler appeared to have an uneventful morning – although the pairing were slowest by the end of both sessions. That was a similar tail for the #007 Beechdean AMR Vantage GT3 of Andrew Howard and Ross Gunn who also finished their morning runs at the lower end of the GT3 class.


 

Despite the skies clouding over a bit more over lunch, the sun was back out in force in time for the four qualifying sessions where each driver per car was required to set a time with the aggregate of such setting their position upon the grid for tomorrows two-hour race and with qualifying having been run on track at least, the performances of all five Aston Martins had seen them left within their respective midfield.

Then comes the announcement of problems with all three Ginetta’s. Whilst the #007 Beechdean GT3 is unaffected by this and will start from P7 on the grid, the four Vantage GT4 crews all move up three places with the #27 Grange Racing car now grabbing GT4 Pro-Am pole position again for another front row start in GT4 with the #21 MK Racing crew just behind in third. The #97 GBR Stratton pips their more established rivals within the #40 Townsend car with each starting P7 and P8 overall within GT4 respectively.


 

But of course, two hours around Donington Park usually turns all of the above upon its head at least once or twice during the race so the race result is still a blank canvas.

 

 

 

 

Saturday, September 05, 2026 | Read more...
Heart of Racing snatch some quick mileage in at Barcelona ahead of next weekends trip to CoTA

Heart of Racing snatch some quick mileage in at Barcelona ahead of next weekends trip to CoTA

 

 

 


It’s all been a bit quiet so far as far as social media posts go but the Heart of Racing team are presently out in Spain halfway through a two-day test at the Circuit de Catalunya ahead of the rescheduled penultimate round of the FIA World Endurance Championship at the circuit in mid-October.

Whilst the teams two Aston Martin Valkyries and two Aston Martin Racing Vantage LMGT3’s are presently still on their way out to Austin, Texas in time for next weekend’s Lone Star Le Mans fifth round of the season event from the Circuit of the America’s, the team have had to borrow an equally familiar steed (after a suitable conversion of course) in time for this two-day test.


 

We understand that the #23 Vantage LMGT3 crew of Gray Newell, Eduardo Barrichello and Jonny Adam are all in attendance this week – all under the watchful eye of team boss Ian James as they concentrate in giving both Newell and Barrichello in particular that little bit more experience of the circuit that simulators could otherwise offer after the series was forced into moving their last two rounds of the season back into Europe.

They join a number of other LMGT3 and Hypercar runners at the test but once done, it will be another quick dash back to the UK to refettle their car back into its usual guise in time for its own penultimate round of the British GT Championship from Donington Park the weekend after.

 

Thursday, August 27, 2026 | Read more...
Howard to start another chapter to his Beechdean AMR story at the end of the season

Howard to start another chapter to his Beechdean AMR story at the end of the season

 


September’s final round of the 2026 British GT Championship will now also see the end of another era within that domestic GT sporting arena as Andrew Howard today confirms his competitive driving retirement from the sport at the end of this season.

Racing this year with another of his and his Beechdean AMR’s many home-grown success stories in Aston Martin Racing factory driver Ross Gunn aboard his #007 AMR Vantage, this news seals a racing career for Howard that stretched back over twenty-seven years.


 

Being one of those much needed ‘Gentleman Drivers’ within the modern GT racing environment where success on track is in no comparison to their success needed off track in order to place both themselves and their chosen resident Pro into that racing situation in the first place, this decision could not have been easy for him.

Indeed, only last weekend at the British GT’s round at Snetterton did we have a brief exchange across the paddock about the possibilities of him getting aboard some of his V12 powered AMR weaponry next year that he said, “but I’m having so much fun this year!!”


 

Over the years, we have seen Howard progress up the racing ladder from his initial Mini Miglia Challenge efforts back in 2002 through to then GT4 racing a few years later, into the new GT3 platform for the first time in British GT in 2009 before reaching the then pinnacle of the GT racing platform in the GTE class for the first time in 2015. The last six – seven years of his career have been back within the GT3 class and particularly within the British GT Championship where he has won either his class or overall title three times now. Winning the European Le Mans Series GTE Drivers Championship alongside Darren Turner and Alex McDowall would surely be the highlight to his career?


 

Anyway – that is for later this year but for Howard, Gunn and the team, after two challenging races last time out at Snetterton, they will have just two – two-hour races left to their British GT campaign later next month within which to overcome their existing points deficits (both in the overall and Pro-Am Driver championships) if there is to be any repeat in history if there is to be any fairytale type ending to this chapter – but stranger things have happened!!

This is not the end - just the first page in another chapter in the story of Beechdean Motorsport.

Photo credits – Team / Phil Hay

 

We are presently suffering from a few technical gremlins where the link being quoted does not take you through to our site correctly. Whilst the link does work in other social media platforms, the links do not work at the moment upon X (Twitter) for some reason that we cannot fathom out.

If you go directly through to our home page at The-Advantage.org instead, all will be there to read. 

Many thanks.

Thursday, August 20, 2026 | Read more...
Tables set for tomorrow two British GT sprint races from Snetterton

Tables set for tomorrow two British GT sprint races from Snetterton



After today’s four qualifying sessions, the grids for tomorrows two one-hour sprint races of the British GT Championship’s visit to Snetterton are now all locked in.

After what must have been the hottest conditions that the championship has tested in yesterday, track and trackside conditions were significantly cooler today with that persistent low cloud cover although humidity remained high.


 

As opposed to our earlier preview post, the only change of detail within the five Aston Martin Racing powered entries was within the #97 GBR Stratton Motorsport Vantage GT4 entry. Usually with both John Hartshorne and Ronan Pearson behind the wheel until now, sources within the team did tell us that the reason was otherwise “unavoidable and late in the day”, hence the late call up to racing duty for the teams resident driver coach and AMR factory driver, Jonny Adam.

Otherwise, it was a much-needed return to the racetrack for the twenty-four GT3 and GT4 powered crews after something near an eight week break since their last round of the season from Spa Francorchamps with only a single day test at the Norfolk circuit last week in-between.


 

During earlier Free Practice and Pre-Qualifying, none of the AMR crews were quick to show their hand as the #21 MK Racing GT4 of Will Orton and Jessica Hawkins going P2 in class in the morning but with the #7 Beechdean GT3 of Andrew Howard and Ross Gunn being slapped upon the writs by the stewards by having their lap times deleted under Reg. 26.20 (We don’t know either).

Pre-Qualifying was next up just ahead of lunch were again, all five Astons featured lower down but this time with the #21 and #97 GBR Stratton cars getting lap times deleted for track limits. Then came individual qualifying with each driver per car setting a time for their respective starting position per race tomorrow.

 

Howard got the ball rolling within his GT3 Am group of cars and whilst he would get himself up to P5 in class, he would have to settle for a P9 starting position in race one – P6 in class. Gunn would be next, after an enforced delay for necessary barrier repairs after the #78 Lamborghini went off late in the session before. He definitely pulled out all the stops to claim himself a pole position start in tomorrow’s second race.

GT4 next and that heralded the likes of Hartshorne (#97), Hawkins (#21), Daniel Lavery (#27 Grange Racing) and James Townsend (#40 Townsend Racing) to the track to put in their best efforts within the Pro-Am class for all except the #21 car who run within silver.



Lavery came out best with a class pole position in Pro-Am, fourth in the trail of GT4 cars on the grid with the #21 car next P7 overall (P5 in class) within then the #40 car P8 overall/P3 in class and P11 overall/P6 in class respectively.

Their Pro’s were out next for their race two starting positions and it would be Will Orton who would come home best within the #21 car with his P4 overall/P2 in class result with then a battle between the AMR factory drivers next but with Adam pipping Darren Turner and his #27 car with a P6 overall/P4 in class over that of Turner within is #27 car and his P7 overall /P5 in class. Joe Wheeler concluded the quartet of AMR cars with his P11 overall/P6 in class result.


 

Two one-hour races now to look forward to tomorrow – the first starting at 11:35 and the second at 16:00hrs local.

Photo credits – Jacob Ebrey
Saturday, August 15, 2026 | Read more...
British GT back in business this weekend after their summer break with two sprint races from Snetterton

British GT back in business this weekend after their summer break with two sprint races from Snetterton

 


After what feels like a lifetime since their last round, the British GT Championship is back in town this weekend as their GT3 and Gt4 based grid reconvene at the somewhat parched Snetterton circuit in Norfolk for two more fast and furious sprint races.

In reality, that last round at Spa Francorchamps back in June was still some eight weeks ago in late June where the British GT grid of twenty five cars shared the Belgian circuit with the cars from the French FFSA GT4 Series to create at best, a very interesting racing environment for many or at worst, a platform where the ‘lesser’ driver in the smallest of cars could not stand with the much faster GT3 cars thundering passed them leading to multiple yellow flag incidents on track.

 

That being said, the #27 Grange Racing AMR Vantage GT4 Pro-Am pairing of Dan Lavery and Darren Turner had nothing to fear as that duo continued their rapid rise up the class order to win at Spa.

The sole AMR Vantage GT3 entry from the Beechdean AMR squad for drivers Andrew Howard and Ross Gunn were looking well placed within that race to continue their healthy points haul in the championship so far but for some unforced errors on track that saw post-race time penalties ultimately drop them down the order to eventually finish fifth.


 

It was a similar tale for the #21 MK Racing AMR Vantage GT4 of Jessica Hawkins and Will Orton which saw an off-track experience for Hawkins during qualifying leave Orton unable to run his laps leaving their car at the back of the British GT GT4 class for the start of the race. As expected, being a silver/silver pairing, they did rise up the order to also eventually finish fifth in class at the end.

That left both the Pro-Am GT4 pairing of Joe Wheeler/James Townsend in their #40 Townsend Racing by Fox Motorsport entry plus the #97 GBR Stratton AMR Vantage GT4 Evo entry of John Hartshorne and Ronan Pearson to lament upon what might have been after numerous errors (of their own and others) left them slightly lower down the class order but with both crews still securing valuable class points.


 

Going into this weekend’s two, one-hour sprint races on Sunday, the #007 Beechdean GT3 crew still lie third within the GT3 Pro-Am Drivers Championship but have now slipped to sixth within the Overall GT3 Drivers order whilst both the #21 MK Racing and #27 Grange Racing pairings remain strong contenders within the top four of the Overall GT4 Drivers Championship whilst also being 1st or 2nd within their respective classes.

Proving that consistency is the key within any championship, the #97 GBR Stratton crew presently sit fourth within their GT4 Pro-Am class, just ten and a half points behind the more race headline winning #27 crew with the #40 Townsend crew just a further eight points back behind them. The points availability this weekend will undoubtedly change all of the above at some point.


 

With an Amber weather alert for heat already in situ for this Thursday, events at Snetterton this weekend will be very hot for one reason or another with just how drivers and teams manage themselves in what will be some very uncomfortable conditions on both pit lane and the track. The same will go for their tyre allocation.



Private testing will again be available to the teams on Friday before the more formal track sessions beginning on Saturday.

Photo credits – Teams / Jacob Ebrey / social media

 

 

Tuesday, August 11, 2026 | Read more...
Another tough GT4 encounter for the three Aston Martins running at a sweltering Spa Francorchamps this weekend

Another tough GT4 encounter for the three Aston Martins running at a sweltering Spa Francorchamps this weekend

 


Sadly, there was nothing much to cheer for again as the three Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4 crews endured some extreme conditions at their third round of the GT4 European Series from a baking hot Spa Francorchamps this weekend.

Starting a day earlier than usual thanks to the series again supporting the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup Series and their Blue Ribband Crowdstrike 24 Hours of Spa, their first into the night race of the weekend on Friday gave the forty-four crews little solace from the extreme heat that has been affecting much of northern Europe of late.



Indeed, it was the guesting #23 Full Send Racing entry for Dan Lavery and Darren Turner who nearly stole the march on the two full season Racing Spirit of Leman AMR entries as the British crew used their British GT GT4 race winning experience of last weekend to good effect to eventually come home just off their Pro-Am podium in fourth but that luck would run out in race two on Saturday.

The #74 RSLM silver pairing of Pedro Garcia and Clement Seyler had looked to have put their misfortunes of Monza last time out behind them, but the pace within their car was simply not their compared to their class rivals – that and the fact that Gracia was racing at each European circuit for the first time this year!



Track limits would always be a ‘thing’ for all the runners in both races and the #72 RSLM Pro-Am entry of Florent Grizaud and Kevin Kullmann would soon attract the attention of Race Control and that would severely hinder their own race that would see them finish a lowly P11 in class.

Whilst race one had at times threatened heavy rain at the circuit as the humidity increased, race two on Saturday was again in the rapidly climbing heat of the morning as track temperatures exceeded fifty degrees as many drivers and teams again reported high temperature issues within their cars.



For Lavery, his race would end fairly quickly as a errant Ginetta attempting to pass on the inside at La Source only damaged the Aston Martin but his own car that saw both cars pit the next time around but for the #23 – it was the end of the line with steering/suspension issues.

The damage to the #74 cars hopes had also been shredded during Qualifying earlier in the weekend as the Brazilian could do no better than P36 overall, but after a determined fight back during that hour long race, the pairing one place higher than what they had done in race 1. It was to be a similar tail for the sister #72 car as although they had again qualified within the top half of the grid, they could again do no better than P11 in class.



The series now moves onto Misano, Italy in just three weeks’ time.

Photo credits – Teams / Series / social media
Saturday, June 27, 2026 | Read more...
UPDATED - Grange Racing take another GT4 race win after an eventful BGT/FFSA double act from Spa

UPDATED - Grange Racing take another GT4 race win after an eventful BGT/FFSA double act from Spa

 

 


A thoroughly eventful but equally confusing third rounds of the British GT Championship and FFSA GT4 Series as fifty-five cars from both SRO series shared the 7km Spa Francorchamps circuit in Belgian earlier today marking the start of Speed Week and the run into the Spa 24.

In a novel way in saving track time between all the SRO governed series between this weekend and next, the idea of running the GT3 and GT4 classes of the British GT Championship with the GT4 and sub-classes of the French FFSA GT4 independently in governance but at the same time as on track with one another had all the hallmarks of something very interesting but reality sadly proved that idea needed further thought.


 

The start to today’s two-hour race started under the searing heat of northern Europe making for some very uncomfortable working conditions for the drivers, team crews and circuit safety teams as air temperature reached into the low thirties.

After yesterday’s Qualifying sessions, the #7 Beechdean Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 of Andrew Howard and Ross Gunn would be starting from the second row of the grid which would this time start along the downhill looking into Eau Rouge along the endurance pit lane. The four AMR Vantage GT4’s from the Townsend Racing, GBR Stratton Motorsport, MK Racing and Grange Racing teams mainly saw adjustments to the original qualifying position to end up starting from towards the rear of the class.


 

Eventually getting the green light coming out of La Source saw the #7 Beechdean car of Howard get jumped by a rampant Lamborghini to drop the Aston immediately down to fifth whilst (first) the British GT GT4 class came through before being eventually followed by the FFSA GT classes for what was a clean start. Such was the speed differential between the GT3 frontrunners and the slowest of the FFSA classes that the race leaders were lapping cars on only the fourth lap of the race.

The rotten weekend for the #005 Mirage Racing AMR Vantage GT4 car of Jodie Sloss and new co-driver Nicolas Siebenschuh continued after the pit lane contact that halted their qualifying runs before they had even begun, as the young Scot only managed six laps before retiring the car before the first drama on track saw a fellow FFSA runner hard off and into the tyre wall.


 

That would be the first of three Full Course Yellow – Safety Car interruptions for various incidents on track that would lose the race nearly half the race as the longest interruption dragged on for over half an hour and Race Control permitted all runners to make their necessary stops at the reduce circulating rate of a FCY.

The end of the third interruption left just over twenty minutes of racing to go for the (mainly) Pro drivers aboard as the #7 Beechdean with Gunn was still in fourth whilst the #27 Grange Racing GT4 of Darren Turner was now battling for the class lead despite Dan Lavery getting pinged for passing FFSA traffic before the green flag – getting them a further twenty seconds hold time in pit lane earlier in the race.



The #40 Townsend car of first James Townsend before Joe Wheeler took over was struggling in the heat, as was the #97 GBR Stratton car of John Hartshorne and Ronan Pearson as the #97 would later get five seconds added to tehir race time for track limits. The final two laps would create a perfect storm for the GT3 front runners as they would find themselves coming up upon the FFSA tail enders again just at the slowest sections of the track which gave the pole setting McLaren the opportunity it needed to pass Gunn again for position into the bus stop for the final time.

Eventually all British GT runners passed the line to take the checkered flag with the #7 Beechdean crew finishing fifth overall but with the #27 Grange Racing crew taking their second class win in succession after their achievements in race two from Oulton Park last time out.


 

The #21 MK Racing silver pairing of Will Orton and Jessica Hawkins would recover from their qualifying issues of yesterday to eventually finish sixth despite the additional forty seconds that they had to spend in pit lane during their stop thanks to both their silver/silver grade and their podium position from Oulton Park. The #40 Townsend car would swap positions at the end thanks to the #97 GBR Strattons final time penalty as they would finish fourth and fifth respectively in GT4 Pro-Am.

The Championship now enters their six-week summer break before it returns to its two sprint race format next time out at Snetterton in mid-August.

UPDATE

A twenty second post race time penalty applied to the #7 Beechdean GT3 entry for a breach in Safety Car process has demoted them down to P6 in class.

Photo credits – J Ebrey / Teams / Phil Hay / Series / social media

 

 

 

 

Sunday, June 21, 2026 | Read more...