A fresh wind and grey skies beckoned the start to the 2026 British GT Championship on Tuesday as twenty-six GT3 and GT4 cars congregated at the home of British Motorsport for their annual Media Day presentation and test around the full Grand Prix circuit of Silverstone.

Whilst Mother Nature may not have been that complementary to start with, the bright livery designs soon warmed the day with the sun soon making an appearance as all the cars and crews enjoyed three test sessions around the circuit as well as a public presentation within the pit lane and press conference during the lunch interlude.

 

Unfortunately for us, there were no last-minute announcements as we were already aware of the five Aston Martin Racing powered crews who would compete full season within the Championship although one team was still hopeful of a late signing with discussions due to take place still at the test.

The Beechdean AMR team will be the sole AMR Vantage GT3 powered team within the front running class after the Blackthorn AMR had earlier announced their 2026 racing programme within the European theatre for their driver clientele.

 

Andrew Howard would return to the battles within the Pro-Am class alongside Ross Gunn who returns to the team after a number of years away from the championship and in addition to his already declared IMSA and FIA World Endurance Championship with the Heart of Racing AMR team within a car sporting a livery design reminiscent of that raced by the team in the then brand new Vantage GT3 at the Gulf 12hr back in 2018.

Whilst people still climbing the GT ladder were describing their challenges stepping up from either Ginetta Series or GT4 classes in terms of driver/car interactions, Gunn was the only one suffering a simple issue downgrading between his GTP/Hypercar charge elsewhere to that of quickly familiar Vantage GT3.

 

Then, within the GT4 class there are the brightly coloured quartet of AMR Vantage GT4’s from Full Send Racing, GBR Stratton Motorsport, MK Racing and the Townsend Racing powered by Fox Motorsport teams – all fielding one car apiece despite the earlier hopes of some to race two cars.

AMR Factory driver Darren Turner and Dan Lavery within the #27 Grange Racing by Full Send Racing have their names out there the longest of the AMR powered runners and half already undertaken numerous test sessions around the country. They too had hoped to field two cars, but we understand from the team that they first wanted to get the team/car/crew functioning within the right direction before considering a second car, but we may get to see their black liveried car competing within the GT Cup Championship later this season.

 

The team did suffer from an understeer issue at the test which saw them sit out most of session three as suitable adjustments were made.

James Townsend takes a progressive step up the racing ladder this season having started within the Ginetta family and this year sees his first competitive racing steps within the GT4 class with his own Townsend Racing team operating under the watchful eye of the more established Fox Motorsport team.

 

Speaking at the press conference, Townsend spoke about the importance of a coherent ladder system – something that the governing SRO body have embraced this year by taking the Ginetta Junior and Ginetta GT Championships under their wing this season. He will be joined by the more GT4 savvy Joe Wheeler within their pink and purple coloured #40 car.

Townsend would suffer from a puncture during the day, but he was able to bring the car home with little to no damage from the flailing rubber.

 

Originally posted out as an MKH Racing entry but later revised to just an MK Racing Vantage GT4 entry (after Stuart Hall stepped away from the team last year) saw the Peter Montague lead team buck the Aston Martin Racing Pro-Am classed entry with a silver class entry for both Will Orton and Jessica Hawkins.

Orton endured something of a ‘challenging’ GT4 European Series experience last year with the Racing Spirit of Leman team after he and Marc Warren enjoyed a successful year together with the then Forsetti AMR team in 2024.

 

Likewise, the Aston Martin F1 Ambassador Jess Hawkins had a similar experience with the Comtoyou Racing team within the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup Series last year where she found herself without a race car (due to earlier damage) at several of the rounds.

Competing within the highly competitive silver class, this year will be their chance to see what they are made of.

 

That leaves the solo #97 GBR Stratton Motorsport entry of John Hartshorne and Ronan Pearson which sees the venerable Hartshorne step down to the GT4 platform after previous years with the Vantage GT3 and GTE with TF Sport whilst Pearson steps up to the rear wheel driven GT4 platform for the first time.

 

Continuing to utilise the driver coaching opportunities ‘within the team family’ of Jonny Adam, emphasis will be getting Pearson literally up to speed within the car before the opening round of the season at Silverstone in just three weeks’ time. That coaching continued after media day as the team reverted back to their home track of Snetterton the next day on that very matter.

 

With the opening Silverstone 500 round in late April being a three hour introduction into the season as opposed to a more traditional two – one hour sprint races around the tight and twisty Oulton Park circuit, that should at least give the rookie drivers and teams room to ‘manoeuvre’ around the Grand Prix loop and represents a sensible choice by the series considering the number of opening weekend shunts we have seen in the past in Cheshire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With just over a week to go before Media Day, their first pair of drivers have today been confirmed by the GBR Stratton Aston Martin Racing team ahead of this season’s British GT Championship.

Having announced a potential two car AMR Vantage GT4 entry way back at the turn of the year, the pairing of John Hartsorne and Ronan Pearson is the first driver announcement from the partnership between the Graham Brunton Racing and Stratton Motorsport team and comes some weeks after at least one tested with the team at Donington Park.

 

Whilst Hartshorne will be a very familiar name within the Aston Martin Racing Partner team fraternity after his racing comeback with the TF Sport team within most of the current ACO rules series, this is his first recent adventure within a GT4 platform within current regulations.

Pearson meanwhile, comes from the UK TOCA package of race series including the Renault Clio Cup and British Touring Car Championship but this will be his first adventure into GT racing.

“I am absolutely ecstatic to be making my debut in the British GT Championship with GBR Stratton
Motorsport. This change of career path has me incredibly motivated for success and I feel extremely lucky to be working with some great people who have really been in my corner through every step so far. My first season in rear-wheel-drive machinery is going to be a big learner but one that has been in my sights for some time now and this welcome change couldn’t come at a better time with the opportunity that I now have” he said.

With potentially seven Aston Martin Racing powered crews being entered into this season, this news still leaves the second GBR Stratton Motorsport crew to be declared plus the second Full Send Racing GT4 crew after that of Darren Turner and Dan Lavery.

From what we understand from British GT, all further announcements between now and Media Day (at Silverstone on the 31st March) will be on short notice.

Photo credits – Team

 

 

 

 

 

The other snippet of British GT Championship related news today comes from the recently announced Townsend Racing powered by Fox Motorsport team again.

Nothing new with that revelation of course after James Twonsend’s new association with Fox Motorsport and Aston Martin Racing within the UK domestic championship was released several weeks ago now.

 

 

What today’s news does confirm is that Joe Wheeler will be partnering Townsend within the teams new AMR Vantage GT4 for their 2026 GT4 Pro-Am class campaign as well as the cars livery reveal ahead of the crews full dress rehearsal (test) at Silverstone later this week.

Despite his younger years, Wheeler comes to the team with four years of British GT racing experience that has rewarded him with several class podiums during that time.

 

 

More Aston Martin Racing powered news has been confirmed for the British GT Championship this morning with another new Vantage GT4 entry, this time from the MKH Racing team.

Last season we welcomed the MKH Racing for their part-entry within the new for 2025 GT4 Endurance Cup element within the overall championship that saw former AMR factory Stuart Hall race alongside Peter Montague.

 

 

For their 2026 campaign, however, the team have welcomed in two ‘new’ young guns to compete within their AMR Vantage GT4 as two very familiar faces return to topflight GT racing within the UK.

Previously with Mark Warren and the Forsetti Motorsport team a couple of years ago before moving into the GT4 European Series last season with the Racing Spirit of Leman team, we welcome back Will Orton to the championship as he will race alongside Aston Martin F1 Brand Ambassador and former Beechdean AMR GT3 BGT entrant Jessica Hawkins.

 

 

“I’m absolutely thrilled to be returning to the British GT Championship in 2026 with MKH Racing, partnering with Jessica Hawkins in the Silver category,” said the former Mini Challenge runner-up. “Having competed in the Aston Martin during its inaugural season in 2024, I’m excited to be back behind the wheel and building on that experience.“

“I can’t wait to get started in British GT, it’s going to be great to be back in the paddock,” she said. “I’m very excited to be teaming up with MKH Racing and Will Orton –I think together we will be a very strong combination. Of course, our aim is to fight for the championship, and I think we have a strong package to do that. Thank you so much to my partners, Armand ELEMIS, for their continuous support, as well as the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team. Will and I are very keen to push hard for a solid, consistent season.

 

If all the AMR stars align ahead of the season opener from Silverstone in April, that brings the AMR powered headcount to seven cars (six Vantage GT4 entries) as MKH Racing join the likes of GBR Stratton Motorsport, Full Send Racing Beechdean AMR (GT3) and Townsend powered by Fox Motorsport onto the grid.

Photo credits – Team / AMR

Townsend Racing Powered by Fox Motorsport are the latest Aston Martin Racing powered team to announce their GT4 commitments into this season’s British GT Championship.

 

A bumper crop of forty-seven entries were confirmed by the European Le Mans Series earlier today ahead of their six round 2026 season that will start again in Barcelona in early April before concluding at their usual autumnal destination of Portimao some six months later.

This largest ever entry will see the grids comprising of some twenty-three LMP2 cars, ten LMP3 cars and fourteen GT3 cars within which the Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin Racing Vantage LMGT3 will again compete as the sole representative of the brand.

 

The #82 Feathers Motorsport crew of Archie Clark and Tom Canning will have their work cut out if they want to hang onto the class lead within the GT Cup Championship as two Ginetta crews are coming through strong as the Championship reaches its penultimate round of the year from Donington Park this weekend.

Originally dominating the GTH class at the start of the season despite Clark’s lack of GT4 competition up until that point, the #82 crew have seen both the #99 and #30 Ginetta GT4 crews start to knock them off the podium over recent rounds to where the #82 crew has seen its class lead reduced to just twenty-nine points going into this round.

 

It’s now mid-September and many series are now approaching the final stages to their 2025 season with the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship being no different as they host their penultimate round of the season from Indianapolis.

Round ten of eleven, this weekend’s six-hour race will again see all four classes return with a total expected entry list of fifty-three GTP, LMP2, GTD Pro and GTD runners.

 

The final round of the 2025 European Le Mans Series is all teed up to be a #PortimaoDecider kind of thing after the events of Silverstone last weekend left several teams still in contention for the overall LMGT3 championship.

Six years in the making, a massive and knowledgeable crowd attended the return of the ACO rules series back to the Northamptonshire circuit as the capacity grid of forty-four LMP2, LMP3 and LMGT3 machinery prepared themselves for what was already prepared to be a weather affected race.

 

The Michelin Le Mans Cup Series debut at Silverstone this weekend couldn’t have gone more wrong for the Code Racing Development Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 squad if they had tried except for the unfortunate situation of crashing their car.

Despite starting the weekend saw the #11 car of Philipp Sager and Valentin Hasse-Clot looking racey within the earlier sessions with the venerable Austrian racer the first to fit slicks within his own bronze driver session on Friday.

 

Six years in the making and the return of the European Le Mans Series to Silverstone today proved itself to be another instant success for the attending crowd as the forty-four cars spread across the three available class of car hit the track again today under some changeable conditions.

The debut of the Michelin Le Mans Cup Series was, however, first out on track the French Code Racing Development team again represented the Aston Martin Racing marque with their #11 with Philipp Sager being joined this time around by Valentin Hasse-Clot as the absence of regular co-driver Rory Van Der Steur was explained to us (a private matter unfortunately).