Ready for Snetterton? British GT 2025 heats up

The British GT Championship team competition takes shape after the first four races.

On the way to Snetterton this week, the standings are quite close for the drivers of the British GT Championship. The 2025 Season kicked off at Silverstone with Media Day, followed by the season opener in early April at Donington Park. Among the favorites for the first stop of Season 33 in the GT3 category were Barwell, 2 Seas, and Blackthorn AMR. In GT4, all eyes were on Optimum and Century. Test day saw fast times from Jonny Adam in the Blackthorn AMR Aston Martin GT3 and from Seb Morris in the Team Parker Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4.

A close attempt at the lap record by Kirchhöfer marked the first practice session, while Seb Morris improved on the lap record for the GT4 class in the No.12 Mercedes AMG. The pre-qualifying session was interrupted twice by a red flag, and fast laps by 2 Seas, Barwell, and Abba.

The 2 Seas Motorsports No.42 Mercedes took the Pole in qualifying for the GT3 class, and the No. 90 Optimum Motorsport Artura took the top spot for the GT4 class, denying the Mahiki Racing Lotus once again.

The Donington Park race gave 2 Seas the first victory, as the team converted the pole position into a race win. Following 2 Seas, the Barwell Lamborghini took second place, and the 2 Seas sister car with Kevin Tse and Maximilian Götz took third to complete the GT3 podium.

In GT4, Optimum Motorsport crossed the finish in first place with the No. 90 McLaren, ahead of the Century BMW and the Mercedes of Team Parker Racing. Beechdean AMR took the Silver Cup top entry, with Andrew Howard and Tom Wood in the No. 97 Aston Martin.

The Silverstone 500 provided spectators with an additional show, thanks to a partnership with the Army Red Devils, who performed a jump and acrobatic display on race day, landing on the starting grid just before the race began.

British Army Red Devils - (C) Earchphoto

Several full-course yellows and restarts marked the Silverstone 500, with round two of the championship playing right down to pit strategy. In a surprise decision, Team Paradine elected to pit twice under the first FCY, and it paid off big for Darren Leung and Dan Harper, resulting in the race victory.

Jewiss and Dawson crossed the finish in second place with the 2 Seas Mercedes, also collecting precious championship points. Kirchofer and Tillbrook took third for optimum, followed by the Aston Martin of Adam and Petrobelli for Blackthorn AMR.

In GT4, it was heartbreak for Mahiki Racing, suffering two retirements with a front right ball joint going out on the No. 69 first, and then a massive suspension failure on the No. 84 that sent Neate straight into the gravel. Through the several FCY breaks, the Century BMW got close behind the No. 12 Mercedes, and eventually earned the class win with Robertson and Ramyead.

Oulton Park was next, with a very different format from the 3-hour Silverstone race: two one-hour sprint races over the Bank Holiday weekend.

In race 1, Hugo Cook and Rob Collard claimed the GT3 victory for Barwell Motorsports in the No. 1 Lamborghini, about one second ahead of Maximilian Götz and Kevin Tse for 2 Seas, with Adam and Petrobelli taking third for Blackthorn AMR.

In the GT4 class, it was Optimum Motorsport coming in hot for the win with Marc Warren and Jack Brown in the No. 90 McLaren Artura. The duo capitalized on a few misfortunes after the Century BMW slid off and hit the inside barrier, and the pole sitter, No. 84 Mahiki Racing, had gearbox problems. In second place for the GT4 class was the sister Mahiki Racing No. 69, followed by the other Century BMW No.14.

Race 2 had to contend with some rain, classic British GT weather, as we say, and tire strategy played a role despite the short sprint format. Götz and Tse started on pole and crossed the finish in first place for 2 Seas, after electing to use slick tires early. The McLaren No. 67 of Clutton and Orange took second place in GT3, ahead of the No. 86 Honda of Bridger Motorsport.

GT4 competitors had a less dramatic race, with the two Optimum McLarens taking first and second, followed by the No. 90 and the No. 17, and then the No. 69 Mahiki Racing of Mitchell and Lake.

After Oulton, it was time for the Belgian stop of the championship.

Race week at Spa set out to impress for Blackthorn AMR. Giacomo Petrobelli and Jonny Adam set out the fastest time in qualifying for the pole position, the very first pole of the 2025 season for Blackthorn. The GT4 entry list saw a significant shift for Mahiki, as they transitioned from Lotus to Ginetta. Unfazed by the change of car, the Miller/Mitchell duo set the GT4 class pole in the No. 84 car, followed on the grid by the No. 17 McLaren and the No. 71 BMW.

On race day, Petrobelli started his run up front and took off in the No. 7 Blackthorn AMR Aston Martin Vantage, leaving the pack behind for good. After the driver change, Adam got into the car and increased the gap, making it clear that the head of the race was not going to change. Meanwhile, in the back, there was plenty of drama. The No. 67 Orange Racing McLaren hit the barriers and required considerable time in the garage before rejoining the race. Optimum, Barwell, and 2 Seas were fighting for second place, with the added drama of drive-through penalties due to track limits issues. In the midst of the reshuffle, Tse also experienced brake problems, and Dawson incurred a drive-through penalty for exceeding the FCY speed limit.

Throughout the race, the Aston increased the advantage to about half a minute, while the battle for second place between Optimum and Barwell continued. In the end, Kirchhöfer was able to take the No. 77 Optimum Motorsport McLaren into second place, and Cook crossed the finish in third place with the No. 1 Barwell Lamborghini.
In the GT4 class, the No. 71 BMW of Ramyead and Robertson took the win for Century Motorsport, followed by the two Team Parker Racing Mercedes AMGs.

The victory at Spa marks the 20th GT3 career win for Jonny Adam, making him the most successful GT3 driver in British GT history.

British GT - Blackthorn AMR - (C) Earchphoto

The current championship standings have 2 Seas on top for GT3 and Optimum on top for GT4, with three races remaining: Snetterton, Brands Hatch, and another visit to Donington Park for the final.