2026 BRITISH GT CHAMPIONSHIP – ROUNDS 2 & 3

Following a spectacular display of endurance racing at the season opener, the country’s premier GT series is ready to dial up the intensity as the paddock prepares to descend upon Cheshire for Round 2 and 3 at the spectacular Oulton Park International Circuit over the May Bank Holiday weekend. Shifting from the wide-open spaces of Silverstone to one of the most penalising old-school tracks in Europe, characterised by rapidly changing gradients, blind crests, and a notoriously narrow ribbon of asphalt that leaves zero room for error; the drivers face a completely different mechanical and physical test.

British GT Championship

The 34th season of the British GT Championship launched with high anticipation at the iconic Silverstone 500, setting a thrilling foundation for Round 2 at Oulton Park International. The grueling three-hour race at Silverstone was a showcase of strategic masterstrokes and pit stop drama, heavily influenced by five safety car deployments. While pole sitters Darren Leung and Dan Harper controlled the opening two and a half hours in their Paradine BMW, an offbeat pit stop strategy gamble cleared the path for Optimum Motorsport’s guest entry of Yasser Shahin and Garnet Patterson to snatch a historic overall victory. The Australian duo crossed the line just 1.438 seconds ahead of Century Motorsport’s Jonathon Beeson and Charles Clark, with Leung and Harper relegated to third. Meanwhile, the GT4 category saw a historic debut triumph as Innovation Racing converted pole position into a brilliant class victory, with Thomas Holland and Hadley Simpson managing the safety car chaos perfectly to fend off a late charging pack.

GT3 Pro/Am 

The premier Pro/Am category was filled with drama from the off, starting with a costly first lap collision between the 2 Seas Motorsport team mates that forced Kevin Tse into retirement. A mid race fire also unceremoniously knocked the Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini of Rob Collard and Hugo Cook out of second place. Amidst the chaos, Darren Leung and Dan Harper salvaged a third place overall finish to claim the top step of the class podium for Paradine Motorsport. Simon Orange and Marcus Clutton crossed the line second for Orange Racing powered by JMH, with Beechdean Motorsport’s Andrew Howard and Ross Gunn recovering from a late spin to complete the podium. Showing what might have been, the Optimum McLaren of Morgan Tillbrook and Ben Barnicoat walked away with the weekend’s fastest lap of 1:57.730.

GT3 Silver-Am 

With the race winning Optimum McLaren running as a guest entry, the maximum championship points went to runners up Jonathon Beeson and Charles Clark. The Century Motorsport duo drove a flawless race in their BMW M4, diving into the pit lane during the final safety car period to leapfrog the long time leaders. Barwell Motorsport’s Alex Martin and Jarrod Waberski secured second in class with a fine run to fifth overall, whilst Andrew Gilbert and Aaron Walker earned a well deserved third in class for 2 Seas Motorsport, a fantastic reward for a crew that spent the weekend rebuilding their car after a fire in testing.

GT4 Pro/Am 

Outright pace belonged to Luke Shaw and Jack Mitchell, who steered their Toro Verde GT Ginetta G56 to a commanding class victory, with Mitchell clocking a superb 2:09.777 sector time. A green flag pit stop at the halfway mark briefly dropped them out of the overall GT4 lead, but they managed the gap beautifully. John Hartshorne and Ronan Pearson brought the GBR Stratton Aston Martin home in second, whilst Ernie Graham and touring car icon Colin Turkington overcame a mid-race drive through penalty to secure a debut podium for WSR Flexifly.

GT4 Silver-Am 

Thomas Holland and Hadley Simpson enjoyed a dream debut for Innovation Racing, converting pole position into a brilliant victory. Simpson faced immense pressure in the final sprint, holding off a charging pack where the top three cars were separated by less than two seconds at the flag. Will Orton and Jessica Hawkins took a close second for MK Racing in their Aston Martin, whilst Luca Hopkinson and Josh Stanton filled the final step of the podium for Optimum Motorsport, concluding a frantic race that saw four different manufacturers finish in the top four positions.

Protyre Motorsport Ginetta GT Championship

The Protyre Motorsport Ginetta GT Championship commenced its 2026 campaign with an action packed season opener at Silverstone, setting a thrilling benchmark ahead of Round 2 at Oulton Park International. The event marked a new era for the series as it ran on a combined grid with the Ginetta GT Academy, giving a stellar mix of returning sophomores and ambitious debutants a chance to battle in their identical, V8 powered Ginetta G56 GTP8 machinery. Rebounding from the dramatic highs and lows of the weekend, several drivers established themselves as immediate title contenders, promising three unmissable races as the paddock heads to the technical challenges of the Oulton Park circuit.

PRO Class

The PRO category was defined by fierce competition and redemption stories. Reigning PRO AM champion Harry Gamble picked up exactly where he left off last year, securing a dramatic victory in the opening race and backing it up with a double podium to emerge as the early championship leader for Elite Motorsport. Meanwhile, William Antrobus enjoyed a superb Ginetta debut; after a potential race one win slipped away on the final lap, he bounced back brilliantly with a lights to flag victory in race two. Felix Livesey similarly showed immense potential, leading the opener before mechanical trouble struck, only to return in race two to finish directly behind Antrobus. Sophomore driver Cameron Pratt Thompson also starred by locking down a double pole position, a second place finish, and a pair of fastest laps for SVG Motorsport, while Louis Darling proved his raw speed with a top six qualifying performance despite a tough run of luck in the races.

AM Class

The AM category proved to be an equally competitive battleground, with Alex Duncan and James Nicholas sharing the spoils of the opening weekend. Duncan kicked off his second campaign for Xentek Motorsport in spectacular fashion, taking an AM victory whilst securing a career best third place finish in the overall classification. Not to be outdone, reigning GT Academy champion Nicholas marked his debut for E3 Sport with a victory and a double AM podium, signaling strong form ahead of Oulton Park where he has previously won three times. Nicholas was pushed hard by his team mate and 2025 title rival Jamie Caudle, who also debuted with two class podiums, while fellow GT Academy graduate Lucie Hodgson commenced her third consecutive season of Ginetta racing with a solid performance. Completing an impressive weekend for the newcomers, Elliot Foster made his car racing debut at Silverstone and turned heads by picking up a brilliant best overall finish of sixth.

Ginetta GT Academy

The Ginetta G56 GTA paddock kicked off the 2026 season with a sensational, unpredictable weekend at Silverstone, setting a high standard ahead of Round 2 at Oulton Park International. The opening round witnessed a remarkable shift in power at the front of the pack, as eight drivers secured class podiums on their very first weekend in the category. The grid featured an exciting blend of fresh talent and seasoned returnees, including four year veteran Robin Grimwood and Ben Cooke, alongside a fresh GTA entry for former prototype racer Mark Mayall. With a packed field of identical machinery proving as competitive as ever, the upcoming event at Oulton Park promises to be a thriller.

GTA Class

The GTA class was a hotly contested affair with several drivers marking themselves out as title contenders. American single seater convert Joe Ostholthoff took a brilliant debut victory in the opening encounter whilst finishing second overall, though cruel luck intervened in race two when a puncture derailed his weekend. This allowed Tom Walker to claim the early advantage in the points standings, following up a second place finish in the opener with a commanding class victory in race two. Privateer entrant Will Fallon also turned heads with a superb performance, joining Walker on the GTA podium in both races, whilst Connor Blackburn narrowly missed out on a trophy of his own. The newcomers were pushed hard by returning drivers Allan Wright and Damien Duffy, who brought a combined pedigree of 12 rookie podiums from last season.

Rookie Class

The Rookie class was completely dominated by German sim racing standout Luis Beilicke, who enjoyed a flawless transition to real world motorsport by sweeping every pole position, race victory, and fastest lap on offer. Behind him, short oval graduate Ian Beaumont made an immediate impression by qualifying second fastest overall and taking a class podium in race one. Karting graduate Lucas Theo also enjoyed a stellar car racing debut with two fantastic third place finishes, whilst racing novice Ben Wiseman added to the silverware with an impressive debut podium. The class was rounded out by promising drives from Ash Young and Faye Goff, both returning for full season campaigns after getting a brief taste of the action in last year’s season finale.

Ginetta Junior Championship powered by Sunoco Race Fuels

The Ginetta Junior Championship powered by Sunoco Race Fuels kicked off its 2026 campaign with six high octane races split across the Donington Park season opener and the second round at Silverstone, establishing immense momentum ahead of Round 3 at Oulton Park International. The global grid, featuring young talent from ten different nationalities, served up relentless action across both events as rookies and returning stars adjusted to the highly competitive field. Whilst one standout driver put on a masterclass in front running consistency to build an early championship advantage, the opening two rounds also proved that the chasing pack is incredibly close, with several drivers securing breakthrough results and setting up a tantalising three race spectacle for the upcoming weekend at Oulton Park.

Overall Points

Lewis Goff has been the undisputed star of the season so far for R Racing, taking a dream hat-trick of victories at Donington Park before adding two more wins at Silverstone. This flawless 100% podium record has handed him a commanding 33-point lead in the standings, though his winning streak was finally broken at Silverstone by Harry Bartle. Bartle’s thrilling victory marked a historic milestone, securing the first ever Ginetta Junior race win for both himself and the Pace Performance team, who now boast five podium finishes this year. 2025 Winter Series champion Jesse Phillips also enjoyed a superb start with three overall podiums for R Racing, whilst his teammate and Red Bull Junior driver Melvin Kalousdian impressed by finishing every single race inside the top six. Elite Motorsport maintained a heavy presence at the front with Jacob Ashcroft taking a podium at Donington Park and Harrison Mackie mirroring the achievement at Silverstone, closely supported by front-runner Daniel Oliver. Further back, Sebastien Leusch secured a maiden top ten finish at Donington, a feat matched at Silverstone by teammate Devon Hagelen and MDD Motorsport’s Addison Smith, whilst Elite’s Henry Cameron fought into the top six for the first time.

Freshmans Class

The Freshmans category, specifically designed for young racing rookies competing without any prior national level karting experience, has already delivered some exceptionally tight competition across the opening six races. Bailey Doughty has established himself as the early class benchmark for MK Racing, driving brilliantly to secure four victories across the Donington Park and Silverstone weekends. However, his rivals ensured he would not have a completely dominant monopoly on the class silverware; MK Racing teammate Ethan Brass and Performance One Motorsport’s Dominic Darling both put in stellar performances to break Doughty’s stride, each capturing a hard fought, well deserved maiden class victory of their own.

With early-season benchmarks firmly established and championship battles beginning to simmer, the stage is set for an unforgettable weekend of racing.