BRITISH GT & GINETTA CROSS HALFWAY STAGE OF 2025 AT SNETTERTON
2025’s British GT Championship appears finely poised ahead of Rounds 6 and 7 at Snetterton where 50 points are up for grabs across Sunday’s two sprint races.
Just four points separate GT3’s top three crews after Giacomo Petrobelli and Jonny Adam scored a dominant overall victory at Spa-Francorchamps. Ravi Ramyead and Charlie Robertson, meanwhile, claimed their second win of the campaign to reduce Marc Warren and Jack Brown’s GT4 advantage.
The championship’s one-hour format often lends itself to frenetic races and unusual results in Norfolk where GT3 victory could be considered a poisoned chalice. Indeed, not since 2015 have drivers won at Snetterton en route to the title (Adam and Andrew Howard).
GT3 (written by Tom Hornsby)
GT3’s 2025 campaign has rapidly transformed into a blockbuster title battle.
2 Seas’ Charles Dawson and Kiern Jewiss piled up the maximum 75 points over the first two races but have scored just 14 across the next three. By contrast, Giacomo Petrobelli and Jonny Adam recovered from their non-score on the opening weekend to move within two, thanks in no small part to theirs and Blackthorn’s first victory together at Spa.
Consistency has also played a huge part in Morgan Tillbrook and Marvin Kirchhöfer’s assault. Optimum’s McLaren is just a point further back in third despite not yet winning a race. Its and Blackthorn’s chances of doing so at Snetterton will be compromised on Sunday morning by the extra Compensation Time accrued for finishing one-two in Belgium, potentially opening the door for Dawson and Jewiss to reassert themselves.
Hugo Cook has also scored in all five races so far and completed Spa’s podium alongside Rob Collard to move up to fourth in the drivers’ standings. Yes, Compensation Time will hinder their chances in Race 1, but Snetterton has always been a happy hunting ground for Barwell’s Lamborghini Huracan which has won there on eight occasions since its debut in 2016.
Its most recent came courtesy of Alex Martin and Sandy Mitchell who are paired together again this weekend. Martin has slipped to joint fifth in the standings alongside Kevin Tse and Maximilian Götz, who also won at Snetterton 12 months ago but failed to score at Spa after dominating Oulton. Both entries therefore require a big weekend if they’re to feature in the championship run in.
Meanwhile, class victory and an excellent fifth overall at Spa has seen Beechdean’s Andrew Howard and Tom Wood once more nose ahead of Johnny Ip in the Silver-Am standings. Jay Bridger again joins the latter this weekend.
One change concerns Optimum’s second McLaren where Carl Cavers now partners Callum Macleod. And Team Parker’s Porsche returns after missing Spa.
GT4 (written by Tom Hornsby)
Just two crews, Marc Warren/Jack Brown and Ravi Ramyead/Charlie Robertson, have won a GT4 race this year. And that domination is, unsurprisingly, also reflected in the drivers’ standings, albeit where Century’s two DNFs leave Optimum’s McLaren duo 27.5 points clear with four races remaining.
It’s unlikely but, mathematically at least, Warren and Brown can therefore clinch the title on Sunday. They will need to win both races and rely on Ramyead/Robertson non-scoring, the exact same scenario as played out at Oulton back in May. Should lightning strike twice, it would be the earliest-ever conclusion to the GT4 title fight, while Brown would become the class’ first two-time champion.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. After all, the BMW pairing bounced back into contention at Spa where their rivals finished outside of the podium places for the first time this year. True, the subsequent pitstop penalty now hinders Ramyead and Robertson in Snetterton’s first race, but they are at least still part of the championship conversation.
The same combinations of drivers, teams and cars – albeit minus Warren – also shared a victory apiece at Snetterton last year, while Brown is aiming for a fourth win there in as many seasons. All signs therefore point to another battle between 2025’s standout contenders.
The scrap for Silver honours provides another sub-plot between Optimum and Century. 9.5 points might separate Harry George and Luca Hopkinson from Chris Salkeld and Branden Templeton in the overall standings, but the two crews are locked together in the class championship on 107.5. And neither has Compensation Time to consider on Sunday morning.
In terms of pure pace, Mahiki’s Josh Miller and Jack Mitchell should not be discounted and especially in qualifying. Lowly championship positions are certainly not representative of either driver’s speed or potential. Indeed, they comfortably bagged pole position together at Spa and will be favourites to do so again for both races in Norfolk.
Snetterton is not an Endurance Cup event but Jolt Racing’s Rupert Williams and John Ingram have opted to race regardless, while Team Parker’s Jon Currie and Phil keen will be eager to build on their season-best third place at Spa.
GINETTA GT ACADEMY (written by Ginetta)
An exciting championship battle is shaping up in the Ginetta GT Academy as we cross the halfway point of a thrilling 2025 season this weekend at Snetterton.
Only 40 points separate Jamie Caudle, James Nicholas (both E3 Sport) and Charlie Digby (MDD Racing) at the top of the GTA standings after a brilliant first three rounds of the season, in which the talented trio have shared the race victories across the eight races to date.
Caudle is the driver to beat currently, having followed up a maiden Ginetta win in the Donington Park opener with further successes at Silverstone and Oulton Park. He’s backed up those three victories with superb consistency, finishing every race on the class podium so far.
Nicholas is the in-form driver at present, having impressively secured three wins from the last five races and taken double pole positions in each of the last two weekends. He’ll be confident of further success this weekend, having taken a hat-trick of top three finishes at Snetterton last year.
Digby has returned to Ginetta racing this season for the first time since 2018, and he enjoyed a dream start to his debut GT Championship campaign with two wins in the Donington Park opener. He’s notched up seven podiums in eight races and will be targeting a return to the top step.
Alex Deighton (Paradine by Xentek) has been the closest challenger to the top three so far this season, impressing in his first Ginetta season with two GTA class podium finishes. Louis Darling (MDD Racing) has been on the cusp of a maiden podium, finishing fourth in class on three occasions.
Peter Thompson (W2R) was a rookie class podium finisher last season and has a maiden GTA rostrum in his sights, while Paul Livesey (MDD Racing) is one to watch having secured a GTA class victory during the 2024 campaign.
The hotly-contested GTA class also features W2R pair Lucie Hodgson and Ben Cooke. Making her championship debut this weekend meanwhile will be former Ginetta GT5 racer Lexie Belk (Privateer).
Some of the standout performances of the 2025 season so far have come from the leading talents in the rookie class for car-racing newcomers, with Sam Shrimpton, Joe Edge (both W2R) and Shiv Sapra (Paradine by Xentek) having all made an impact at the front of the field.
Shrimpton, the latest winner of the coveted PalmerSport Ginetta Race Scholarship, has taken class victories in five of the eight races so far. Those wins, combined with three further podium finishes, have secured him a strong lead at the top of the class points standings.
Edge became the first rookie to finish in the overall top three this season back at Silverstone, a result that earned him a maiden class victory too. Sapra finished third overall last time out meanwhile and has picked up a couple of wins of his own.
Allan Wright (W2R) moved up to second in the points standings with a podium hat-trick at Oulton Park. A breakthrough victory will be his next target, likewise Damien Duffy (W2R) who has taken a podium finish in each of the last two weekends.
GINETTA GT CHAMPIONSHIP (written by Ginetta)
Archie Clark is the driver to beat as the second half of the 2025 Protyre Motorsport Ginetta GT Championship season gets underway this weekend at Snetterton.
The championship has entered a new era this year with the introduction of the V8-powered Ginetta G56 GTP8, which is producing the fastest ever one-make Ginetta racing, as well as a new race format featuring a 20-minute sprint and a 40-minute endurance run with a mandatory pitstop.
Clark (MDD Racing) has enjoyed a phenomenal first season in the GT Championship so far, winning the first four races in a row and adding another podium finish last time out at Oulton Park. Those results have built the Ginetta Junior graduate a healthy advantage at the top of the points standings.
His closest competitor in the headline PRO class is Robert Cronin (Elite Motorsport). Tackling his first season of Ginetta competition, the Irishman has three class podium finishes under his belt and celebrated a memorable first overall Ginetta victory in the opening Oulton race.
Two drivers targeting their maiden Ginetta wins this weekend will be Hadley Simpson (Xentek Motorsport) and Jack Collins (E3 Sport). The Ginetta newcomers have proven their credentials with three PRO podiums so far plus overall pole positions at Silverstone and Oulton respectively.
Other potential contenders for race victories include reigning champion Mckenzie Douglass (Fox Motorsport), who has three class podiums in four races since returning to the grid, and Silverstone podium-finisher Cameron Pratt-Thompson (SVG Motorsport).
The leading PRO-AM class contenders have been excelling at the sharp end of the grid this year. Harry Gamble (Elite Motorsport) and Nick White (Raceway Motorsport) have finished in the overall top three multiple times, with Gamble winning outright at Oulton Park.
Gamble and White have both finished on the PRO-AM podium in every race so far this season, while Alex Duncan (Xentek Motorsport) has secured three consecutive class podiums and is targeting a first win in his maiden Ginetta campaign.
The stars of the show in the AM class have been Luke Shaw (Raceway Motorsport) and Ali Juffali (Elite Motorsport), with the talented duo equally sharing the class wins three apiece so far. On top of that, they’ve both got into the thick of the front-running action with overall top five finishes.
Colin White (CWS) celebrated a landmark moment last time out with his 150th class podium finish in Ginetta racing. He’ll hope to add to that tally this weekend, while Dominic Paul (Triple M Motorsport) and Emma Tomlinson (DTO) will be aiming to return to the rostrum for the first time since the Donington Park opener.
Amy Tomlinson (Raceway Motorsport) celebrated her first podium of 2025 at Oulton Park, while former British GT racer James Townsend (SVG Motorsport) and Fox Motorsport duo James Rolling and Oliver Fordham are targeting their first trophies of the campaign.
GINETTA JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP (written by Ginetta)
Rocco Coronel leads the way as the landmark 20th anniversary season of the Ginetta Junior Championship continues this weekend at Snetterton.
Coronel (R Racing) has enjoyed a phenomenal start to his rookie season, recording the second longest winning streak in Ginetta Junior history with seven consecutive race victories, and narrowly missing out on an eighth. Those successes have built the Red Bull Junior Team ace an impressive lead at the top of the points standings.
The driver to end Coronel’s winning run in the final race at Oulton Park last time out was Fred Green (Elite Motorsport). The current Ginetta Junior Scholarship winner scored his deserved maiden win by just 0.003s, the smallest winning margin in championship history, to add to a handful of second place finishes prior.
The first race-winner of the season back at Donington Park was Alfie Slater meanwhile, who has gone on to pick up two more podiums since. He’s part of a strong line-up from reigning champions R Racing that also includes Red Bull Junior Team driver Scott Kin Lindblom and Max Cuthbert, who both stood on the podium at Oulton.
Green’s win at Oulton Park was a first of the season for former champions Elite Motorsport. They will be targeting more success this weekend with a talented entry of their own, which features multiple 2024 race-winner Colin Cronin and Joseph Smith, a double podium-finisher at Silverstone in April.
Rookie stars George Proudford-Nalder (MDD Racing) and Freddie Lloyd (Fox Motorsport) are ones to watch this weekend, having both put together an impressive run of performances recently. Proudford-Nalder scored a maiden overall podium finish last time out, while Lloyd has a best result of fourth overall so far.
A breakthrough season for the Pace Performance team has seen their drivers Torrin Byrne and Ethan Lennon both starring at the head of the field. Byrne scored a maiden podium at Donington Park and first pole position at Silverstone, while Lennon has been knocking on the door of the podium with a trio of top six finishes.
Ethan Carney is another driver to have celebrated a breakthrough podium finish this year. He’s been joined in the hotly-contested midfield pack by his Elite Motorsport team-mates Emillio Del Grosso and Revie Lake, as well as the likes of Felix Livesey (MDD Racing), Henry Cameron (Fox Motorsport) and R Racing duo Jarrett Clark and Felipe Reijs.
There are three new teams on the Junior grid this season; MKH Racing have scored top ten results with Raul Zunzarren and Harry Bartle, as have Performance One Motorsport with Noah Young, while Tim Gray Motorsport have shown great progression with a four-strong entry of Josh Watts, Joshua Henry, Matthew Chiwara and Katrina EE.
Two drivers will be making their championship debuts this weekend meanwhile, as Andrew Robinson joins the grid with returning race-winning squad E3 Sport, and Max Murray enters with newcomers ProjectR.
