The British GT Championship arrived at Brands Hatch for the penultimate round of the season, bringing with it all the intensity and pressure you would expect at this stage of the year. The Kent circuit is one of the tightest and most unforgiving on the calendar, and while conditions were warm, the cloud cover kept the track temperature at a steady 25 degrees. The 2.433-mile GP loop may only have nine turns, but its sweeping bends, blind crests and technical sections leave no margin for error. With the GT3 lap record standing at 1:24.031, outright pace demands absolute commitment.
Pre-qualifying gave an early indication of who had found that commitment, with McLarens setting the top two times and looking strong. Qualifying itself brought plenty of drama.
In Q1, car 86 had its lap deleted for track limits but had already set its fast lap, while car 42 twice ran off track, first brushing the grass before later bouncing through the gravel. The Beechdean Aston Martin, car 97, was forced to pit for mechanics to clear debris from its nose, losing valuable time. At the sharp end it was Kevin Tse in the 2 Seas Motorsport Mercedes, car 18, who delivered the fastest lap of the session.
Q2 saw drivers switch over as the grid was set by combined times. Car 42, 2 Seas Motorsport’s Mercedes AMG GT3 slid heavily into the gravel, highlighting just how easy it was to overstep the limit. Once again, car 18 set the pace for 2 Seas Motorsport, while Beechdean’s Aston Martin, car 97, topped the Silver-Am runners. When the times were tallied, 2 Seas Motorsport secured pole position with car 18, followed by Blackthorn’s Aston Martin, car 7, and Barwell Motorsport’s Lamborghini, car 78.
Race day brought a fresh challenge. The circuit remained dry, but the surface was coated in dust, with every excursion off-line throwing clouds of dirt into the air. Grip levels were treacherous, and anyone who pushed too far was instantly punished. Cars running wide through the gravel returned trailing dust that lingered across corners, forcing those behind to wrestle with visibility as well as grip.
From the start, pitstop compensation times carried over from the previous round immediately shaped strategies, ensuring that teams had to think as much about timing as they did about raw pace. Early drama came when the GT4 Optimum Motorsport McLaren, car 90, hit the barriers, bringing out the safety car. Blackthorn’s Aston Martin, car 7, was dealt an early blow with a drive-through penalty for a pre-grid infringement when a mechanic used a cooling fan against regulations.
Incidents kept coming. Car 67, Orange Racing’s McLaren, ran wide into the gravel, allowing the Optimum Motorsport McLaren, car 3, through. Then, just 25 minutes in, Mahiki Racing’s Ginetta GT4, car 84, burst into flames on the run to Hawthorns. The driver pulled over as black smoke poured through the cockpit quickly jumping out but bringing out a full course yellow. Marshals eventually extinguished the fire, but the car was out.
Despite their early penalty, Blackthorn’s Aston Martin, with Giacomo Petrobelli at the wheel, fought back hard. By the halfway mark it had surged from the back to sixth, even setting the fastest lap of the race so far. At the front, Kevin Tse held the lead in the 2 Seas Motorsport Mercedes, car 18, but the mandatory pitstop minimum of 1:55 would prove costly. When Tse handed over to Maximilian Götz, the car dropped to 11th.
The final stages of the race produced some of the best racing of the season. With 40 minutes to go, Optimum Motorsport’s McLaren, car 77, driven by Marvin Kirchhöfer, chased down the 2 Seas Mercedes of Kiern Jewiss in car 42. The Mercedes had the edge in straight-line speed, but Kirchhöfer used every ounce of late braking and sharp corner exits to stay in contention. It was a gripping duel of contrasting strengths.
Further back, Mahiki Racing’s GT4 Ginetta, car 69, was penalised for a pitstop infringement for some movement in the car when regulations require it to be completely still. Meanwhile Bridger Motorsport’s car 86 also received a drive-through penalty for too many crew members over the line during its stop.
The battles in GT3 were just as brutal. Team Parker’s Porsche, car 66, aggressively driven by Sebastien Müller, lunged down the inside of Martin Plowman’s Paddock Motorsport McLaren in the fight for fifth. Contact sent Plowman spinning and left some large debris and carbon fibre shards scattered across the circuit. Müller’s Porsche roared past but sustained a suspected broken wheel and careered into the Hawthorns gravel, ending its race. A full course yellow was signalled so the Porsche could be rescued.
Plowman eventually recovered his McLaren under the yellow flag back to the pits for fresh tyres, while Barwell’s Lamborghini, car 78 had sustained some damage from the same incident, with smoke trailing from its front left tyre, you could see that it had driven over a large piece of carbon fibre, forcing the car in to the gravel at the next turn. Fortunately, the car was able to limp back to the pits.
As the clock wound down, Götz clawed the 2 Seas Mercedes, car 18, back to seventh, but the team’s decision to keep Tse out so long before the swap left them with too much ground to recover. The focus at the front stayed on Jewiss and Kirchhöfer. Despite relentless pressure, Jewiss held firm, keeping the Mercedes on the racing line and leaving no opening for the McLaren.
After two hours of relentless action, 2 Seas Motorsport’s Mercedes AMG GT3, car 42, took the win with Kiern Jewiss and Charles Dawson. Kirchhöfer and Tillbrook brought the Optimum Motorsport McLaren, car 77, home in second, while the reigning champions Cook and Collard completed the podium in car 1.
Final results
1. Car 42 (K.Jewiss & C.Dawson)
2. Car 77 (M.Kirchhofer & M.Tillbrook)
3. Car 1 (H.Cook & R.Collard)
With only Donington Park remaining, the stage is set for a dramatic finale. The Brands Hatch round not only tightened the championship fight, it showed the sheer resilience required to survive the dusty, unforgiving GP loop. At this stage of the season, every lap counts, and every mistake could decide the title.
