Beechdean Motorsport is one of British GT’s longest-standing teams, having been one of Aston Martin’s most committed GT racing customers for over a decade.
This year in particular marks Beechdean’s 15th season in British GT with AMR machinery across both GT3 and (formerly) GT4 platforms.
The team scored its best 2025 season race finish of fifth overall at British GT’s recent three-hour enduro at Spa-Francorchamps.
Then a week later, it followed it up with a second-place Pro/Am class finish at the gruelling 24 Hours of Spa.
In light of this uptick in form, DSC sat with team principal and driver Andrew Howard to reflect on its ongoing British GT season, learn how his team has maintained its competitiveness in the SRO-run effort, and discuss how British GT has developed into one of the most prominent national sports car racing championships.
“British GT’s always been top-tier,” said Howard, an overall two-time champion “I remember the TVR Cerberas and Speed 12s, it’s always had quality.
“Back when we were winning regularly, that was when factory pros really started coming in. The Am drivers had to raise their game, train, test, get fitter. Today, it’s even stronger.
“You’ve got Americans coming over saying they want to win British GT because it’s the best Pro-Am series in Europe. And when you win in British GT, you win outright. You’re not just winning ‘Am class’, you’re on top of the field. That matters.”
Howard shares the #97 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo this year with teammate Tom Wood, who joined the team at the Brands Hatch season finale last year for his British GT debut, where the duo finished sixth overall.
After they finished well in Round 5 at Spa, Wood then stayed on to help Beechdean’s crew at the Spa 24 Hours.
“He’s done brilliantly,” said Howard, “There are loads of Toms out there, really good drivers who didn’t get a break or haven’t got the money to buy a seat.
“Tom’s quick, but also professional. He helps with sponsors, supports the team, came to the Spa 24 Hours even though he wasn’t driving. That’s what you want in a teammate.”
One of the key talking points at Spa was the stringent track limits policy, offering just three warnings before a penalty was awarded in each hour, and for the Spa 24 Hours, six warnings in every six hours.
“Track limits at Spa offer a huge time benefit,” Howard explained. “You go through Eau Rouge or Blanchimont and run wide, you’re gaining four-tenths.
“So yeah, it’s a problem. But it’s a rule. You’ve got to have the emotional control to stay within them.
“In the Spa 24, we were allowed six infringements every six hours. That’s insane.
“But in the final hours, penalties made a massive difference, we were only 30 seconds off the class winner after 24 hours. Discipline matters, the pro cars, after five hours, were on two track limits. That’s how sharp they are.”
Howard and Beechdean have fielded each iteration of the iconic Aston Martin Vantage during their time in British GT.
After securing their first top-five finish at Spa, Howard spoke positively about the progress with the latest GT3 Evo, which the team has been running since 2024.
“The Vantage was a huge leap when it arrived in 2012. Since then, BOP has helped level the field.
“The [AMR GT3] Evo struggled last year, especially against mid-engined cars like the McLaren, and the Merc is a phenomenal bit of kit, despite being quite a simple car.
“But this year, the Aston’s strong. It’s not always the fastest over one lap, but it’s got great balance over a stint.
“We didn’t have ultimate pace at Spa, but we were strong at the end of stints. Guys like Jonny [Adam] and Giacomo [Petrobelli] are showing what it can do, Giacomo in particular is an exceptional talent.
“We’ve had a great relationship with Aston Martin and Prodrive. The Beechdean brand and Aston have always worked well together. We’ve had amazing sponsors over the years, and we’ve helped develop a lot of young drivers, too.
“I was the oldest driver at Spa (24) this year. Eventually, I’ll step back, maybe do some historic racing, but I want Beechdean to continue. We want to run a proper race team, focused on the best drivers, competing at the front.”
The size of the grid this year in British GT has been a hot button topic since the Media Day. As a whole, the car count has dropped by nine since last season, and in GT3 Silver-Am, Beechdean finds itself with only one competitor: Bridger Motorsport’s #86 Honda NSX GT3 Evo.
Despite this, Howard feels it hasn’t reduced the level of competition in the championship.
“I think the competitive nature of the championship is, as it has been in recent years, is incredibly strong, and that’s a positive,” he continues.
“While grid numbers are down, that doesn’t reflect the competitiveness. It probably reflects the spectacle more than anything.
“GT racing’s changed a lot over the years. The modern car is far more forgiving, it allows you to get closer to ultimate pace through more seat time. Back in the day, the cars were so raw that only pros could extract real performance.
“As far as British GT goes, I think it’s still exciting. You’ve got a good mix of brands and drivers at the sharp end. There’s been a lot of discussion around driver grading, but it seems to be working okay.”
Currently, 17.5 points separate Beechdean’s pair and Bridger’s full-season driver Johnny Ip in the Silver-Am standings, with the Aston duo leading the way,
“Would I prefer 10 cars in Silver-Am? Yes. But if it’s just us and the Honda, then that’s who we race,” Howard adds.
“History will record who won the class, not how many cars there were. Our primary goal each weekend is to beat that Honda. Everything else comes after that.
“At Spa, once we got ahead, we paced ourselves to make sure we finished. We stayed out of trouble,” Howard elaborated.
“Endurance racing is like tennis: You just keep knocking the ball back, let the other guy go for the glory shot. They might win a set, but you win the match.
“It’s annoying as hell for everyone else, but that’s how we do it, we’re grinding out results.”
The Honda’s key attribute has been straight-line speed, having set the fastest race speed in Spa in both Sectors 1 and 3.
Sector 1 focuses on the run to the end of the Kemmel Straight, where the #86 Honda clocked a top speed of 164.8 mph or 265.2 kph.
Howard acknowledged the Honda’s strength in a straight line and its relative weakness in corners – a tricky combination to race against in the Silver-Am title battle.
“That makes it tough to overtake,” he said. “Fast on the straights, slow in corners is the worst combo to race against. But Spa gave us confidence.
“If we can drive further in an hour than they can, we win. It’s that simple. And look at Oulton, when they switched to slicks early (in Race 2). That wasn’t luck – that was bravery.
“We didn’t take the risk because we were ahead. They did, and it paid off. Fair play to them.”
With Spa behind them, attention now shifts to Snetterton for Rounds 6 and 7 on 12-13 July, hosting two 60-minute sprint races.
And with no margin for error in the two-horse Silver-Am race, this weekend’s races could prove to be decisive in this season’s title fight.
Images courtesy of SRO/Paul Foster
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