The 2026 British GT Championship season finale delivered a mix of drama, action and tension in both the GT3 and GT4 categories as the ‘Battle of Brands’ hosted an excellent, unpredictable racing spectacle.
Simon Orange had never won a British GT race until here on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit, making it special for him to take that maiden victory along with their first outright GT3 Drivers’ and Pro-Am Championship titles with his #67 Orange Racing by JMH McLaren teammate Marcus Clutton.
While one garage celebrated, another dealt with heartbreak. Barwell Motorsport’s two-time champion Rob Collard made a rare mistake that cost him and his teammate Hugo Cook the championship title, having led the standings into this finale.
The GT4 championship battle for the title was fiercely fought between Darren Turner and Will Orton. These two Aston Martin-affiliated drivers, each with opposing levels of racing experience, wrestled right up to the finish.
Stats and facts
The end of British GT’s 34th season delivered its sixth different race winner across six race meetings and eight rounds in total, matching the 2025 campaign’s number of winners.
McLaren secured their first outright British GT title since the 1998 season. Steve O’Rourke and Tim Sugden won the 1998 GT1 class championship after taking multiple wins — including at Brands Hatch — in their EMKA Racing McLaren F1 GTR Longtail.
McLaren crossed the finishing line in 1-2-3 formation, the #67 Orange/JMH car followed by the #77 and the #90 Optimum Motorsport entries, before the latter was disqualified post-race for being underweight. The last time a sole manufacturer swept a British GT podium was at Snetterton Race 2, 2023, by Mercedes-AMG.
After finishing as runner-up at the Silverstone 500 season-opener, Century Motorsport’s #44 BMW M4 GT3 EVO of Jonathon Beeson/Charles Clark took their second outright podium at the Brands Hatch Decider, inheriting third overall and the GT3 Silver-Am win from Jack Brown/Marc Warren’s #90 Optimum Motorsport McLaren.
It was the first time in six years that the championship leaders entered the final round without coming the other side with the title, in this case Rob Collard and Hugo Cook in the #63 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2.
Barwell did not win the overall championship, yet they won three more titles. Collard secured the GT3 Masters’ title, which is for drivers aged over 50. Barwell added an eighth Teams’ Championship title to their record.
The sister #78 Lamborghini of Alex Martin/Jarrod Waberski won the GT3 Silver-Am Drivers’ title, missing out on the overall Drivers’ Championship by only 13.5 points, the closest a Silver-Am crew has come to securing outright honours.
Another first was that three different GT3 Silver-Am crews won outright in 2026 — each marking their first time on the top podium step in British GT.
Two-time champion Andrew Howard completed his 157th and final British GT race in the #7 Beechdean Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo, having entered 43% of the championship’s 362 races. He cemented 13 wins to his name across all classes, recently winning the 2025 GT3 Silver-Am title with Tom Wood.
Over in the GT4 class, the Turner/Daniel Lavery (#27 Grange Racing by FSR) and Orton/Jessica Hawkins (#21 MK Racing) Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 Evo crews tied on 143.5 points, another first-ever instance in British GT history — the former winning on countback.
It was yet another close finish, similar to last year’s race when Kiern Jewiss secured both the victory and the GT3 title, finishing just 0.499 seconds ahead of McLaren factory driver Marvin Kirchhöfer.
The previous closest margin for outright GT4 championship points was in 2018, when current Toro Verde GT driver Jack Mitchell won by one point against his Century Motorsport teammates Ben Tuck/Ben Green.
This year, Mitchell raised over £10,000 for the BRDC Motor Sport Charity by running a total of 405 miles during the season. His remarkable journey started at the BRDC headquarters in Silverstone and included stops at Oulton Park, Snetterton, and Donington Park, before concluding at Brands Hatch.
Lemmer ‘gutted’ after Barwell loses out on outright honours
Last year was a difficult season for Barwell in the championship fight. The tide turned this year with 2 Seas Motorsport struggling instead and the Surrey-based team returning to title-winning ways — even though they missed out on the coveted outright honours after Rob Collard’s error.
“The race was obviously disappointing,” team principal Mark Lemmer told DSC.
“But we’ve got to reflect on the whole championship [season]. When we had the fire with the #63 car at Silverstone, I thought in no way they’d be in total contention.
“For the drivers and the team to fight their way back into leading the championship in the final round, super happy, but obviously Rob has helped put us in this position, and so you know — one tiny mistake.
“You live by the sword, you die by the sword. I feel gutted for Rob and Hugo; they did a fabulous job.”
Lemmer also sang the praises of the Huracán package, which the team has raced since 2016, and is being phased-out globally in place of Lamborghini’s new Temerario GT3.
“It’s just been a fantastic car,” he commented. “Absolutely love it. We calculated the other day that we’ve done over 500,000 kilometres with the cars over the last 11 years.
“There’s still life in the old dog yet. It’s a good car for British GT.
“People forget that they’re Silver-graded drivers and they’re both in contention for the championship into the last round,” he added regarding his Lamborghini GT3 Junior Drivers Jarrod Waberski and Hugo Cook.
“And we made it hard for Jarrod because we rolled the dice and threw an extra set of tyres in qualifying to try and bump them up the order, which meant we had no new tyres for his stint for the race when others did.
“That was a gamble, but he still managed to have enough pace to win the SRO GT Academy prize.”
Waberski will be one of four drivers sharing a Team Motopark Mercedes-AMG at the 2027 24 Hours of Spa. He won by an incredible two-point margin ahead of Century Motorsport’s Charles Clark.
The Anglo-South African said: “Winning British GT’s SRO GT Academy seat was amongst my priorities at the start of this year so I am absolutely delighted to already have that in my back pocket heading into next season.
“Charles and I have been very closely matched throughout 2026, which was reflected in the final Academy scores.
“The nature of GT racing can make it difficult to assess an individual’s performances but, from what I’ve seen, SRO appears really invested in teasing out the sort of details that can go unnoticed.
“I’ll be following the three GT World Challenge series [America, Asia and Australia] with even greater interest now my place at Spa is secured.”
Century pushing for GT3 expansion in 2027
Century Motorsport is looking for prospective drivers and partners in expanding to a two-car BMW M4 GT3 EVO programme in British GT next year, following an impressive return to the category this season.
The 2023 GT3 Teams’ champions represented the Bavaria marque in the GT3 field, with Charles Clark and Jonathon Beeson earning two outright podiums and a pole position despite being a GT3 Silver-Am rather than a Pro-Am pairing.
“It’s been a good year for us,” team principal Nathan Freke told DSC.
“We’ve brought the BMW GT3 back to the grid, and we’ve had some absolutely tremendous showings. A brand new driver to it in JB [Jonathon Beeson], a very last-minute deal.
“To put it on pole at Donington was great. Charles is a super established driver and has done a fantastic job all year.
“Obviously, disappointed with the result at Donington because that cost us second in the championship.”
Clark and Jarrod Waterski fought with one another during the final hour when they took over the #44 BMW and #78 Lamborghini respectively — an incredibly close fight between the former and current Century Motorsport youngsters.
“We had an amazing year last year with Jarrod,” he said, referring to the South African’s status as a GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup Silver Drivers’ Champion with Century.
“Super nice lad. I absolutely have the utmost respect for him. I think at some rounds we had the measure of him, and at others he had the measure over us, so he’s a very fair competitor.
“In GT4, the lads have just done a mega job all year from a crew point of view, from a driver’s point of view, super solid.
“We’ve always been there, and that’s what brought us to championship contention in the last round.
“But sadly, the result at Donington just meant that the pit stop penalty was just too big for us to overcome this weekend, and that’s the way the cookie crumbles.”
Century’s Branden Templeton and season debutant Jack Collins finished as runners-up in the GT4 Silver Cup Drivers’ standings, behind Will Orton and Jessica Hawkins, with Templeton repeating his Silver Cup standings position from last year.
In the striking #24 ‘Chomp’ BMW M4 GT4 Evo, they were 7.5 points shy of that title.
Innovation Racing recalls ‘painful’ title hopes slip away
The underdogs of the 2026 British GT paddock, Innovation Racing, have rarely put a foot wrong in their first British GT campaign with their #74 Ginetta of Hadley Simpson and Thomas Holland.
Despite a pole-to-win debut at Silverstone and maintaining their position as championship contenders throughout the season, misfortune thwarted their chances at Brands Hatch, even though they avoided any major driver errors or mistakes during the pit stops.
Simpson and Holland entered the final round leading the GT4 Drivers’ standings on countback over Branden Templeton/Jack Collins.
Simpson incurred a rear-left puncture which forced him to stop and retire with 57 minutes of the two-hour enduro left, putting the #27 Grange FSR Aston Martin in the title hunt. It was Innovation’s second retirement after an engine issue at Snetterton Race 2.
“If we were going to lose it [the title], we wanted to go out kicking and screaming,” said Holland.
“We didn’t get the chance to do that, so it’s unfortunate.
“I’m so proud of the team. The fact that it’s gotten away from us due to sheer unluckiness hurts. It’s painful, and the team deserves so much better.
“But we tried our best, and that’s all anyone can ask of us.”
Townsend makes British GT history ‘double-stinting’ a two-hour enduro
James Townsend of the #40 Fox Motorsport Aston Martin drove two consecutive stints behind the wheel, with consistent pace and no mistakes as a solo Amateur-graded driver, completing 73 laps around the challenging Grand Prix Circuit.
“We’ve made a bit of history, which is amazing,” he reflected.
“Really tough going, I’m not going to lie. The first stint felt okay. I could feel my back just going, so it was a little bit uncomfortable.
“Got the pleasure of getting a quick pit stop and a chance to stretch and have some liquids.
“Then straight back out into the fire with all the Pros. We’ve finished ahead of two Pro-Am pairings. Couldn’t be happier with that.
“I think, given what we’ve done and the two hours we’ve had out there, I think it’s a huge achievement; we’re really proud.
“It wasn’t a lightweight testing session here. I needed to keep really focused, corner by corner, lap by lap.
“When we look at the numbers back over the course of that two-hour stint, the consistency was the thing that’s really shown through.”
Turner claims outright GT4 glory after triple Pro-Am title successes
Aston Martin factory and performance driver Darren Turner returned to British GT this year aiming for outright GT4 championship glory, and after taking his third consecutive GT4 Pro-Am title, that’s exactly what he achieved.
He is Aston Martin/Prodrive’s most committed driver in his 20th year with them and executed two outright GT4 wins with the Grange Racing by FSR outfit, a new operation for this year.
The last time a debuting GT4 team won the title was HHC Motorsport in 2017. Grange FSR secured not only the main title but also the GT4 Teams and Pro-Am titles.
“At this stage of my career, having been around for a long time, I’m not expecting to be winning championships, etc,” Turner admitted.
“It’s lovely that we’ve picked up an overall GT4 and Pro-Am GT4. It’s something I’m super happy about.
“When we were testing last year, we were starting at a level that is expected with a new team.
“They’ve grown, they’ve adapted, they’ve learned. They’ve made the most of whatever comes their way, and it’s just a superb effort from everyone within this team, led by Elliott Cole.
“He’s done an exceptional job. He’s got the right people in with the right attitude, and he’s just driven away with it.”
Turkington reflects on ‘huge learning year’ for WSR
Colin Turkington and his teammate Ernie Graham have reached the end of their and West Surrey Racing’s debut British GT season in the #61 BMW M4 GT4 Evo.
Competing in the British GT GT4 series has always been a challenging experience for any sportscar newcomer, but WSR has embraced the challenge wholeheartedly.
“It’s been a huge learning year for the team as a whole,” said the four-time BTCC champion.
“At the beginning of the season, we didn’t know what we could do.
“We had some really good weekends with [two Pro-Am] podiums, but probably too many weekends where it was just little procedural things like losing too much time in the pits.
“But we’ve really enjoyed it. That’s been the main thing, you know. Ernie’s really enjoyed his journey, his first season of British GT.
“Hopefully we get the chance to do it again, come back and can hunt for some better results.”
Images courtesy of SRO/JEP
