Charles Dawson is currently leading the outright 2025 British GT championship standings with his teammate Kiern Jewiss after two rounds so far, at the wheel of the #42 2 Seas Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo.
Dawson won last year’s GT4 Pro-Am title with Seb Morris and Team Parker Racing in a Mercedes-AMG GT4 before stepping up to GT3 for 2025.
The #42 duo scored the maximum available 37.5 points at the Donington Park opener and defied a 30 kg weight ballast with the same points result at the Championship’s blue riband event, and Dawson’s home race, the Silverstone 500, coming home second on the road to a non-points scoring invitational entry.
Whilst the Donington Park effort saw Jewiss hold his form in the lead after Dawson’s stint in the first hour, en route towards a lights-to-flag victory, the latter three-hour race on 26-27 April was a more tense affair.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better start, honestly, we weren’t expecting it,” Dawson told DSC. “We kept our expectations low, but the car felt great. I hadn’t done much pre-season testing, but it all just hooked up very nicely.”
“I don’t particularly think it’s fair (30 kg weight ballast penalty). But, you know, we’re not dwelling on that at the moment.
“I think the balance of the car has been affected a little bit, and from my side, mentally it’s been hard to process why they’re trying to punish me for being successful, when I fit all the criteria of an FIA Bronze driver. And it’s my second ever GT3 race.”
Starting seventh, Dawson and Jewiss climbed to the front through a well-judged strategy and a longer final stint.
Dawson highlighted that the weight would not have been awarded if this were the GT World Challenge Europe series, especially after just one race meeting.
As the amateur-graded driver, he is tasked with undertaking the race starts at the mixture of sprint and endurance races that comprise the British GT calendar.
“For me, it’s about maintaining your position. But if there’s an opportunity to do an overtake, then go for it.
“Even in an hour race (the sprint races), especially in a three-hour race, [there’s] absolutely no point trying to do something stupid at the start.
“Especially if you do a bit of aero damage on these (GT3 cars), it will cost you. You just got to keep it clean, let the first two laps play out, and just go from there and then get your head down and crack on.”
As the third full-course yellow was called, Jewiss made a marginal overtake on a GT4 car, later noted for overtaking under yellow flag conditions.
Though he pitted to reset his stint time, a drive-through penalty dropped them from the lead with 27 minutes left, losing approximately 24 seconds from serving it.
Jewiss re-emerged on the pit exit just 2.575 seconds behind the #91 Paradine Competition BMW M4 GT3 Evo driver, and 2023 champion, Dan Harper.
The #42 Mercedes-AMG were denied victory by 0.580 seconds behind Harper at the finish; however, since the #91 BMW was a guest entry, Dawson and Jewiss again claimed maximum points as a full-season entry.
Despite a smaller grid than last year, the GT3 field features at least six factory drivers and remains fiercely competitive.
Dawson is not only stepping up with more potent machinery, but is also facing up to the demands of British GT’s premier category.
“You’ve got some of the top professionals in the world coming here. I think the level of the pros is higher, the level of the amateurs is generally pretty high. I think the standard is there’s some really great bronzes out there.
“Look at [Giacomo] Petrobelli and [Morgan] Tillbrook,” he remarked as they qualified strongly at the Silverstone 500.
“I think the biggest thing for me [compared to driving the GT4] was the entry speeds, the slow-speed corners and high-speed corners.
“Braking performance is better, if I’m honest. I think the car is easier to get up to speed in than the GT4. It doesn’t move around so much. It’s just you’ve got to find that speed and have the confidence to push the car to that.
“I think with the Mercedes, you’ve got to be patient getting back on the throttle. It takes a while to rotate the car, but it’s very good on traction.
“It’s definitely helped doing GT4, jumping around the same car. And it’s a dream to drive as an amateur. You can find the limit very quickly.
“Going from the 4.0l twin-turbo V8 in GT4, you really appreciate how nice naturally aspirated engines are. It’s just a masterpiece.”
The next race meeting will be at Oulton Park on 23-26 May, hosting Rounds 3 and 4, each marking the first sprint races of the calendar.
Optimum Motorsports’ #77 McLaren GT3 Evo duo Tillbrook and factory driver Marvin Kirchhöfer trail the #42 Mercedes-AMG pairing in the standings by 30 points.
The narrow, twisty circuit of Oulton Park is a stark contrast to the larger, wider Silverstone venue, which has hardly any elevation changes.
Qualifying at Oulton, therefore, will be more important than at any other circuit.
As it is the first sprint race meeting of the year, Dawson’s fastest qualifying lap time will determine the #42 Mercedes-AMG’s starting spot in the first race, as Jewiss’ time will do so in the second race, instead of being combined like for the endurance races.
Maintaining their strong points form will be key after two successful rounds.
“Especially in a GT3, I think it’s a bit of a Monaco,” he said, describing Oulton Park.
“I think we’re getting to a point where these cars are getting so big that some of these tracks are getting really hard to overtake, so yeah, qualifying is key.”
DSC’s coverage of the 2025 British GT Championship is powered by Birch – world-class automotive asset management at Gatwick.
Images courtesy of British GT & Paul Foster
