An action-packed 2026 British GT Championship season is coming to an end this weekend in a two-hour endurance race around the exciting Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit.
The 22-car entry list is split between 11 GT3s and 11 GT4s, ready to take on the 2.433-mile configuration two years since Brands previously hosted the final round of a British GT season — when Josh Caygill and Alex Buncombe won the race in 2024, and Sandy Mitchell and Rob Collard became champions.
The Kent-based venue is a favourite among drivers owing to the track’s undulating nature, narrow width, and limited margin for error, as a mistake can have significant implications for any of the five mathematical GT3 title contenders.
At the top of the championship standings, #63 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 drivers Collard and Hugo Cook lead on 122.5 points.
Cook left last season as a runner-up in the drivers’ standings, so is keen to secure the top spot this time round with Collard, who could take his third British GT title. It would also deliver Barwell’s eighth drivers’ championship and a triumphant final hurrah to the iconic V10-powered Huracán before the Temerario succeeds it in 2027.
Barwell’s other #78 Lamborghini duo is Jarrod Waberski and Alex Martin, who are second in the outright standings on 107 points.
Collard/Cook have maximum compensation time to serve from their dominant Donington win last time out, putting the #78 drivers under pressure to do all it takes, without incident, to close the 15.5-point gap and become the first GT3 Silver-Am pairing to win an outright British GT title.
Unsurprisingly, Waberski/Martin lead the GT3 Silver-Am classification on 162.5 points, a substantial 27 ahead of the #44 Century Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO of Charles Clark and Jonathon Beeson, who took pole at Donington but whose winning hopes ended when Morgan Tillbrook mistakenly hit the BMW after losing control under braking.
The winner of the British GT SRO GT Academy rankings after Brands Hatch will earn a fully-funded seat at the 2027 Spa 24 Hours; Waberski is on 212 points, only nine ahead of Clark.
Optimum Motorsport’s Tillbrook heads into this race meeting having contested last weekend’s GT Cup UK meeting at Brands as well, adding strength to his preparations to redeem himself from his Donington mistake in the #77 McLaren GT3 Evo, which put them out of the race and therefore the championship lead.
He is third outright on 105.5 points with teammate Ben Barnicoat, who is chasing his first title in his maiden British GT GT3 campaign, and returns from last weekend’s IMSA Battle on the Bricks at Indianapolis.
Like the #63 Barwell drivers, Orange Racing by JMH #67 McLaren pairing Simon Orange and Marcus Clutton snuck into championship contention through consistent performances. They also raced in the GT Cup event in different cars, with Orange winning two of the four races.
The GT3 Pro-Am title fight is led by Orange/Clutton on 145 points, followed by Collard/Cook on 134 points and Tillbrook/Barnicoat on 124.5 points.
Beechdean’s #7 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo duo of Andrew Howard, undertaking his 156th and final British GT race, and works driver Ross Gunn are on 95 points in the outright standings, but are joint third in GT3 Pro-Am — tied with Tillbrook/Barnicoat’s 124.5-point tally.
Chris Lulham impressed on his British GT debut at Donington, taking the fastest lap award and returns from last weekend’s GT World Challenge Europe Zandvoort sprint to continue his progress in the #18 2 Seas Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo shared with Kevin Tse. Lulham’s useful previous GTWC Europe experience at Brands Hatch puts him/Tse as possible contenders for the race win.
Optimum Motorsport’s #90 McLaren of Jack Brown and Marc Warren showcased excellent form in the past two race meetings, the latter of which unfortunately was marred when radio issues led to an unserved penalty escalating. They are third in the GT3 Silver-Am standings on 132.5 points, threatening Clark and Beeson’s 2nd place (137.5).
Aaron Walker is joined by Todd Kingsford, an Australian-born Thai driver making his British GT debut in the #15 2 Seas Mercedes-AMG. Todd has recent championship success to his name, becoming the 2026 Lamborghini SuperTrofeo Asia Pro-Am champion and the 2025 GT4 Am champion in the Thailand Super Series, as well as a GT4 champion in the 2025 Porsche Sprint Challenge Indonesia.
Paddock Motorsport mark their first appearance in a newly acquired #9 Porsche 911 GT3 R after five years of fielding McLaren’s GT3 racer in British GT. The car was second fastest in the Pro qualifying session last year in the hands of German-Swiss Sven Müller, giving promise to long-time teammates Martin Plowman and Mark Smith at the wheel this weekend. Smith also raced it in GT Cup the weekend prior.
Rodin Motorsport are nearing the end of their first British GT GT3 campaign with the #13 Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo, as Josh Buchan and Cameron Campbell have one final shot at taking a second GT3 Silver-Am class win this year.
Optimum Motorsport’s #3 McLaren drivers Mark Price and Callum Macleod await their moment of glory in the competitive GT3 Pro-Am field.
In the GT4 category, two teams are tied on 127 points for the outright championship title: Innovation Racing and Century Motorsport.
Season debutants Innovation Racing have not put a foot wrong this year, winning the Silverstone 500 season-opener and more recently securing a podium at Donington from a pit lane start.
Their #74 Ginetta G56 GT4 Evo drivers, Hadley Simpson and Thomas Holland, lead on countback and are adamant to achieve championship glory, which would make it the first time a debuting GT4 team has become champions since HHC Motorsport in 2017.
Century Motorsport’s #24 ‘Chomp’ BMW M4 GT4 Evo of Branden Templeton and Jack Collins are Innovation’s key championship title rivals, although MK Racing’s #21 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 Evo pairing Jessica Hawkins and Will Orton linger close behind on 121 points.
Third-highest in points are our 2026 GT4 Pro-Am champions, Darren Turner and Daniel Lavery in the #27 Grange Racing by FSR Aston Martin on 116.5. Their championship pursuits are not over yet as they target the outright title in addition to Pro-Am, which was wrapped up last time out at Donington.
In the GT4 Silver Cup, Templeton/Collins are on 145 points ahead of Hawkins/Orton’s 143.5 points and Simpson/Holland’s 136.
Paddock Motorsport’s #84 McLaren Artura GT4 of Revie Lake and Blake Angliss became our most recent GT4 race winners after their commanding pole-to-win effort at Donington. With Lake becoming the second-youngest driver to win in British GT, he and his teammate face a tough challenge in repeating their success due to maximum compensation time, but are without a doubt a force to be reckoned with in the GT4 Silver Cup rankings.
Optimum Motorsport runs the other #59 McLaren of Josh Stanton and George Gamble, also entered in the Silver Cup; the latter driver is keen to achieve another victory in only his third-ever British GT race meeting.
GBR Stratton’s #97 Aston Martin is shared by veteran driver John Hartshorne and Jordan Collard, son of Rob, who will build on the learnings from his maiden British GT outing at Donington.
West Surrey Racing are reaching the end of their first sports car racing and British GT campaign in the #61 BMW of Ernie Graham and four-time BTCC champion Colin Turkington, both having taken two third-place finishes in GT4 Pro-Am and target another podium appearance before the season conclusion.
Fox Motorsport’s #40 Aston Martin, driven by James Townsend and Joe Wheeler, secured a second-place finish in the GT4 Pro-Am category last time out before they were disqualified after someone touched the car under parc fermé. Despite this, it clearly demonstrated Townsend/Wheeler’s recent form and their ability to challenge for the Pro-Am podium.
Toro Verde GT’s #8 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS CS of Ian Duggan and Tom Bradshaw inherited P2 in GT4 Pro-Am at Donington, having remarkably started from the back of the grid with much less track time than their rivals due to an off-site engine change. They may not be the only Porsche on the grid this weekend, but they will surely stand out in the competition, chasing their maiden GT4 Pro-Am victory. The team’s other #42 Ginetta shared by Luke Shaw/Jack Mitchell is equally motivated to take a win.
Brands does not host a paid test day before the weekend, placing great importance on the free practice and pre-qualifying sessions on Saturday 26 September before qualifying later that afternoon.
Qualifying will set the grid at 16:15 BST, and the eighth and final race of the 34th British GT season takes place on Sunday 27 September at 13:30.
Image courtesy of SRO/JEP
