+ Beechdean with early GT3 momentum
+ GT4 front runners restricted by pitstop penalties
+ Entry list: Spa Speedweek
British GT’s teams and drivers head for the continent later this week when Spa-Francorchamps hosts Round 4 of the 2026 campaign.
The four days of wall-to-wall action are collectively known as ‘Spa Speedweek’, which not only brings together a host of SRO-managed series but also kicks off a fortnight of top-level motorsport that culminates in the world’s biggest GT race: the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa.
British GT’s annual cross-Channel trip looks somewhat different this year, with Championnat de France FFSA GT sharing track time on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Close cooperation between SRO’s Anglo-French series as well as separate classifications, qualifying sessions, starting groups and regulations has produced a grid totalling 55 cars.
25 of those are British GT entries, all but one of which are eligible to score points. The exception is Herberth Motorsport’s Porsche, featuring Japanese driver ‘Bankcy’ and his regular ELMS co-driver Harry King, which makes a one-off British GT3 outing in the Ardennes.
Mike Price and Callum Macleod also make their first appearance of the season in Optimum’s #3 720S, while Orange/JMH and Paddock Motorsport will now respectively manage the #69 and #84 McLarens previously entered by Mahiki. Reigning GT3 Silver-Am champion Tom Wood joins Steven Lake, whose son Revie continues to share with Blake Angliss.
GT3: BEECHDEAN’S CREAM RISES TO THE TOP
2015. The last time Beechdean and Andrew Howard topped the British GT standings. An awful lot has changed since then, but class – it seems – is permanent if results at the first three events are anything to go by.
Howard and his co-driver Ross Gunn were also there or thereabouts at times when they last teamed up in 2023, albeit without ever leading the championship. They’re yet to win this year but a pair of second place finishes at Oulton has catapulted them from fourth to first in the standings, 6.5 points clear of erstwhile leaders Jonathon Beeson and Charles Clark.
The caveat to podium finishes is, as ever, Compensation Time. And Beechdean’s Aston will have 15 seconds of that to serve during its mandatory pitstop. Blackthorn claimed the manufacturer’s last British GT3 victory at Spa 12 months back, while Howard and Beechdean won there 11 years ago, but a repeat appears highly unlikely given the only Vantage is somewhat restricted.
Five more seconds applies to Morgan Tillbrook and Ben Barnicoat whose Optimum McLaren won Oulton’s second race. The same combination, albeit with Marvin Kirchhöfer in the Pro seat, finished second in Belgium last season but is, like Beechdean, likely to slip down the order following the driver changes.
2 Seas’ Kevin Tse – a former winner at Spa – and Ben Green are the other duo serving Compensation Time thanks to their third place last time out. So it’s likely to be Barwell’s handicap-free Lamborghinis that begin the weekend as favourites. Duncan Cameron has opted to skip the event, but the other two Huracans are more than capable of claiming the team’s first win in Belgium since 2021.
Indeed, after a DNF at Silverstone, Rob Collard and Hugo Cook opened their account with victory in Oulton's opener before finishing fourth in Race 2. That leaves them fifth in the overall standings; one position and 5.5 points behind team-mates Alex Martin and Jarrod Waberski who lead the Silver-Am championship.
That class also features this year’s SRO GT Academy contenders. Century’s Clark might sit ahead of Waberski in the overall standings but he’s currently 2.5 behind in the Silver-Am championship and seven shy in the race for next year’s fully funded 24 Hours of Spa entry. Both drivers have already contested the event – Waberski even claimed a class podium there 12 months ago – so should be up to speed quickly this weekend.
GT4: PITSTOP TIME GIVES OPTIMUM THE EDGE
This year’s GT4 title race could be a cracker if the results at Oulton are anything to go by. 2025 was dominated by two crews, but three representing as many different teams and manufacturers have already tasted victory while another duo lies second in the standings by virtue of sheer consistency.
Four points separate leaders Thomas Holland and Hadley Simpson from Will Orton and Jessica Hawkins who are another eight clear of Jack Collins and Branden Templeton. All are Silver entries, but only two – Innovation’s Ginetta and MK Racing Aston Martin – must serve Compensation Time on Sunday.
That leaves Century’s Collins and Templeton with an obvious opportunity to reduce the deficit. What’s more, their team’s BMW is a proven winner at Spa where Ravi Ramyead and Charlie Robertson triumphed last season.
Their cause is also aided by Oulton’s Race 2 winners Daniel Lavery and Darren Turner serving the maximum 20 seconds during the driver changes. However, as a Pro-Am entry the Grange/FSR Aston Martin is not subject to the additional Silver handicap that will further restrict the likes of Innovation, Century and MK.
Indeed, the combination of Compensation and Silver pitstop time will muddy the waters somewhat until positions shake out after half-distance, at which point several other contenders without handicaps should find themselves ahead on the road.
Chief among them is Luca Hopkinson and Josh Stanton whose Oulton Bank Holiday ended in the Armco during Race 1. Zero points for the weekend leaves the Silver pairing only sixth in the standings but with an excellent opportunity to take advantage of the ‘penalties’ that will restrict the championship’s current top four.
It’s a similar story for Toro Verde’s Luke Shaw and Jack Mitchell whose steering failure denied a likely victory last time out Mitchell won at Spa en route to the 2018 GT4 crown, set fastest lap in qualifying and the race last year, and has already established himself as this season’s fastest driver after topping his individual qualifying sessions at the first two events.
SPA SPEEDWEEK TIMETABLE
Friday 19 June
14:20 – 16:20: Test
Saturday 20 June
09:00 – 10:00: Free Practice 1
13:10 – 14:10: Free Practice 2
18:35 – 18:45: British GT3 Q1
18:45 – 18:55: British GT4 Q2
19:15 – 19:25: British GT3 Q3
19:25 – 19:35: British GT4 Q4
Sunday 21 June
14:20 – 16:20: Race
LAP RECORDS
GT3 – 2m16.190s – Raffaele Marciello – RAM Racing BMW M4 GT3 – 2024
GT4 – 2m29.481s – Gordie Mutch – Lotus Emira GT4 – 2024
PITSTOP SPECIFICS – TWO-HOUR RACES
One driver change is mandatory. The number of driver changes is free but there are minimum and maximum total drive times for the starting driver. In GT4 starting drivers must complete a minimum of 58 minutes, while in GT3 this rises to 62 minutes. All classes share the same maximum starting drive time of 70 minutes.
Mandatory Pitstop Times (pit-in to pit-out)
GT3: 165s | GT4: 195s
Pitstop Compensation Time
GT3 and GT4’s top three finishers from the previous round must be stationary for additional time during their mandatory pitstop.
20s – #77 Optimum Motorsport McLaren – Tillbrook/Barnicoat
15s – #7 Beechdean Aston Martin – Howard/Gunn
10s – #18 2 Seas Motorsport Mercedes-AMG – Tse/Green
20s – #27 Grange/FSR Aston Martin – Lavery/Turner
15s – #21 MK Racing Aston Martin – Hawkins/Orton
10s – #74 Innovation Racing Ginetta – Holland/Simpson
Additional pitstop compensation time applies to the top three GT4 Silver class finishers from the previous race.
25s – #21 MK Racing Aston Martin – Hawkins/Orton
20s – #74 Innovation Racing Ginetta – Holland/Simpson
15s – #24 Century Motorsport BMW – Templeton/Collins
There are specific pitstop regulations for Championnat de France FFSA GT entries whose starting driver must complete a minimum of 50 minutes, although maximum total drive time is also 70 minutes. An Am driver must start the race, while their minimum pitstop time will be confirmed in due course. This will account for the championship’s longer refuelling process.