+ 15.5 points separate Barwell’s Lamborghinis; first five covered by 27.5
+ All GT3 overall and class titles still to be decided
+ #BattleOfBrands entry list
Five crews remain in GT3 title contention as the 2026 British GT Championship reaches its conclusion this weekend at Brands Hatch.
The eighth and final race of Season 34 appears perfectly poised thanks to the combination of points already scored and Compensation Time to come. Rob Collard and Hugo Cook rightly start as firm favourites thanks to a 15.5-point lead but will be mindful of serving 20 more seconds than all other title contenders during Sunday afternoon’s mandatory pitstop.
That leaves the door ajar for their Barwell Lamborghini team-mates Alex Martin and Jarrod Waberski, Optimum’s McLaren shared by Morgan Tillbrook and Ben Barnicoat, Simon Orange and Marcus Clutton (Orange/JMH McLaren) and Ross Gunn and Andrew Howard (Beechdean Aston Martin) who’s due to make his 157th and final British GT start before retiring.
All but one of those crews is also fighting for the Pro-Am crown, while Martin and Waberski are locked in a three-way Silver-Am scrap with Jonathon Beeson and Charles Clark (Century BMW) and Marc Warren and Jack Brown (Optimum). 32 points separate the trio with 37.5 still to play for.
Barwell is on the cusp of winning its eighth teams’ title, Rob Collard or Marc Warren will claim the new-for-2026 Masters crown for amateur drivers, and nine points separate Waberski and Clark in their pursuit of SRO GT Academy’s fully funded 24 Hours of Spa seat next June.
SRO’s GT World YouTube channel and Sky Sports F1 both have live, uninterrupted #BattleOfBrands coverage on Sunday. The two-hour championship decider begins at 13:30 BST.
COULD COMPENSATION TIME TRIP COLLARD AND COOK?
27.5 points cover GT3’s five title contenders ahead of this weekend’s finale at Brands Hatch, which last hosted British GT’s showdown in 2024.
In theory, Collard and Cook appear well placed to wrap up the championship. But the events of that day almost exactly two years ago offer a little insight into how this year’s championship could play out.
Then, as now, Collard and his son Ricky headed to the finale fresh from winning at Donington and with a considerable advantage over team-mates Martin and Sandy Mitchell, but with the spectre of 20 Compensation Time seconds to serve. Martin and Mitchell did everything possible to overturn their 24.5-point deficit by scoring maximum points but ultimately missed out on the championship by five.
The outcome would be very different this time. Applying the same positions – Martin first and Collard fourth – to this year’s race result and current championship situation would be enough for the #78 crew to become the first Silver-Am duo to win GT3’s title outright.
A race victory is not entirely necessary, either. Martin and Waberski can overturn their 15.5-point deficit by finishing fourth, although that would require Collard/Cook and their other title rivals to all have difficult days at the office.
Collard is also on the cusp of making history. A third GT3 title would move him clear of Andrew Howard and Leo Machitski, and one away from record holder Jonny Adam. Cook, meanwhile, stands to better his runner-up position from last year. It’s all a far cry from the pair’s opening day DNF at Silverstone, since when they have scored double digit points (and won twice) across six races.
But it’s not only Barwell’s other Lamborghini that concerns the current leaders. Tillbrook and Barnicoat, just like Martin and Waberski, must finish at least fourth to have any hope of turning their starting deficit into a championship-winning advantage. Optimum’s McLaren comfortably topped the standings before Donington but then suffered its first DNF of the season to slip from 13.5 points ahead to 17 behind heading to the finale.
Neither driver has ever clinched the title, although Tillbrook did travel to 2022’s finale with an outside chance after winning at, of all places, Brands Hatch. Doing the same again alongside Barnicoat, who has arguably been this year’s standout GT3 driver, puts the pressure on Collard and Cook to finish no lower than fourth.
Clutton is also a former outright winner at Brands and now requires at least a podium alongside Orange if their Orange/JMH McLaren is to spring a surprise. This has comfortably been the combination’s best campaign to date, one built primarily on consistency and a run of mid-season podiums that leaves them 21.5 points adrift of top spot.
However, overall positions do not always translate to class classifications. And that is perfectly illustrated in Pro-Am where Orange and Clutton enjoy an 11-point lead over Collard and Cook.
The final piece in GT3’s championship puzzle is Aston Martin shaped courtesy of Beechdean’s Howard and Gunn for whom victory is now the only option. Upending a 27.5-point deficit appears a mammoth task, although it’s worth noting that a Collard/Cook non score would considerably increase their chances of successfully doing so. In that scenario a win and non-championship contender between themselves and third place would be sufficient to complete the greatest final day comeback in championship history.
It would also represent a fitting farewell for Howard whose 20-year British GT career ends when he hands the Vantage over to Gunn halfway through Sunday’s race. Winning for the first time since 2015 may not ultimately secure him a third overall title but would undoubtedly be the perfect send-off for one of British GT’s greatest servants.
Outside of the championship battles, Paddock’s switch to Porsche brings GT3’s total number of manufacturers to seven this weekend. The same chassis is no stranger to British GT after Nick Jones and Sven Müller campaigned it with Team Parker throughout 2025.
And there’s also a change at 2 Seas where Todd Kingsford debuts alongside Aaron Walker who finished a season-high third overall last time out at Donington. The same team and Mercedes-AMG also won at Brands Hatch in 2025, albeit with champions elect Charles Dawson and Kiern Jewiss behind the wheel.
BRANDS HATCH TIMETABLE
Saturday 26 September
09:25 – 10:25: Free Practice
11:45 – 12:45: Pre-Qualifying
16:15 – 16:25: Qualifying 1 (GT3)
16:29 – 16:39: Qualifying 2 (GT3)
16:43 – 16:53: Qualifying 3 (GT4)
16:58 – 17:08: Qualifying 4 (GT4)
Sunday 27 September
09:05 – 09:45: Pitwalk + autograph session
10:00 – 10:15: Warm-up
13:30 – 15:30: Race
LAP RECORDS
GT3 – 1m23.651s – Marvin Kirchhöfer – Optimum Motorsport McLaren 720S GT3 Evo – 2025
GT4 – 1m31.219s – Luca Hopkinson – Optimum Motorsport McLaren Artura GT4 – 2025
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: 115s | GT4: 145s
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 – #63 Barwell Lamborghini – Collard/Cook
15s – #18 2 Seas Mercedes-AMG – Tse/Lulham
10s – #15 2 Seas Mercedes-AMG – Kingsford/Walker
20s – #84 Paddock McLaren – Lake/Angliss
15s – #24 Century BMW – Templeton/Collins
10s – #74 Innovation Ginetta – Holland/Simpson
Additional pitstop compensation time applies to the top three GT4 Silver class finishers from the previous race.
25s – #84 Paddock McLaren – Lake/Angliss
20s – #24 Century BMW – Templeton/Collins
15s – #74 Innovation Ginetta – Holland/Simpson
