+ Grange/FSR Aston beats MK’s Hawkins/Orton on countback
+ Lights-to-flag victory for Gamble and Stanton
+ Hawkins and Orton crowned Silver champions
+ Brands Hatch Result
Grange/FSR’s Daniel Lavery and Darren Turner beat MK Racing’s Jessica Hawkins and Will Orton to the GT4 title on countback after a thrilling final lap saw the cars take the chequered flag separated by just two tenths of a second.
A comfortable race victory went to George Gamble and Josh Stanton whose Optimum McLaren led from start-to-finish, but it was the fight for championship honours behind that will live long in the memory as Turner, Orton and Jack Mitchell all scrapped over a second place that was only decided at the final kink of the season’s last lap.
Orton’s over/under manoeuvre that resulted in his Aston Martin bouncing two wheels across the grass wasn’t quite enough to land him and Hawkins the overall title, but they did at least leave the #BattleOfBrands as Silver class champions.
The overall tie, settled by Lavery and Turner’s superior number of wins, was mirrored in the teams’ standings where Grange/FSR took top honours in their maiden season of British GT. The same combination had already clinched the Pro-Am crown at Donington.
Optimum’s GT4 victory, meanwhile, was its third with the Artura in as many years at Brands Hatch.
McLAREN WINS, BUT IT’S LAVERY AND TURNER’S DAY
Given its qualifying performance, and with no additional compensation time in the pits, Optimum’s McLaren always looked odds on to round out the season with victory – a feeling backed up when Gamble rocketed into an early lead ahead of Paddock’s Artura driven by Blake Angliss.
Gamble extended the gap to almost eight seconds by the pit window where his co-driver was handed an even healthier lead once the Paddock car served its extra 20 seconds for winning last time out. In clean air and under no pressure Stanton simply sauntered to his second win in four starts with Gamble.
In contrast, all of the pressure was focused on the title contenders behind, and the fight literally went down to the wire.
Innovation Racing lost its chance when Hadley Simpson was forced to pull the Ginetta over after a left-rear puncture, leaving the then-third placed Branden Templeton and Jack Collins in the championship’s box seat before their Century BMW served compensation and silver time during its pitstop.
That opened the door for Grange/FSR’s duo to move themselves into contention. Lavery had kept the #27 Vantage inside the top six before pitting for Turner, and that became a net second once the cars ahead had served their longer stops. Revie Lake applied the initial pressure in the recovering Paddock Artura but a drive through for a refuelling infringement took the #84 out of the fight.
Turner then found himself in a potential championship-winning position but was soon under intense pressure from Jack Mitchell’s Toro Verde Ginetta and the MK Aston that now had Orton at the controls. Orton needed to find a way past both cars to stand a chance of snatching the title and was gifted an opportunity when contact between Turner and Mitchell cost the latter a place at Druids.
Both Astons were now tied on points, albeit with Grange/FSR ahead on previous results, with just minutes to go. The race craft that followed was exceptional as Orton desperately searched for an opening in the face of Turner’s stout defence.
Things came to a head exiting Stirling’s on the final lap when Orton’s run on Turner almost resulted in him carving out an opening at Clearways. Dipping a wheel on the inside of Clark Curve was his only hope of making the move work but also slowed his momentum just enough for Grange/FSR to hold on, sending the team’s garage into a state of pandemonium.
Mitchell and his co-driver Luke Shaw finished right behind in fourth, while Lake and Angliss recovered from their penalty to snatch fifth and the final spot on the Silver podium.
Templeton and Collins, who came into the weekend as joint championship leaders, ultimately slipped to third in the final overall standings as a result of their pitstop time that restricted them to sixth on the road.
All eyes now turn to 2027 and Snetterton, which hosts the opening round of British GT’s 35th season on April 10/11.
