An extended report from the British GT’s Silverstone 500 season opener, covering all the action across GT3 and GT4.

Optimum Motorsport

The winners of the Silverstone 500 with their one-off #3 entry, with drivers Yasser Shahin and Garnet Patterson. Despite only leading the latter stages of the race, their strategy gamble paid off when a late safety car put them into the lead.

After avoiding the chaos at turn one, Shahin moved up to sixth from their ninth place starting position. By the time the first safety car of the race was called just five minutes in, Shahin had moved ahead of his #77 teammates.

They and everyone else took the opportunity to pit when the full course yellow (FCY) was deployed just 30 minutes into the race.

Then, after just 35 minutes in the car and running sixth, Shahin handed the car over to Patterson. Interestingly, they were one of the first GT3 cars to pit around this period, a clear strategy gamble to make up ground, as they would need a safety car with around 70 minutes to go to make sure Patterson could effectively take back over the car and get a free pit stop out of it.

By the second safety car period, the Australian duo were sat in 13th, with the opportunity allowing them to catch the pack back up.

After two stoppages for fellow GT3 competitors not long after the second safety car period had ended, Shahin pitted to hand the car back over to Patterson and again they were one of the only cars to pit during this period. This meant that, should there be no further FCYs or safety cars, everyone else would need to pit, but they had already done their stops and, crucially, were on the lead lap with an hour to go.

Despite a late safety car which allowed others to catch up at the end, Patterson kept the lead to take the win after a well timed strategic gamble from the team.

As for the #77 entry of Morgan Tillbrook and Ben Barnicoat, a mixture of misfortune and penalties squandered any podium hopes for the duo.

It was a difficult start for Tillbrook as, although he kept second initially, he soon dropped behind Rob Collard and was in battles with Orange Racing and Beechdean Motorsport.

Barnicoat recovered the car back to second during his stint and was fighting at the front. After 45 minutes in the car, he handed back over to Tillbrook, 15 minutes later than their #3 teammates.

However, moments later a FCY came out after two GT4 cars collided, putting them and those who had already pitted on the back foot, which then became a short safety car.

To make matters worse, the pair received a stop go penalty for a pit stop infringement. This ended any hope of them progressing further and, despite showing strong pace, they had to settle for seventh in the end.

Their third GT3 entry, driven by Marc Warren and Jack Brown in the McLaren 720S GT3 Evo, finished last of the GT3 runners.

Their #54 McLaren Artura GT4 entry finished third overall in GT4, with drivers Luca Hopkinson and Josh Stanton. The pair ran sixth in class for the opening period of the race but benefitted from the first FCY to jump to third, crossing the line seven places higher than where they started.

Innovation Racing

The debutants made history after taking their first British GT victory in their opening race in the series. The team, fielding a Ginetta GT4 this season, held off the challenge from the #21 MK Racing Aston Martin to take a jubilant victory.

After qualifying on GT4 pole, Thomas Holland held the early GT4 lead until the first FCY saw the #42 Toro Verde GT car benefit and take the lead.

However, after that car lost out with the later FCYs and safety cars, Holland and Hadley Simpson reclaimed the lead and never looked back to take a memorable debut win for the team.

Century Motorsport

Another team that played the strategy right.

Jonathon Beeson made a good start and avoided the chaos at turn one to make his way into the top ten.

Through the FCYs, they were able to make up ground and, during the one with just an hour to go, they opted not to stop like others and rose to fourth. When the final safety car came out, that was when they chose to bring Beeson in to give Charles Clark a run to the line, which secured second overall and made them the early championship leaders.

Their #24 GT4 entry, driven by Branden Templeton and Jack Collins, ended the season opener fourth after also benefitting from the late safety car.

Paradine Motorsport

After qualifying on pole position and leading the race for most of its duration, the #91 Paradine Motorsport entry may feel they deserved more from Sunday.

The GT World Challenge pairing of Darren Leung and Dan Harper competed in a one-off entry in their BMW M4 GT3 Evo.

Leung started the race well and held off any early pressure from behind. Despite pressure from Collard before the FCY, he kept the position and handed the car over to Harper.

Harper showed strong pace and made the most of the battles behind to build an almost eight second advantage by the hour mark.

Despite two safety car periods, the #91 continued to lead but, with just over 40 minutes to go, they lost the lead as Harper pushed to recover track position against the #3 Optimum Motorsport entry.

To make matters worse, the #44 Century Motorsport car stayed out when others pitted and, when the final FCY was deployed, it was able to move into second.

Despite a very strong performance, the #91 ultimately lost out on the Silverstone 500 due to strategy playing a key role in the race.

Meanwhile, their #6 entry, driven by Ian Loggie and Phil Keen, failed to make progress under the FCYs and finished where they started in 11th.

Orange Racing powered by JMH

After losing out in the first FCY of the race, Marcus Clutton and Simon Orange made a strong recovery to finish fourth overall and second in class.

After a solid start, they were running in the top five before pitting at the halfway point, just before a FCY, which dropped them down to 11th.

However, the FCY that followed with just 40 minutes to go allowed them to move back into the top five and, after a late move by Clutton on the #78 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini, they secured fourth overall.

MK Racing

After showing strong pace at media day, Will Orton and Jessica Hawkins put in a solid effort to finish second in GT4.

They battled closely with Innovation Racing throughout most of the race but, in the end, had to settle for second and take good points into the next round at Oulton Park.

It was a good start from Orton, who led the GT4 field early on. After dropping back during the race, they used strategy well to recover and take second at the flag.

WSR FlexiFly

A solid start to Ernie Graham and Colin Turkington’s British GT campaign, finishing seventh overall and third in GT4 Pro-Am.

The pair were thrown straight into the deep end in the longest race of the season but were able to come away with a podium in class and a strong points haul.

Paddock Motorsport

The #9 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo, driven by Mark Smith and Martin Plowman, had battles throughout the field on their way to ninth overall.

Starting at the back of the GT3 grid, they worked their way through to finish fifth in the GT3 Pro-Am category.

2 Seas Motorsport

It was a disaster season opener for the reigning champions, as only one of their three entries managed to finish.

At turn one on the opening lap, it was disaster for the team, with the #1 and #18 cars colliding, sending Charles Dawson into the gravel at Copse.

Later in the lap, the #18, with Kevin Tse behind the wheel, also went off into the gravel following damage as a result of the collision with his teammate.

Although the team were able to make it back to the pits and return to the track for a few laps later in the race, they ultimately retired the car, marking a tough blow in what was a one-off race appearance for the 2025 champions.

Meanwhile, their other entry, with Andrew Gilbert behind the wheel at the start, ended the opening lap down in 12th.

Just after 30 minutes, Gilbert handed over to Aaron Walker. After being caught out by a FCY, the pair dropped to the rear of the GT3 field by the halfway point.

Then, after a pair of GT3 competitors stopped on track in quick succession, the pair benefitted and moved up to eighth, which is where they would eventually finish, salvaging a decent result from what had been a disappointing weekend for the team.

Barwell Motorsport

It was a tough result for their #63 entry, with Rob Collard and Hugo Cook unable to finish after their Lamborghini went up in smoke in the final hour of the race.

Prior to the failure, the pair had been running in the podium places and were challenging the leaders in the early stages of the race at the hands of Collard. At one stage, he was within a second of the leading Paradine Motorsport car before the FCY was thrown at the 30 minute mark.

Nevertheless, that side of the garage left the weekend pointless and will have to take the positives from their performance into the next round.

The #78 entry, driven by Alex Martin and Jarrod Waberski, fared better, taking fifth overall after running in the top six for the majority of the race.

Martin had a tough start as he was forced to avoid contact between the two 2 Seas Motorsport cars, dropping from sixth to ninth.

They were then able to recover to sixth by the halfway point at the hands of Waberski, before the late safety car allowed them to move up to fourth.

Despite dropping back to fifth in the end, it was still a decent start to the season for the #78 entry.

Mahiki Racing

Firstly, their #71 entry of Ed McDermott and Luke Garlick was unable to even start the season opener after McDermott’s hand was shut in the car door during a driver change practice.

Their other GT3 entry, driven by Steven Lake and Josh Rowledge, made solid progress, rising from 16th on the grid to finish tenth overall.

The #84 GT4 entry exited the race after 34 laps after Revie Lake made contact with the #27 Grange Racing by FSR car, which brought an end to both of their races and resulted in a FCY and safety car.

Rodin Motorsport

Single-seater giants Rodin would have hoped for a better debut in the British GT Championship this weekend after they were unable to finish.

Cameron Campbell made contact with the #24 Century Motorsport BMW at Stowe, resulting in damage that left the Ferrari stricken on track.

Prior to the incident, they had made progress into the top ten, but the contact at the safety car restart while trying to get past the GT4 car ended their race due to significant rear damage.

Beechdean Motorsport

The #7 entry, driven by Andrew Howard and Ross Gunn, finished a strong sixth overall in the season opener after an issue almost ended their race late on.

After running in the top three during the opening stages, a problem with around 45 minutes to go saw Howard forced to stop temporarily on track. However, he was able to make it back to the pits and hand the car over to Gunn, who brought it home in sixth place.

Grange Racing by FSR

The #27 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 Evo, driven by Daniel Lavery and Darren Turner, had an opening race to forget after Turner collided with the #84 Mahiki Racing GT4 car at Brooklands, ending both races and bringing out a FCY.

Toro Verde GT

At one stage it looked as though the team might take GT4 honours, but their #42 entry lost out through the FCYs and dropped back towards the rear of the field.

The Ginetta G56 GT4 Evo, driven by Luke Shaw and Jack Mitchell, did recover some ground towards the end to finish fifth in class.

Their #8 entry, driven by Ian Duggan and Tom Bradshaw, crossed the line eighth.

Townsend Racing powered by Fox Motorsport

It was a disappointing opening round for James Townsend and Joe Wheeler in the #40 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 Evo, as they finished last of the runners.

Early in the race, Townsend found the gravel, which triggered the first FCY. After re-joining a few laps down, the pair were unable to recover and remained at the back of the field.

The British GT Championship will be back in action on May 23–25 at Oulton Park for the second round of the season.