GT3
Simon Orange and Marcus Clutton produced a sensational championship turnaround, converting a 21.5-point deficit into their first victory of the season — and, more importantly, the 2026 British GT3 drivers’ title.
Five crews arrived at the finale with a mathematical chance of taking the crown, but the championship pendulum swung decisively in Orange Racing by JMH’s favour after Orange delivered a superb opening stint and Rob Collard made an uncharacteristic mistake.
From there, Clutton was able to control the race and cruise to the chequered flag 16.5 seconds clear, completing one of the most dramatic comebacks in British GT history.
The triumph also ended McLaren’s long wait for a senior-class British GT title. Steve O’Rourke and Tim Sugden were the last drivers to achieve the feat for Woking, taking the 1998 crown with EMKA Racing’s iconic F1 GTR LT.
Morgan Tillbrook and Ben Barnicoat emerged as the only other realistic title threat after Collard spun from the lead shortly before the pitstops. But too much time had already been lost, leaving Barnicoat with an enormous deficit to claw back after the driver changes.
Even with 30 minutes remaining, 21 seconds separated him from Clutton. It was simply too much.
McLaren initially appeared set for an overall podium lockout, only for a post-race technical infringement to strip Optimum’s Marc Warren and Jack Brown of third place.
That promoted Century Motorsport’s Jonathon Beeson and Charles Clark to the final overall podium position of the season. Their BMW also inherited Silver-Am victory, although the result was not enough to overturn the class points deficit to Alex Martin and Jarrod Waberski, who battled through to fourth.
Waberski could nevertheless reflect on a remarkable campaign. His consistently strong performances earned him British GT’s fully funded SRO GT Academy prize drive at the 2027 24 Hours of Spa. Just two points ultimately separated him from Clark in the final championship standings.
Barwell Motorsport may have missed out on the drivers’ crown, but the team still had plenty to celebrate after securing its eighth British GT teams’ championship.
Collard also took consolation in becoming the inaugural winner of the new-for-2026 Masters title, awarded to the highest-placed GT3 driver aged 50 or over.
In hindsight, perhaps Orange and Clutton’s championship success should not have been quite such a surprise.
Compensation Time applied to both cars starting ahead of the McLaren, meaning a strong opening stint would put Orange and Clutton in prime position to fight for victory — and potentially the title itself.
For Collard, the task was equally clear: beat pole-sitter Kevin Tse into the first corner, build a sufficient advantage over his championship rivals and hand the Lamborghini to Hugo Cook with their title lead intact.
The first part of that plan was executed brilliantly.
Collard swept around 2 Seas Motorsport’s Mercedes-AMG into Paddock Hill before completing the move under braking for Druids. Orange soon followed into second when Tse ran wide at Stirling’s, allowing the Lamborghini and McLaren to break away from the chasing pack.
Behind them, the gap to title contenders Tillbrook and Martin stretched beyond the crucial 20-second threshold required to be served during the pitstops.
Orange, however, refused to let Collard disappear.
The McLaren driver consistently matched the Lamborghini’s pace, frequently running within a second of Collard as the pair picked their way through GT4 traffic.
For Barwell, the championship was still unfolding perfectly. If Collard could maintain his advantage, the Huracan would rejoin in second after the pitstops — comfortably enough to keep its title challenge alive.
Then, just beyond the 55-minute mark, everything changed.
At Sheene Curve, Collard lost control and slid into the gravel.
The resulting Full Course Yellow gave Barwell time to recover the car, but by then the championship picture had been transformed.
Orange and Clutton were the immediate beneficiaries.
A victory would now be enough to leapfrog Tillbrook/Barnicoat, Martin/Waberski and, crucially, Collard/Cook. With more than 20 seconds in hand as the field entered the mandatory pitstop window, the McLaren crew suddenly had the championship in their own hands.
They never let it go.
Barnicoat rejoined fourth after the stops, behind Jack Brown — whose co-driver Marc Warren had jumped Tillbrook — and Chris Lulham’s 2 Seas Mercedes-AMG.
The Mercedes was subsequently penalised for a pitstop infringement and surrendered third place to Barnicoat on the out-lap. That briefly left the Optimum McLarens running second and third before Brown moved aside.
But Clutton was already too far ahead.
With half an hour remaining, Barnicoat still had 21 seconds to recover. The gap proved insurmountable, allowing Clutton to manage the final laps and cross the line 16.5 seconds clear.
The title was his.
Further back, Clark eventually prevailed in an entertaining battle with Waberski, before the BMW was promoted to third overall following Optimum’s post-race penalty.
Andrew Howard finished fifth overall and secured a Pro-Am podium alongside Beechdean co-driver Ross Gunn, who made his 157th and final British GT start.
Tse and Lulham completed the top six, ahead of Optimum’s Mike Price and Callum Macleod, while series debutants Todd Kingsford and Aaron Walker brought the 2 Seas Mercedes-AMG home eighth.
Paddock Motorsport was awarded British GT’s Team of the Weekend prize after an extraordinary effort to get its new Porsche onto the grid. The car was only completed in the early hours of Saturday morning following a week-long logistical adventure across the continent.
But while the GT3 championship belonged to Orange and Clutton, the GT4 title fight delivered its own last-lap thriller.
GT4
GT4 Grange/FSR’s Daniel Lavery and Darren Turner beat MK Racing’s Jessica Hawkins and Will Orton to the championship on countback after a breathless finale in which just two tenths of a second separated the cars at the chequered flag.
George Gamble and Josh Stanton dominated the race itself, leading from start to finish in Optimum’s McLaren Artura.
But behind them, the championship battle was anything but straightforward.
Turner, Orton and Jack Mitchell spent the closing stages scrapping over second place, with the title ultimately decided at the final kink of the final lap of the season.
Orton’s daring over/under manoeuvre even sent his Aston Martin bouncing across the grass on two wheels. It was a spectacular attempt, but ultimately not quite enough to overturn the championship.
Hawkins and Orton could at least celebrate the Silver-class crown as they departed the #BattleOfBrands.
The overall GT4 championship tie was settled by Lavery and Turner’s superior number of victories, while Grange/FSR also secured the teams’ title in its maiden British GT season.
The same combination had already wrapped up the Pro-Am crown at Donington.
For Optimum, the race win was nevertheless significant. It marked the team’s third GT4 victory at Brands Hatch in three years with the Artura.
Optimum’s McLaren looked like the car to beat from the moment qualifying ended.
With no additional compensation time to serve in the pits, George Gamble was always expected to be in contention for victory — and he wasted no time proving why.
Gamble rocketed into an early lead ahead of Paddock Motorsport’s Artura, driven by Blake Angliss, and steadily stretched the gap to almost eight seconds by the pit window.
Paddock’s additional 20-second penalty for winning the previous race then handed Josh Stanton an even healthier advantage when the driver changes were completed.
From there, Stanton simply controlled the race.
With clean air and no immediate pressure, he cruised to his second victory in four starts alongside Gamble.
Behind them, however, the championship fight was reaching boiling point.
Innovation Racing’s hopes suffered a major blow when Hadley Simpson was forced to pull the Ginetta off with a left-rear puncture. That temporarily put Branden Templeton and Jack Collins in the championship driving seat — until their Century BMW was forced to serve its compensation and Silver time during the pitstop.
The door was suddenly open for Grange/FSR.
Lavery had kept the #27 Aston Martin inside the top six before handing over to Turner, who emerged with the car in a net second once the cars ahead had completed their longer stops.
Paddock’s recovering Artura, with Revie Lake now at the wheel, initially applied the pressure. But a drive-through penalty for a refuelling infringement removed the #84 from contention.
Turner was now in a potential championship-winning position.
Then the pressure arrived.
Jack Mitchell’s Toro Verde Ginetta and the MK Racing Aston Martin, now driven by Orton, closed in. Orton knew he needed to find a way past both cars if he was to keep his championship hopes alive.
He got his opportunity when contact between Turner and Mitchell cost the Ginetta a place at Druids.
Suddenly, the two Astons were level on points.
Grange/FSR held the advantage only because of its superior previous results.
And there were just minutes remaining.
What followed was a masterclass in defensive driving from Turner — and increasingly desperate racecraft from Orton.
Lap after lap, Orton searched for an opening. Turner gave him nothing.
Then came the final lap.
Exiting Stirling’s, Orton got the run he needed and looked to make his move before Clearways. The opportunity was there, but so was the risk.
Dipping a wheel to the inside at Clark Curve was his only realistic chance of making the move stick. But the manoeuvre cost just enough momentum.
Turner held on.
The chequered flag fell, and the Grange/FSR garage erupted.
Lavery and Turner had done it.
Their championship had been decided by the finest of margins — and, fittingly, the final battle of the season ended with the two title contenders separated by just two tenths.
Mitchell and co-driver Luke Shaw finished fourth, while Lake and Angliss recovered from their penalty to claim fifth and the final Silver-class podium place.
Templeton and Collins, who arrived at the finale as joint championship leaders, ultimately slipped to third in the final standings after their pitstop time restricted them to sixth on the road.
Brands Hatch delivered everything a British GT season finale should: championship swings, last-lap drama, unexpected reversals and titles decided by the smallest of margins.
In GT3, Orange and Clutton turned a 21.5-point deficit into championship glory and gave McLaren its long-awaited senior-class crown.
In GT4, Lavery and Turner held their nerve through a frantic final lap to claim the title on countback.
Two championships. Two dramatic finales.
And one unforgettable #BattleOfBrands.
