The second race weekend of the 2025 British GT Championship season came and went in a flash. The Silverstone 500, the championship’s ‘Blue Riband’ event, traditionally sparks plenty of intrigue and generates storylines, and this year was no different.
After Optimum Motorsport’s McLaren GT3 Evos set the pace in practice and qualifying (https://www.dailysportscar.com/2025/04/26/optimum-mclaren-takes-silverstone-500-pole.html), it was Paradine Competition’s guest-entered BMW M4 GT3 Evo that emerged triumphant in the three-hour race. 2023 champions Darren Leung and Dan Harper took the win in fine style on their series return, etching their names on the RAC Trophy once again with a near-faultless performance. (https://www.dailysportscar.com/2025/04/27/paradine-storms-to-silverstone-500-win.html)
It wasn’t a stroll in the park for Paradine’s duo, though, as a one-second stop-go penalty for a minor pit stop infringement ensured the battle for the lead went down to the wire. Chasing Harper at the end was a fired-up Kiern Jewiss, who would finish just half a second behind in the Donington Park-winning 2 Seas Mercedes after reeling in the M4 in the closing laps.
For 2 Seas, while an additional couple of laps may have resulted in a second win on the bounce for its #18 crew, two strong results to start the season set up Jewiss and his teammate Charles Dawson nicely for the remainder of the campaign.
What happened to the McLarens? After controlling the race’s opening stint, Optimum’s pole-sitting #77 GT3 Evo would settle for a fine third after 77 tours of the Grand Prix circuit. Orange Racing by JMH’s McLaren also captured a strong result, finishing fifth behind Blackthorn’s #7 Aston Martin.
Elsewhere in the GT3 class, Buckingham-based Steller Motorsport - flying the flag for Audi Sport for the first time in British GT’s top class since 2020 - won the Silver Am sub-class with a ninth place finish overall, behind the Barwell Motorsport Lamborghinis and Paddock Motorsport’s McLaren.
GT4’s result produced echoes, with Century Motorsport adding to BMW’s big day with a win for its #71 M4 GT4 Evo of Charlie Robertson and Ravi Ramyead and a third-place finish for its #14 example. McLaren also ended up on the podium courtesy of a fine drive from Optimum Motorsport’s #90 duo of Marc Warren and Jack Brown to second.
Just off the podium, the #17 Optimum Motorsport Artura snatched fourth, ahead of Rob Boston Racing’s Porsche Cayman. It was a significant Sunday for the team, as the outfit is currently evaluating whether or not to continue on with the Cayman it has loaned from Team Parker Racing or switch back to the Mercedes-AMG GT4 it tested during the Media Day. (https://www.dailysportscar.com/2025/04/27/silverstone-500-pre-race-paddock-notes.html) A result like that will surely be factored into the final decision.
Like the opening weekend, Lotus team Mahiki Racing’s Emira GT4s showed flashes of pace pre-race, but would struggle to convert that into a strong finish. Two of the team’s three cars failed to make the end, while the sole-surviving #88 could only manage seventh.
With two of the four Endurance Cup rounds now completed, the British GT competitors look ahead to Rounds 3 and 4 of the season at Oulton Park in three weeks' time. As ever, huge crowds are expected trackside for the first sprint races of the year.
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