Thrilling Donington Decider wraps up British GT campaign

DailySportsCar’s Birch-backed coverage of British GT continued from the ‘Donington Decider’ by Mo Rehman.

Six months since the season opener, a dramatic, weather-hit finale at Donington Park finalised both GT3 and GT4 crowns.

With championship pressure at its peak, two hours of relentless racing brought twists, collisions, and triumph for Barwell and 2 Seas Motorsport.

Barwell Motorsport’s #78 Lamborghini Huracán duo of Alex Martin and Sandy Mitchell became the fifth different race winner this year.

The Barwell team asserted their form in qualifying with a front-row knockout, although it was the #1 Lamborghini duo of reigning drivers’ champion Rob Collard and Hugo Cook ahead of the #78.

2 Seas Motorsport’s #42 Mercedes drivers Charles Dawson and Kiern Jewiss secured GT3 championship glory – despite contact and drama with both of their main championship contenders.  

With a 28.5-point lead heading into the Donington decider, 2 Seas's #42 duo faced pressure to deliver after their win at Brands Hatch.

Blackthorn’s #7 Aston Martin drivers, Giacomo Petrobelli and Jonny Adam, tied on 127 points with Optimum Motorsport’s #77 McLaren duo, Morgan Tillbrook and Marvin Kirchhöffer.

Dawson began the race in fourth place in the #42 Mercedes, with the nearest title contender, the #7 Blackthorn Aston, in sixth and the #77 Optimum McLaren in eighth.

Both teams knew they had to win and hope for misfortune to befall the #42 2 Seas Mercedes.

The first point of contact, literally, happened when Petrobelli caught Dawson, in third place, and the #7 Blackthorn driver attempted a move on the inside at the Old Hairpin.

Instantly, the two cars collided, spun in unison and faced each other on the wet grass on either side of the tarmac.

Later, Tillbrook collided with Dawson at Coppice, resulting in a damaged Mercedes front grille and a McLaren that continued until Tillbrook got stuck in a gravel trap.

Jewiss completed the race in fourth behind the other #18 2 Seas Mercedes of Maximilian Götz, earning them the Teams’ title.

GT4 was even more tense as the #90 Optimum McLaren Artura (Marc Warren and Jack Brown) needed to close a 3.5 point gap to the #71 Century BMW M4 GT4 Evo duo, Ravi Ramyead and Charlie Robertson.

The #90 drivers carried through an impressive charge up the grid, whilst the #17 Optimum McLaren (Harry George and Luca Hopkinson) secured Silver Cup championship honours whilst fending off the #71 BMW of Robertson right to the chequered flag.

Reigning GT4 champion Jack Brown in the #90 McLaren not only made history as the first back-to-back champion in British GT but also battled fiercely for the race win against Mahiki Racing’s #69 Ginetta G56, driven by Blake Angliss.  

Angliss's teammate, Luke Garlick, started the race from pole position and redeemed their woes from Brands when a fire halted their early race lead.

Optimum swept the board in GT4 with Brown and Warren’s GT4 Pro-Am title and Hopkinson and George’s Silver title.

With teams now considering the winter break, with British GT action for 2026 not set to resume until the end of April next year – almost 200 days away – so it’s time to consider winter storage for race cars, team equipment as well as personal summer road and track whips, and Birch has every solution. Just give us a shout.