British GT Championship - Round 1 - Victory on GT3 debut for Dawson & Jewiss!

The 2025 British GT Championship has kicked off in style, as Charles Dawson and Kiern Jewiss are victorious on their GT3 debuts, as reigning GT4 champion wins the class.

QUALIFYING

Qualifying one began under clear skies, with Kevin Tse in the #18 2 Seas Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo immediately setting the early pace. However, the session quickly turned when Charles Dawson, in the sister #42 car, surged to the top with an impressive lap, placing both 2 Seas Motorsport entries firmly in contention. A brief moment of concern came near the end of the session when Chun Cheong Ip, making his debut in the Honda NSX GT3, went off-track at the inside of the Old Hairpin. The incident briefly disrupted the rhythm for several drivers.

In qualifying two, Sandy Mitchell in the #78 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2 laid down the early marker but was soon eclipsed by Maximilian Götz, only for Kiern Jewiss to immediately go even quicker. With no further improvements in the final minutes, the #42 pairing of Dawson and Jewiss secured pole position, followed by the sister car of Götz and Tse in second. Martin and Mitchell’s #78 Lamborghini claimed a strong third heading into race day.

The first GT4 qualifying session saw Aiden Neate dominate in the #84 Mahiki Racing Lotus Emira GT4, going fastest after topping the first two sectors and then improving further with a 1:32.854. Marc Warren in the #90 Optimum Motorsport McLaren Artura GT4 slotted into second, just 0.095 seconds behind. Will Burns, driving the #41 Rob Boston Racing Porsche Cayman GT4, made a late charge to grab fourth. Unfortunately, the session didn’t go as smoothly for all, as the #88 Lotus was sidelined by technical problems and failed to register a lap-time.

In Q2, it was a close-run affair on aggregate times, seeing Charlie Robertson in the #71 Century Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 Evo holding the top spot, only to be leapfrogged by Jack Mitchell in the #69 Lotus, and defending champion Jack Brown in the #90 McLaren moments later. Phil Keen posted the fastest individual lap time in his debut run in a GT4 Mercedes, but only saw him placed fourth. With minutes to go, Josh Miller reclaimed the top spot on aggregate times in the #84 Lotus, locking in pole position for Mahiki Racing. Following a post-qualifying investigation, the #84 Lotus along with another another Mahiki Racing entry were disqualified for parc-ferme breaches, promoting the #90 Optimum Motorsport McLaren Artura GT4 of Jack Brown and Marc Warren to pole position.

RACE

The green flag waved to kick off the 2025 campaign, with Charles Dawson making a strong launch from pole. Kevin Tse looked to challenge, but it was Alex Martin in the Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini who stunned both, diving up the inside into turn one to snatch second place, and briefly eyeing the lead. By the end of the opening lap, Dawson had already pulled out a 1.1 second gap, asserting early control at the front. The battles behind were intense, particularly in the GT3 Silver class, where Andrew Howard seized the class lead from Chun Cheong Ip in the debuting Honda NSX GT3.

Further back, a thrilling four-way scrap for eighth position broke out between the #1 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini, #3 Optimum Motorsport McLaren, #9 Paddock Motorsport McLaren and #66 Team Parker Racing Porsche. Mark Smith in the #9 muscled his way past Matt Topham in the #1 and then set his sights on Mike Price in the #3. 

Drama stuck in the Silver class when Andrew Howard, having just taken the lead from Ip, was delayed by the rejoining #1 Lamborghini of Topham at the Old Hairpin. Ip pounced on the opportunity to reclaim the class lead, though the battle wasn’t over just yet. In GT4, Aiden Neate put on a charge from the back of the field, eventually working his way up to second by passing the #71 BMW M4 GT4 Evo of Ravi Ramyead after a prolonged duel.

A pair of full course yellows unfortunately disrupted the flow of the race, firstly when Ian Duggan spun the #88 Mahiki Racing Lotus spinning into the gravel at Coppice. He was being lapped by Giacomo Petrobelli in the #7 Blackthorn Aston Martin, who was simultaneously battling Morgan Tillbrook in the #77 Optimum Motorsport McLaren 720s GT3 Evo.

Shortly after the race resumed, the second full course yellow was brought out when the #66 Team Parker Racing Porsche suffered heavy front-end damage after hitting the tyre barriers at the chicane, scattering debris down the start/finish straight. The Porsche would ultimately retire from the season opener.

In the closing stages, a tense duel for the overall lead developed between Sandy Mitchell and Kiern Jewiss. The gap closed to just a few tenths, but Jewiss cleverly used GT4 traffic to defend his position. With just one second left on the clock, Jewiss began the final lap and held firm to take the chequered flag, securing victory on his GT4 debut alongside Charles Dawson. Reigning team champions Barwell Motorsport claimed a strong second, with the sister 2 Seas Motorsport Mercedes Götz and Tse rounding out the podium.

Silver class honours went to the #97 Beechdean Motorsport Aston Martin of Andrew Howard and Tom Wood, who successfully fended off the Honda pairing of Garlick and Ip. In GT4, Jack Brown and Marc Warren took a commanding win for Optimum Motorsport, continuing their momentum as Brown looks to defend his 2024 title. The pairing of Ravi Ramyead and Charlie Robertson secured second, while Jon Currie and Phil Keen took third in the Pro-Am category.

Aiden Neate and Josh Miller claimed GT4 Silver class honours in the #84 Lotus, followed by the #14 Century Motorsport BMW. As Donington Park marked the opening round of the Endurance Cup, Pro-Am honours went to the #12 Team Parker Racing Mercedes of Ed McDermott and Seb Morris. The #41 Rob Boston Racing Porsche of Will Burns and Jamie Orton took the Silver class victory in the Endurance standings.

BLUE RIBAND SILVERSTONE 500 AWAITS

The second round of the British GT Championship heads to the prestigious Silverstone 500 at the end of April, where the Spirit of Race Ferrari 296 GT3 will make its eagerly anticipated debut. Endurance Cup contenders will face off once more in a three-hour showdown at the home of British motorsport.

Images © SRO/JEP