Barwell Motorsport made British GT history at Brands Hatch last weekend by sealing a historic eighth British GT Championship Teams’ title, adding a further hat-trick of honours along the way.
Alex Martin and Jarrod Waberski claimed the Silver-Am Drivers’ title aboard the #78 DexNET Lighting Controls/DAW/T4 Intelligent Infrastructure/Dama Fortuna Premium Tequila-backed Lamborghini Huracan. Waberski also triumphed in the tightly contested SRO GT Academy contest and will now receive a funded seat in next year’s 24 Hours of Spa.
On the other side of the garage, Rob Collard lifted the inaugural GT3 Masters title after a hard-fought campaign. However, there was also disappointment for he and Hugo Cook after they came agonisingly close to the Overall GT3 Drivers’ Championship, leading the race before a freak off left the #63 Collard Group/J&S Accessories/Dama Fortuna car in the gravel.
Barwell’s twin Lamborghinis headed into the finale firmly in the frame for glory, topping the Teams’ points with Collard and Cook leading the overall Drivers’ Championship and Martin and Waberski heading Silver-Am. The fact two of those three leads were converted into championship victories despite a challenging final race goes a long way to measuring the immense team effort the crews have put in across the year.
With no pre-event testing available on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix loop, all crews went into opening practice on Saturday cold. Regardless both the #63 and #78 fared well in the times, setting things up nicely for Qualifying.
With each driver’s best lap combined to set the grid, Collard and Cook annexed a front-row start while Martin struggled for grip on his run with he and Waberski lining up seventh.
Knowing they would have to spend an extra 20 seconds stationary on their pit stop after their victory last time out at Donington Park, Collard needed a flying start to try and reduce the deficit. And he got an all-timer, launching alongside Kevin Tse’s pole-sitting Mercedes-AMG before braving the outside line at Paddock Hill Bend and sweeping across to claim the lead in one sensational sequence.
Now ahead, Collard was under pressure to build a lead. He pressed on, keeping the charging McLaren of Simon Orange at bay while also building a buffer back to his chief title rival, the #77 Optimum McLaren. The gap had just passed the 20 seconds he needed when a sudden snap of oversteer entering the blind Sheene Curve heartbreakingly sent Collard spinning into the gravel, ending his and Cook’s title hopes. Collard did get dragged out and continued, but the impact had damaged the car’s ABS system, meaning he and Cook could do little more than reach the chequered flag. They did at least score some points for ninth, which was enough to secure third in the standings after a mightily impressive campaign that had already brought two outright race wins.
That left the #78 carrying the torch for the team. Martin kept things clean at the start and then, once his tyres were at their peak, pulled off some great moves to climb the order. A superbly timed switchback on Jonathon Beeson’s BMW into Paddock Hill allowed Martin to slide past on the brakes at Druids to grab sixth overall. That then became fifth after the trouble for the #63 and Martin then slipped past Morgan Tillbrook’s Optimum McLaren for fourth right before the pit window opened.
Martin handed to Waberski and a clean swap got the South African ace back out just ahead of the rival BMW, now in the hands of Charles Clark. Despite having to use old tyres Waberski defended hard, repeatedly seeing off the BMW’s attacks until the boosted BMW finally found a gap and the extra grip to power past through traffic.
Waberski continued to set quick and consistent lap times, eventually taking the final chequered flag of the season in fifth before then being promoted to fourth after a post-race exclusion for the #90 McLaren. The result was more than enough to cement Martin and Waberski as the Silver-Am champions, with Waberski also triumphing in the SRO GT Academy thanks to his pace, consistency and performance across the course of an incredibly impressive maiden British GT campaign.
Barwell Motorsport also sealed its eighth GT3 Teams’ title, 43.5pts clear of Optimum Motorsport. It means the team regains the title it last celebrated back in 2024.
“I’m really happy to finish the season as Silver-Am champions. There is a tinge of disappointment that we couldn’t get the Overall title, but we didn’t have the ultimate pace this weekend. I was pleased with some of the overtakes. The one on the BMW was all set up through traffic and I had to take my chances when they came up as it’s tough to pass here. It’s also been an incredible season for the team, and we really are a team here with a great relationship between the two cars. It’s been great.”
“It’s been an incredible season and I’m really happy to wrap up both the Silver-Am and the SRO GT Academy titles. Obviously, there’s a slight disappointment about the Overall; we gave it a good go, but it wasn’t meant to be for us. Huge thanks to the entire Barwell team for this season. To be in the fight for the Overall Drivers’ title until the end shows how strong the year has been and to come away with two titles is just amazing for my first year of British GT. I’m really excited to see what the future brings.”
“I’m absolutely gutted. Things were going to plan and we were building the gap we needed when the rear just let go and I went round. I don’t know what started it but before I knew it, I was I the gravel. Until we can download the car, I really don’t know what happened. After I was dragged out the ABS had gone so all we could do was limp it home. Some years it is just your year, when things go for you, and others they don’t. This was the latter for us, but we stayed in the fight right until the end and I’m delighted for the Teams’ Championship because everybody worked so hard across the season.”
“What can you do? Rob did an incredible start and produced one hell of an opening stint, and then one moment undoes us. I can’t blame him because how many times has Rob put us into winning positions? It’s just unfortunate, but it’s all part of the sport. It’s still been an incredible year. As a pairing, Rob and I have achieved a huge amount, and that’s also reflected in us all winning the Teams’ championship.”
“Brands Hatch proved a real rollercoaster of emotions for us, and while it’s a shame to miss out on the Overall Drivers’ Championship, we cannot sniff at winning four of the six titles we were in the fight for. Rob has been a standout driver for us for many years and has contributed hugely to the success of this entire team, so while it’s difficult to miss out today, we are still incredibly proud of what we have achieved this year. He and Hugo have proven a really potent pairing and there are definitely titles in their future.
“I’m delighted for Alex and Jarrod, who fully deserved to be Silver-Am Champions after their efforts this season. They’ve both been a pleasure to work with and the fact we enjoyed two such competitive crews this season put us in a great position for a historic eighth GT3 Teams’ Championship. Across this year we’ve produced some wonderful efforts, including winning epic endurance races such as Spa and Donington Park, and surpassing 30 British GT victories with Lamborghini Squadra Corse. In many ways that’s as important as winning championships. I’m incredibly proud of the hard work of everybody in this team and we’ll certainly be celebrating this one.”
