Snetterton delivered a dramatic double-header as Optimum Motorsport dominated the weekend, while both British GT championships were turned on their heads with just two races remaining. Marc Warren and Jack Brown claimed a maiden GT3 victory in Race 1 before Morgan Tillbrook and Ben Barnicoat made it two wins from two for the McLaren squad in Race 2, moving them into the championship lead. In GT4, Innovation Racing’s Hadley Simpson and Thomas Holland took the opening race before Optimum’s Josh Stanton and George Gamble responded with a commanding second-race victory, leaving Jessica Hawkins and Will Orton at the head of a tightly packed title battle.
Race 1
GT3
Marc Warren and Jack Brown converted pole position into their maiden British GT3 victory in the opening 60-minute race at Snetterton, as the reigning GT4 champions ended Mercedes-AMG and Lamborghini’s nine-race stranglehold at the Norfolk circuit.
The Optimum McLaren 720S GT3 Evo crossed the line 1.4 seconds clear of Barwell Motorsport’s Lamborghini Huracan shared by Rob Collard and Hugo Cook after a largely processional second half of the race.
Simon Orange and Marcus Clutton completed the revised podium in the second McLaren, inheriting third after Morgan Tillbrook was handed a 30-second post-race penalty for his clash with Paddock Motorsport’s Mark Smith.
Warren made the perfect start from his maiden GT3 pole, but Collard immediately demoted Tillbrook from the front row, moving the Barwell Lamborghini into second through Riches.
The McLaren and Lamborghini then settled into formation, running nose-to-tail until both teams made their mandatory pitstops at the same time.
With neither car required to serve Compensation Time, Brown and Cook emerged in the same order as their team-mates. The McLaren initially appeared reluctant to select a gear, but Brown quickly established a two-second advantage.
Cook remained within striking distance throughout the closing stages, occasionally trimming the deficit, but the Barwell driver was unable to mount a serious challenge around Snetterton’s notoriously difficult-to-pass layout.
The battle for third was more eventful. Tillbrook and team-mate Nicki Thiim had initially held the position, but contact with Smith’s Paddock McLaren sent the latter into the barriers approaching the Bomb Hole.
Although Tillbrook crossed the line in third, a 30-second penalty dropped the Optimum entry to fourth in the final classification.
That promoted Orange and Clutton to the podium, continuing their quietly consistent campaign despite carrying seven seconds of Compensation Time for their runner-up finish at Spa.
The penalty could ultimately prove less damaging than it first appeared for Optimum. Because the 30 seconds was applied after the race, Tillbrook and Barnicoat retained fourth place and will start the second race from third, while the penalty also means they no longer have Compensation Time to serve.
Alex Martin’s race was compromised on the opening lap when the championship leader spun. He and Barwell team-mate Jarrod Waberski nevertheless recovered to fifth after serving the maximum Compensation Time during their pitstop.
Beechdean Aston Martin took sixth despite Andrew Howard suffering a high-speed spin, while Rodin Motorsport’s Ferrari and the 2 Seas Motorsport Mercedes-AMG completed the top eight.
The result marked a landmark day for Warren and Brown, whose victory was the third overall success for a Silver-Am pairing this season – already a record for a single British GT campaign.
Brown also maintained his remarkable Snetterton record, having now taken a victory at the Norfolk circuit in each of the last five seasons.
GT4
Innovation Racing’s Hadley Simpson and Thomas Holland converted an early advantage into a controlled GT4 victory, extending their championship lead in the process.
Simpson started second behind pole-sitter Josh Stanton but moved ahead when the Optimum McLaren driver ran wide at Riches.
The early race was then disrupted when Century Motorsport’s Luke Shaw misjudged his braking for the Wilson hairpin and struck Revie Lake’s Paddock McLaren.
That left Simpson leading Daniel Lavery’s Grange/FSR Aston Martin, with Stanton and Century’s Jack Collins following.
Lavery’s defensive driving held Stanton back long enough for Simpson to establish a sizeable gap, with the Innovation Ginetta nearly seven seconds clear by the time Stanton finally found a way past the Aston Martin shortly before the pit window opened.
The gap became effectively decisive once Compensation Time was taken into account. Holland inherited the Ginetta without a handicap and brought it home comfortably to secure Innovation’s second win of the season.
Optimum’s McLaren was removed from contention by its additional Compensation Time, while the Ginetta involved in the opening-lap incident later received a stop-go penalty, forcing Jack Mitchell back into the pits after taking over from Shaw.
Jessica Hawkins and Will Orton consequently moved into second for MK Racing, securing their fourth runner-up finish in the last five races.
Collins and Branden Templeton completed the GT4 podium, while Lavery and Darren Turner took fourth overall and Pro-Am honours despite carrying 10 seconds of Compensation Time for their Spa victory.
Stanton and George Gamble finished fifth for Optimum, with Mitchell and Shaw classified sixth.
Holland and Simpson therefore leave Race 1 having strengthened their championship position, while Warren and Brown’s breakthrough GT3 victory adds another Silver-Am pairing to British GT’s overall winners’ list.
Race 2
GT3
Morgan Tillbrook and Ben Barnicoat became British GT3’s first two-time winners of 2026 as Optimum Motorsport completed a dominant Snetterton weekend with victory in the second 60-minute race, moving the McLaren pairing into the championship lead with two races remaining.
The 720S GT3 finished ahead of Simon Orange and Marcus Clutton’s McLaren, which once again overcame Compensation Time to secure its third consecutive podium, while Beechdean Motorsport’s Andrew Howard and Ross Gunn completed the overall top three.
Tillbrook and Barnicoat’s victory was particularly significant given the role played by Optimum’s Race 1 penalty. The 30-second post-race sanction cost the crew a podium and three points, but also removed the five seconds of Compensation Time that would otherwise have been carried into Race 2.
Barnicoat made an immediate impact from the start, passing Clutton for second before Riches and then settling onto Gunn’s rear bumper. The leading Aston Martin and McLaren quickly broke clear of the chasing pack, with Ben Green, Josh Buchan and Dean Macdonald among those left behind.
Gunn remained tucked behind Howard through the opening stint, and Beechdean appeared on course to end its long wait for a GT3 victory when Howard emerged from the pitstops with the lead still intact.
That advantage lasted barely two corners.
With Tillbrook closing rapidly, Howard spun at Wilson, losing enough time for the Optimum McLaren to slip through and assume the lead.
Howard recovered and reduced the deficit to around four seconds, but could not find a way past Tillbrook as the race entered its closing stages. His challenge was soon complicated further by the advancing Orange, who was rapidly closing on the Aston Martin.
A mistake from Howard through the fast Coram right-hander on the penultimate lap finally allowed Orange through into second.
Orange then closed to within 0.8 seconds of Tillbrook on the final tour, but the McLaren had done enough to deny him a second victory of the weekend and extend his run of consecutive podium finishes to three.
Optimum therefore completed a remarkable weekend with three outright wins from four races, with Marc Warren and Jack Brown having taken the opening GT3 contest earlier in the day.
The result also transformed the championship picture. Tillbrook and Barnicoat now lead Alex Martin and Jarrod Waberski by 13.5 points after Barwell’s Lamborghini received a 30-second post-race penalty for final-lap contact, dropping it from sixth to ninth.
The 2 Seas Mercedes-AMG might also have challenged for the podium, but Kevin Tse spun at Wilson while defending from Orange. He and Green were classified seventh.
Barwell’s #63 Lamborghini recovered to fourth despite Hugo Cook starting from the back of the GT3 grid and the car carrying seven seconds of Compensation Time. Rob Collard produced another combative opening stint, gaining four places to limit the damage.
Rodin Motorsport’s Ferrari finished fifth and secured Silver-Am honours, with Cameron Campbell and Josh Buchan enjoying their strongest weekend of the season so far.
Orange/JMH’s second McLaren had been on course for sixth until Steven Lake was spun by Martin on the final lap. The resulting penalty promoted Century Motorsport’s BMW, shared by Jonathon Beeson and Charles Clark, into sixth.
GT4
Optimum also claimed its first GT4 victory of the 2026 season as Josh Stanton and George Gamble turned a strong first weekend together into a dominant Race 2 win.
The McLaren Artura proved comfortably the fastest car in class, with Gamble taking the lead early and opening a sizeable advantage before handing over to Stanton during the pit window.
Their victory was helped by the non-start of the pre-race favourite. Jack Mitchell had qualified the Toro Verde Ginetta on pole and was due to race without Compensation Time, but a fuel-pump problem prevented the car from even reaching the grid.
Gamble therefore started from the front row and initially found himself behind Toro Verde’s Porsche, with Tom Bradshaw making the better getaway and leading the opening laps.
The McLaren eventually worked its way ahead, after which Gamble began pulling clear. By the time the pit window opened, the lead stood at six seconds.
With no additional pitstop time to serve, Gamble handed the car to Stanton in clean air. The McLaren emerged with a substantial advantage and never looked threatened, with Stanton ultimately taking the chequered flag around 30 seconds clear.
The battle for second was considerably closer.
Ian Duggan took over the Toro Verde Porsche from Bradshaw and rejoined in second, but Daniel Lavery was closing rapidly after Darren Turner had kept the Grange/FSR Aston Martin in contention during the opening stint.
Lavery eventually found a way past Duggan to claim second overall and another Pro-Am victory for himself and Turner.
The result completed a clean sweep of Pro-Am wins for the pair across Sunday’s two races and left the Aston Martin crew among four combinations separated by just 7.5 points at the top of the overall GT4 standings.
Century Motorsport’s Jack Collins and Branden Templeton finished fourth, while Jessica Hawkins and Will Orton took fifth and completed the Silver-class podium.
That result was enough to move Hawkins and Orton into the championship lead after Race 1 winners Hadley Simpson and Thomas Holland were forced to retire their Innovation Racing Ginetta with an apparent engine problem.
Optimum’s Snetterton performance earned the team three outright victories from four races, as well as both GT3 and GT4 pole positions, securing the British GT Team of the Weekend Award.
