100 Reasons To Be Excited: Donington Enduro Kicks Off GT Cup 2026 Campaign

The 2026 GT Cup Championship kicks off at Donington Park looking fresher than ever, with a mixture of new and old faces hunting honours in the first GT Cup 100 event of the campaign.

With six rounds tabled and a brace of 100-minute keystone rounds at both the Donington opener and the summer trip to Silverstone, '26 will will open by bringing together a wide variety of sportscar flavour contesting overall glory alongside five individual Groups, showcasing up to eight different manufacturers.

At the top end is GT3. Ones to watch include the returning PB Racing with JMH Automotive partnership of Peter Erceg and Marcus Clutton, which was a consistent threat towards the back end of its debut season. The #9 Audi R8 will have competition from newbies Team BRIT, who join the fray for ‘26 with Jamie Falvey and Paul Fullick, both defying disability to partner in an aggressive-looking new BMW M4 GT3 recently added to its stable.

SB Race Engineering’s Paul Bailey - a previous GT Cup champion - and former Le Mans 24 Hours winner, David Brabham, also wheel out an exciting new Mercedes-AMG to assist their fight for overall and GTO honours.

Group GTC also features an eccentric mix of makes. Lamborghini represents three entries, those being Triple M (Charlie Digby and Mike Taylor), JMH Automotive (Frank Morris and Jamie Stanley) and current champions, Topcats Racing, who have returnee Jack Gadd now with Dan Brown to spearhead their title defence. Adding further manufacturer spice are Team Parker and their Porsche 991 with Michael McInerney and serial GT winner, Phil Keen, plus Tim Docker (Paddock Motorsport) in a McLaren Artura.

Innovation Racing unleashes three Ginettas, all in different categories. Sevin Christian pilots a G55 in GTA alongside rising star Hadley Simpson, while Esports champion Luke Bennett joins Bertie Bream in a bespoke Ginetta G56. Sam Branston and James Wareing are in GTH, among four Ginetta G56 contenders. They include 24-7 Motorsport’s Ben Taylor and Charlie Benson, as well as SVG Motorsport’s Marc Elman/Cameron Pratt-Thompson and the Triple M duo of Harry Yuill and Rob Garofall.

Jolt Racing returns full-time with Rupert Williams and John Ingram behind the wheel of its McLaren Artura, joining a competitive GTH group. Loyalty is also shown by Team Parker Racing’s Keith ‘Doc’ Bush, in his Martini-styled Porsche 911.

Group GTA features two BMWs for SVG Motorsport. Neil Wallace and Ian Astley push its M4 alongside the M2 of Dennis Storey and Alan McCullogh, plus there’s an eye-catching ‘Pink Panther’ Ginetta from Raceworks Motorsport giving chase with Andrew Perry and Daniel Quintero sharing the driving.

The opening weekend will be focused fully on endurance in East Midlands, with a 50-minute race on the Saturday at 14:15 allowing teams to gear up for an intense 100-minute showcase on Sunday afternoon from 14:30. It proved to be a highlight of a thrilling 2025 campaign, with less than a second covering James Kell and winner Mark Smith in a photo finish.

Both races from Donington Park will be broadcast live and for free on the GT Cup YouTube channel.

The 2026 GT Cup Championship will kick off at Donington Park on the weekend of 11-12 April, commencing a six-event calendar with visits to many of the UK’s top race tracks once again. Remember to get your tickets which can be purchased on the gates, or online here.