Paddock Motorsport And G-Cat Racing Share Sun-Kissed Success At Brands

Paddock Motorsport continued their fine form in the GT Cup Championship, sharing overall race victories with G-Cat Racing on an exciting, sunny Saturday at Brands Hatch GP circuit (17 May).

Fresh from a sensational maiden GT Cup victory during the 100-minute contest at Donington Park last month, Mark Smith added a Sprint race success to his name in the opening encounter in Kent. The Paddock Motorsport man could not make it a double, as Greg Caton and David Shaw clinched race two honours later on.

GTC honours were shared between Topcats Racing and Triple M Motorsport - the latter taking a first Group win of the season. The Endurance race saw first-time podium sitters in the shape of Frank Morris & James Pickford, and Michael McInerney & Phil Keen, who took second and third respectively.

Dominance was the word to describe Uber GT Performance, as the Caley father-and-son duo clinched two GTB Group wins in their Porsche 991. Paul Bailey did the same with SB Race Engineering in GTO, while the remaining groups were hotly contested.

GTH trophies were clinched by Feathers Motorsport and Innovation Racing, while SVG Motorsport and Anthony Seddon Racing took a win apiece in the GTA Group.

Qualifying

Under summer skies in Kent, the pace was just as hot when the first group emerged from the pits for Qualifying. Smith was the man to beat, and he put down a strong marker of 1m24.868s to seal pole position ahead of the ever-improving Peter Erceg in the PB Motorsport powered by JMH Auto Audi R8 GT3 EVO2.

Third overall was enough for Topcats Racing's #23 Lamborghini to take the GTC group pole, with top bragging rights also going to SB Race Engineering's Paul Bailey in the #28 McLaren 720S in GTO.

There were also pole positions further back for the likes of Uber GT Performance in their GTB Porsche 991 Cup, as well as SVG Motorsport in GTA and Feathers Motorsport in GTH, after fending off the likes of the second SVG entry and Innovation Racing's new, similar Ginetta G56.

Sprint Race

In the prime position to push for his second GT Cup win of the season, Smith made a commanding start and was able to hang on in the early stages. He was soon under pressure however from the in-form Erceg who locked his Audi onto the rear wing of his rival's McLaren after five minutes.

Smith was not deterred by the attack though as the pair traded fastest laps during the first half of the encounter, but the former soon found his groove and began to edge clear at the head of the pack. By the time he saw the chequered flag, the Paddock Motorsport driver was just over nine seconds to the good, securing a GT3 and overall victory as he did so in the GT Cup 100 at Donington Park.

Erceg took a strong second ahead of the GTC Group victors, Topcats Racing, in the #23 Lamborghini. Fenwick could celebrate not only another success, but beating two GT3 machines in doing so at the Kent circuit.

The 25-minute race also brought success for Bailey in GTO despite an early slide at Graham Hill Bend for the McLaren driver, while GTB spoils were sealed by Uber GT Performance thanks to a stellar drive by Bill Caley aboard the #80 Porsche. 

SVG Motorsport won in GTA with the #24 BMW of Ian Astley, but its GTH Ginetta narrowly missed out in a truly epic race-long dice with Feathers Motorsport's Archie Clark. The youngster held firm with a fine defensive display, keeping back Owen Hizzey who twice pulled alongside his rival and came just inches from victory in a near-photo finish the went in favour of the #80 Aston Martin Vantage.

Pitstop Race

Smith took his optimism into the longer 50-minute endurance race later that afternoon, leading the way in the opening stint as he did so in the afternoon. He initially romped clear, surviving a brief off at Sheene Curve in the GT3 machine to pit with the top spot in hand.

David Shaw had been ticking on nicely behind, and when Greg Caton got onboard the GT3 Porsche he was in front, and that was decisive as he maintained the position unchallenged all the way to the race-ending red flag to give the reigning GT3 Group champions a first win of the campaign.

Smith fell into the clutches of the #9 PB Racing Audi, with Marcus Clutton showing his speed and experience to leapfrog Smith and give second to himself and Erceg on a good day for the latter. Andrey Borodin and Ollie Webb charged forward, narrowly missing out on the GT3 podium for Greystone GT.

The GTH group this time went the way of Simon Griffiths and returnee Hadley Simpson in their Ginetta, charging to the head of the field after a strong opening stint that paid off. It meant they got the edge over their rivals, Feathers Motorsport and SVG Motorsport, who followed home.

GTO and GTB again respectively went the way of Bailey and rhyming surname sake James and Bill Caley. The real drama took place in GTC, when Fenwick and Campbell found themselves off the road at Surtees while leading the group. Grahame Tilley and Sennan Fielding's #4 Lamborghini Huracan was the beneficiary, winning for the first time in '25.

#73 Mack Priestwood

“We had a good battle with the Aston in the group above. We had great pace but just couldn’t get round him - struggled down the straights for power but it was a good battle. It’s my first time racing round the Grand Prix circuit and it’s quite fun! Tight and technical round the back. It takes a bit of time learning it, and the Ginetta as well - it’s the second race we’ve done with the car. This weekend has been much more successful and hopefully we’ll carry on and get to Snetterton.”

#99 Owen Hizzey

“For us, we were starting a little further back on the grid because Marc did the qualifying so it was a case of getting up to the front. Getting up there and then it was a big battle. The Ginetta had the legs on the first part of the lap but then the Aston is super fast round the back so it was just a case of trying to find where his weak points were. At a few points I thought I’d nearly got him, but it was a fair fight."

#82 Archie Clark

“It was awesome, I really enjoyed it. Owen kept a lot of pressure on me so I couldn’t let off for a minute - it was really good. I was just driving round on my mirrors for the whole race, trying to keep him behind me. There was one time out of turn one where I thought he had me going round the outside, I think I got quite lucky there.”

#30 Hadley Simpson

“It’s been really good, quite a hectic start and we were all swapping positions which is really good - it’s what you want in a championship. Started to stretch my legs as I got a bit more comfortable. It was super-important that I had my patience today, I knew I had 50 minutes and that I had the pace as well so I took my time and we did it all on the first lap! But it felt pretty patient to me. I’ve got to give credit to the team for fixing the ABS issue this morning, they worked their arses off to get themselves in that position and give me an opportunity to fight for the win.”