Rain threatens as the GT Cup heads to Silverstone

A month has passed since the season opener at Snetterton and the UK has been in the grip of quite the heat wave. Rain is on the way to break up the weather and is set to make an appearance for our second event of the season: Silverstone.

Twenty-four cars across five groups will line up on the grid this weekend for rounds 5, 6, 7 and 8 of the 2020 Championship. Ben Clayden and Sam Randon will be looking to hold onto their overall points lead though just two points separate them and the now full-season John Dhillon and Aaron Scott. A further point behind is GTH runner Craig Wilkins which shows just how close the title race is so far, but there is still a long way to go.

Group GT3 sees a new entry this weekend as Grahame Tilley and Will Tregurtha return the track in their Nissan NISMO GTR GT3 – affectionately known as Godzilla. The pair missed the opening round of the season, but an unlucky weekend for John Seale and Marcus Clutton means that both cars start the weekend on an empty points balance.

In Group GTC John Dhillon and Aaron Scott will again be battling the Simon Green Motorsport Ferrari of Lucky Khera and his new teammate Ross Wylie. Dhillon dominated the group last time out, but Khera is no slouch, and with Wylie in the car the #241 will definitely be one to watch.

A few new faces join GTB for Silverstone. Top Cats Racing will be bringing their second Marcos Mantis out to play, giving it to the driver pairing of Andrew Goord and Charlotte Gilbert. Warren Gilbert and Jensen Lunn have already shown that the Marcos is a force to be reckoned with, so an extra one will be sure to add some spice to the grid.

Two McLarens join the group too. A 570S from WDC Racing and the 570 Pure from Balfe Motorsport. WDC will be splitting the driving duties among three drivers across the weekend Matt Le Breton, Rob Young and Neil Garnham, while Balfe Motorsport are putting Jan Klingelberg and Warren Hughes behind the wheel.

All of this means plenty of fresh competition for current GTB and overall championship leaders Ben Clayden and Sam Randon. Also representing Porsche this weekend is 2019 champion David Frankland who took two podium finishes last time out. The final manufacturer in GTB is BMW represented by Andy Robey with his GTR.

The biggest group on the grid this weekend is GTA made up of Ginettas, Jaguars and the lone Lotus of James Simons and Fraser Smart. New to the group are Makehappenracing, with Stephen Walton and Chris Hart behind the wheel of their Ginetta G55. A second Ginetta joins the group as Alex Stevenson and James Kellett trade in their Jaguar Project 8. Two Jaguars remain on the grid as Immanuel Vinke and Ruben and Raphael Del Sarte continue their full-season campaigns.

Callum Jenkins finds himself with a new teammate as Team Hard swap Ollie Brown for Harry Yardley-Rose in the #34 Ginetta. Currently leading the group in terms of points are Josh Jackson and Simon Orange in another Team Hard Ginetta. The pair took two wins and two second place finishes last time out and will be the ones to watch. That's not all from Team Hard as the team have a third Ginetta in play, piloted by Russell Lindsay and Patrick Collins.

For Group GTH it's Scott Sport's Craig Wilkins currently leading the points scorers, ahead of Steve Ruston and John Whitehouse in the #1 McLaren. Three wins out of four for Wilkins gives him quite the advantage at the moment, but his rivals will be aiming to close that gap this weekend. Chris Murphy and Steve Birt will once again be sharing driving duties during the pit stop races and running separate Aston Martins during the sprint races. Feathers Motorsport's James Guess rounds out the GTH entry list.

The event at Silverstone will be behind closed doors, but you can keep up with all of the action via our social media channels and our website. Track action kicks off on Saturday morning with free practice at 10am.