Charles Dawson and Kiern Jewiss have clinched the 2025 British GT3 title after finishing fourth at the Donington Park finale – a two-hour British GT contest won by Barwell’s Alex Martin and Sandy Mitchell.
The 2 Seas Mercedes pair simply needed seventh to deny the three other championship contenders: Giacomo Petrobelli/Jonny Adam (Blackthorn Aston Martin), Morgan Tillbrook/Marvin Kirchhofer (Optimum McLaren) and Kevin Tse/Maximilian Gotz (2 Seas Mercedes).
Changeable conditions highlighted the contest, as Rob Collard/Hugo Cook completed a Barwell Lamborghini 1-2 with Tse/Gotz in third.
Title stipulations obviously dominated talk heading into Donington, but only a disaster would stop Dawson/Jewiss as the other three crews needed a win to stand a chance.
That became a huge task after qualifying, as Barwell nailed tyre warm-up to grab a 1-2 with Collard/Cook beating Martin/ Mitchell in the cold. Third went to Matt Topham/Marcus Clutton (Orange Racing McLaren) ahead of fourth-placed Dawson/Jewiss, while Petrobelli/Adam, Tse/Gotz and Tillbrook/Kirchhofer were sixth, seventh and eighth respectively.
The challengers reported struggles with tailwind in qualifying; four-time series champion Adam claiming he’d “never felt gust like it”. Conditions were initially similar on race day and Barwell enjoyed the perfect start, as its Lamborghinis kept position.
Dawson behind swept around the outside of Topham at Hollywood, while Petrobelli soon stormed up to fourth just as spots of rain appeared.
Most drivers kept it clean, but an Aston Martin GT4 didn’t as it went off causing a full-course yellow turned safety car with racing resuming in the 26th minute.
Photo by: JEP
The rain was harder though, cars were on slicks and in those situations drivers have to be 100% certain that a move is on to attempt an overtake. Whether there was enough of a gap is debatable, but soon after the restart Petrobelli moved down the inside of the Old Hairpin only for him and Dawson to tangle and drop to the back.
Eyes suddenly turned to the Optimum McLaren as Tillbrook moved up to third as a result. But he didn’t have the pace of the Lamborghinis as leader Collard remained six seconds down the road.
Instead, as the rain lightened, Tillbrook dropped behind Darren Leung in the sister Blackthorn Aston after a trip into the gravel. He moved down again, this time to seventh, following contact with Dawson late in the opening hour.
The Mercedes driver tried to take fourth on the inside of Coppice, but it knocked Tillbrook off while Dawson stayed on track, but with front bumper damage and a 10s penalty.
That didn’t stop his charge though: Dawson overtook Leung for third at Starkey’s Bridge. Tillbrook then spun off at McLeans just as the pit window arrived on the hour mark.
The pit window is crucial in British GT because, not only is it when driver changes occur, but also the top three finishers from the previous race serve success penalties.
Dawson/Jewiss pitted an extra 20s, on top of their 10s penalty, for winning at Brands Hatch, Collard/Cook served an additional 10s for third, while the 15s for Tillbrook/Kirchhofer was now irrelevant given the McLaren had retired.
Mitchell therefore inherited the lead ahead of Cook, with Clutton up to third. Adam was fourth, Jewiss sixth and Gotz in seventh. But the intensifying rain dominated the second hour meaning drivers prioritised safe, risk-free racing with only some darting in for wet tyres.
Photo by: JEP
That included Clutton who kept position, but Jewiss and Gotz each moved up thanks to Adam and Paddock McLaren’s Martin Plowman (in for Mark Smith) coming in. The latter then gained another after the #42 Mercedes failed to hit the McLeans apex before conditions once again dried up for the final 20 minutes.
By this point though the race was pretty much decided, as the dominant Mitchell eventually crossed the line 30.945s ahead of Cook. Gotz ended up third after passing Clutton late on with the wet-tyre running McLaren then dropping further.
It resulted in the championship-clinching Mercedes finishing 0.877s behind the sister 2 Seas, with Leung/Nick Yelloly completing the top five.
“I’m just so happy for Kiern, he’s honestly a superstar,” said a jubilant Dawson who, like Jewiss, is a British GT3 rookie. “He’s done a mega job – just super happy and thankful for everyone.”
Elsewhere, Jack Brown became the first two-time British GT4 champion as he and Optimum McLaren co-driver Marc Warren won the race in class.
We want to hear from you!
Let us know what you would like to see from us in the future.
Take our survey
– The Autosport.com Team
Read the full article here