Defending champion absent as Barwell Motorsport announces 2025 British GT line-up

The reigning British GT champion Ricky Collard is likely to miss the 2025 campaign as Barwell Motorsport has announced a changed driver line-up for the forthcoming season.

The 28-year-old clinched the title in his rookie season with father Rob, yet Collard Sr will now partner Hugo Cook in the #1 Lamborghini Huracan GT3.

Cook also contested his rookie campaign in 2024, with the 20-year-old finishing 13th in the standings alongside Sacha Kakad in the J&S Racing Audi R8 GT3. Alongside British GT duties, Cook competed in the Circuit Paul Ricard and Spa-Francorchamps rounds of GT World Challenge Europe, driving a Huracan for the Grasser Racing Team.

“I’m massively excited for this year, and I’m fully aware of what an opportunity this is; joining the best team on the grid, in the number one car alongside the reigning champion,” said Cook, who claimed the GT3 class title of the 2023 GT Cup Championship.

“It definitely brings some pressure, but that’s also how you prove yourself, by going into situations like this and doing the job.

“I learned a lot from my first season in British GT and this year is about putting all of those lessons into practice and going for the title, which undoubtedly has to be the aim for us.”

It is believed that funding problems are behind Collard Jr’s departure, having been first reported by Autosport the day after his title victory.

“I’d have loved to come back alongside Ricky, but that wasn’t possible,” said the now two-time series champion Collard Sr, who similarly did not return in 2021 to defend his maiden crown.

“I’m really looking forward to working with Hugo. He’s a young up-and-coming driver with huge promise, and I hope I can use my experience to teach him a few things while learning from him at the same time.”

There is also change in the #78 Huracan, which finished runner-up to the sister Barwell despite claiming more wins last year.

Alex Martin returns for the full nine-round season, yet his 2024 co-driver Sandy Mitchell is skipping the races at Silverstone (26-27 April), Spa (21-22 June) and Brands Hatch (23-24 August) because he is unavailable.

Replacing the Lamborghini factory ace will be Patrick Kujala, who drove at Barwell across 2017 and 2018 before finishing runner-up to Mitchell and Collard Sr for RAM Racing in 2020 – his most recent British GT campaign.

“It’s a shame not to be able to do the full schedule, but Patrick is a driver I know very well from our GT World Challenge programmes and he’s more than capable of stepping in and getting the job done,” said Mitchell.

Martin added: “Having come so close to winning the championship in my first season last year, I have real confidence coming into this season that we have all the ingredients to get the job done this time around.

“I got on so well with the entire Barwell team last year, and I loved driving the car, so I was really keen to get back in the seat for this season.

“My one regret is Sandy won’t be able to win the title, but that won’t stop us from pushing as one to make it happen. I hope that if we can win it this year, both drivers can join me in collecting the trophy.”

This comes after Barwell dominated the 2024 campaign winning five of nine races to clinch the teams’ crown at the Donington Park penultimate round.

“The 2024 season was simply incredible for us,” said team boss Mark Lemmer, whose squad is set for its final season with the Huracan before switching to the new Temerario model.

“But equally that puts the pressure on us to come back and perform again this season. Winning in a championship as tight as British GT is never easy, and nothing can be taken for granted, but I am certain that we have the team and drivers in place to compete at the front once again.”

Donington will open the 2025 campaign on the 5-6 April, as well as concluding it on the 4-5 October.

There are now 12 cars so far confirmed for the forthcoming season, one which features Ferrari ending its five-year hiatus from the championship.