British GT: Silverstone 500 Preview

The 2021 Intelligent Money British GT Championship returns to Silverstone on June 26 – 27 for the blue-riband event of the season – the Silverstone 500.

31 cars will be on the grid – 18 in the senior GT3 class and 13 in the GT4 category.

The GT3 grid will be bolstered by a net four additional entries for Silverstone. 2 Seas Motorsport who, in 2020, campaigned a pair of McLaren 720S GT3s, returns to the premier domestic GT series with its new Mercedes-AMG Gt3. 2017 Blancpain GT Series Asia champions Hunter Abbott and 2020 Gulf 12 Hours Bahrain winner Martin Kodric will share the driving duties.

Hunter Abbott is looking forward to his return to the British GT Championship.

“Apart from a one-off in 2020, it’s been almost two years since I last raced so I can’t wait to be back in British GT and competing at Silverstone,” said Abbott. “It’s such an iconic circuit and championship, both of which hold very fond memories. It is great to be racing with 2 Seas Motorsport and back sharing a car with Martin.”

GT4 Pro-Am champions Mia Flewitt and Euan Hankey make their GT3 debut in Team Rocket RJN’s #21 McLaren. Flewitt and Hankey won on the opening weekend of the 2020 season and graduating to the senior category was the pairing’s intention as last season drew to a close.

Twice champion in the Pure McLaren Series, Mia Flewitt, is delighted to have the opportunity to compete in selected rounds of the British GT Championship in 2021.

“I’m super excited to be joining Team Rocket RJN for select rounds in British GT this season,” said Mia Flewitt. I will be sharing their McLaren 720S Gt3 with my driver coach and co-driver Euan Hankey. Stepping up from GT4 was always the plan for this season but it’s been a challenging year so far to make it happen. I’m forever grateful to all who have helped and supported us to get here. Bring on Silverstone!”

Also rejoining the GT3 grid for the Silverstone 500 will be 2019 champions TF Sport. The Redhill-based squad has entered two Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3s, the #38 car to be piloted by Giacomo Petrobelli and Charlie Eastwood while the #95 will see the driving duties shared by Bonamy Grimes and Johnny Mowlem.

Petrobelli returned to the racing cockpit in 2020 after a six-year hiatus, the 45-year-old Italian driver finishing 8^th in the GT3 Pro-Am class alongside teammate Tom Canning at Silverstone in the final round of the 2020 British GT Championship.

“It’s great to be back with Tom (Ferrier) and TF Sport for another crack at the Silverstone 500,” said Petrobelli. “Last years’ race was my first one after a long period of inactivity, so being back at the same track, and at the wheel of the same car, with the same great team but with a little more experience of it all, makes me very excited.”

Inception Racing by Optimum Motorsport’s Brendan Iribe and Ollie Millroy complete the additions to the GT3 ranks. Iribe and Millroy make their second appearance at Silverstone after finishing third in the GT3 Pro-Am class in 2020.

Team principal Shaun Goff has enjoyed significant success in the British GT Championship and is relishing the opportunity to return to Silverstone.

“It’s a pleasure for us to return to the British GT Championship,” said Goff. “For a number of years, this was our home-from-home and we enjoyed a great deal of championship success, created plenty of fond memories so we’re delighted to be racing again at the Silverstone 500.”

Kelvin Fletcher and Martin Plowman, who made their delayed debut in the GT3 category at Brands Hatch in the JRM Bentley Continental GT3, have taken over the running of the car themselves. Fletcher and Plowman’s team, Paddock Motorsport, currently run a pair of McLaren 570S GT4s in the GT Cup Championship and will be running the duo’s Bentley at Silverstone.

After the opening weekend at Brands Hatch saw WPI Motorsport’s Michael Igoe and Phil Keen stand on the top step of the podium, beating returning champions Andrew Howard and Johnny Adam, all eyes will be on the battle between Lamborghini and Aston Martin. The last time Adam raced at Silverstone, he endured a major disappointment on his way to securing the 2019 title with Graham Davidson. The double Le Mans-winning Scot will be keen to ensure that history doesn’t repeat itself.

In the GT4 category the grid grows by one from the previous round at Brands Hatch. Newbridge Motorsport’s Aston Martin will see Matt Topham driving alongside factory driver Darren Turner.

Century Motorsport dominated the opening round of the season at Brands Hatch with a lights-to-flag victory for its #57 BMW M4 GT4 driven by Will Burns and Gus Burton and a 1 – 2 in class courtesy of second place by the #9 entry piloted by Chris Salkeld and Andrew Gordon-Colebrooke. With a vast spread of driving talent across the category, the fans welcomed back to Silverstone can expect to see some exciting competition in the class.

Track action for the Silverstone 500, the second round of the 2021 Intelligent Money British GT Championship, gets underway with the first practice session at 09:55 on Saturday June 26 with qualifying starting at 16:00. The lights go out for the three-hour race at 12:10.