​Beechdean all set for British GT Championship opener

Andrew Howard and Tom Wood will drive the number 97 Beechean AMR Sides-supported Aston Martin Vantage GT3 at Donington Park, and the duo are starting the season with high hopes following a successful pre-season test schedule that saw them on-track at Silverstone.

Howard is a previous winner of the British GT Championship, and brings a wealth of driving experience to the new season, including previous participation in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, while Wood is making a full return to the British GT Championship after an impressive one-race cameo for the Beechdean team at Brands Hatch last autumn.

Wood said: "I am really looking forward to the year ahead. I have thanked Andrew (Howard) and the Beechdean AMR team previously for handing me this opportunity, but I can't stress how big a chance this is to perform. I am really looking forward to the season, and it will be great to start the year at Donington Park - a track that is special to me."

The British GT Championship visits seven events this season, with Donington Park the first stop on a schedule that also includes Silverstone, Oulton Park, Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, Snetterton, Brands Hatch and a second trip to Donington. The championship features both GT3 and GT4 specification machinery, and Howard says, "The British GT Championship is always really competitive. We believe we have a good package for 2025 and are really looking forward to this weekend's opener."

British GT Championship competitors will be on-track at Donington, the venue for Ayrton Senna's famous European Grand Prix success in 1993, tomorrow (Thursday) for test sessions ahead of Saturday's Official Free Practice and Qualifying around the demanding 2.5-mile parkland venue. The opening two-hour race of the season will start at 12.45pm on Sunday.

Mark McLoughlin's Greystone GT team will be represented by Andrey Borodin and Oli Webb. The duo will compete in a McLaren 720S GT3 car. Speaking this week, McLoughlin said, "“Winter preparations have gone very well with testing and the Portimao six-hour race and Andrey’s progress since his last full season in British GT has been significant. This will be the first full-season campaign for Andrey where he’ll be familiar with all the circuits on the calendar. That, combined with Oli’s undoubted speed and championship-winning experience, means we can aim for some good results across the year.”

*Steller Motorsport are expected to announce their full driver line-up for the 2025 Fanatec GT World Challenge Endurance Cup season in the next few days, ahead of the opening race of the season at the Circuit Paul Ricard in France next weekend. The former British GT4 champions and competitors in the Michelin Le Mans Cup, have switched their attention to the SRO managed GT World Challenge for the new season and have two new Chevrolet Corvette GT3 cars entered to race.

*Silverstone hosts the annual-running of the Jim Walsh Trophy for Formula Ford cars on Sunday. Forty cars are expected to line-up on the grid at the local track to participate in what is one of the category's showcase races of the year. The action on Sunday will take place around the full 3.6-mile Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit, the layout that is used by F1 racers for the British Grand Prix.

*Quainton's Mark Biswell is set to continue his British Motorcycle Racing Club (BMCRC) season at Oulton Park this weekend, where he will ride his Bizzle Bikesport Yamaha, while a number of other regional racers will be at Mallory Park on Sunday for their opening EMRA club event of the new season.