A Weekend with MK Racing at the British GT Season Finale
After a season-long battle for the title, five teams remained mathematically capable of winning the Overall GT4 Championship. With FSR/Grange Motorsport already wrapping up the Pro/Am category at the penultimate round in Donington, they were seeking the overall GT4 title, battling alongside Century Motorsport, Innovation Racing, Optimum Motorsport and finally MK Racing. The ultimate question: would the pace of the Ginettas or the consistency of the Aston Martins take the chequered flag first this weekend? Join us as we delve into the title battle from the perspective of MK Racing.
This year, MK Racing returned to British GT in the GT4 Silver category with drivers Will Orton and Jessica Hawkins. The Lincolnshire-based outfit came into the season strong, with the pair bagging a podium at the opening round, the Silverstone 500. Orton was familiar with GT4 machinery, while Jess was new to the car, but the race result landed them an immediate 27 points in the standings.
Oulton Park highlighted that MK Racing weren’t just here to have the occasional success, they were here to demonstrate consistent pace, bagging themselves another two second places in the stunning Cheshire countryside. There were no wins on the board, but crucially, not a single mistake either. Not only did the drivers deliver speed and precision, but so did the entire team, not a foot wrong all weekend.
Round 4 (the third weekend) saw the British GT field venture out to Spa-Francorchamps. The weekend wasn’t particularly spectacular, even sharing the track with European GT4 and Alpine Cup, but it was again a solid points haul. The pair secured P4 at the Stavelot circuit, but more importantly, they took the chequered flag ahead of the Innovation Racing team, Thomas Holland and Hadley Simpson, extending their points advantage over what was seemingly becoming their closest rivals in the title fight.
Snetterton played host to the fourth stop on the calendar, the former RAF base scorched by recent heatwaves, providing a rather toasty backdrop to round 5. Race 1 was a strong one, with the pairing achieving yet another P2 overall, closing the gap in the constructors’ standings. The second race that day is where things changed. The Innovation Ginetta suffered an engine failure, promoting Orton and Hawkins up the order. The P5 finish in this race, seemingly uncharacteristic of the pair, was still a strong result. Interestingly, however, this race result handed the lead of the championship to MK Racing, with just 1.5 points separating them from Innovation Racing despite not winning a single race. The team’s consistency was really shining through, critically taking maximum points available at every given opportunity.
Round 7 at Donington Park is where the championship tightened. The pair qualified P3, just 0.231 seconds off the fastest time. A rare mistake during a pit stop saw the #21 car get caught speeding in the pit lane, triggering a drive-through penalty. The team came away with no podium, and only 15 points added to the title fight, behind their championship rivals. The only saving grace is that Paddock Motorsport’s Blake Angliss and Revie Lake brought home their first British GT win, subtracting potential points away from other teams in the race for the title. The silver lining in all of this is that the pairing would take absolutely no success penalty into the final round, with their minimum pit-stop time a massive 35 seconds less than Innovation Racing’s Ginetta.
British GT headed to Brands Hatch for one last dance in 2026, with the GT4 title wide open for a 5-way fight. Due to an unfortunate red flag in qualifying, the pair qualified a combined P7, so there was work to do. FSR/Grange Racing, due to the Aston Martin’s flawless consistency all year round, had emerged as a serious title contender. Optimum Motorsport’s McLaren Artura disappeared up the round, leaving the FSR, MK Racing, and Toro Verde Ginetta to battle over P2. The race saw Innovation Racing’s Ginetta out of the race in the gravel in the forest section, leaving just MK Racing and FSR Capable of winning the overall title. Going into the penultimate lap, FSR and Toro Verde collided, a brief rubbing of wheels opened the door for Will Orton, slicing through to overall P3. This just left FSR ahead.
With one lap to go, tied on championship points, Orton was practically pushing Darren Turner around the circuit as he defended hard on the used tyres. Then, the final corner. Turner had a poor exit, allowing Orton alongside. Aston Martin V Aston Martin, GT4 Pro/AM versus GT4 Silver, to the line. Orton clipped the grass on the inside, killing the momentum, and Turner brought home the win just 0.2 seconds ahead at the line. Orton and Hawkins had done enough to secure P2 in the championship and win the GT4 Silver Title, tied on points overall with The FSR/Grange Aston Martin at 143.5 points. Turner and Lavery ultimately secured overall victory on countback due to more wins. MK had missed out on the overall GT4 title by just 0.2 seconds.
MK Racing may not have stood on the top step of the podium during the season, but Will Orton, Jessica Hawkins and the entire team at MK Racing delivered a GT4 Silver Title built on consistency and reliability all year long. The mechanics didn’t put a foot wrong all season, ensuring that the car was running to its full potential every single round, every pit stop, from the refuelling to tyre changes, was faultless and clinical. The future for MK Racing is an exciting one to watch, and it is a team that has established its competitiveness in British GT this year and for seasons to come.
