British GT: Everything you need to know ahead of the Silverstone 500

The 2026 British GT Season is about to kick off with the Silverstone 500 this weekend as we give a guide to everything you need to know ahead of the crown jewel event.

The 2026 edition of the three-hour event is the fourteenth time the race has been held by the British GT Championship. It stands as the crown jewel of the championship since its inception where the winners are given the RAC Trophy, which was first awarded back in 1932 for the Brookland's 500-mile race. World class drivers come back to the series to compete in the event to claim the historic trophy at the pinnacle of British GT Racing. The first edition of the event back in 2012 was won by Charlie Bateman and Matthew Bell and has since then seen the likes of Nick Tandy, Richard Westbrook, Ahmad Al Harthy, Dan Lloyd, Rick Parfitt, Alexander Sims and many more top names compete at the event.

This years Silverstone 500 seems multiple returning winners of the event looking to add to the resume. Last years winners Darren Leung and Dan Harper look to claim their third Silverstone 500 victory to pull them clear of the only other driver to have claimed multiple race wins at this event, Sandy Mitchell. But they will have some difficult competition. Last year’s runner ups at the event and reigning GT3 Champions Charles Dawson and Kiern Jewiss will also be racing once again this time as a one-off entry like Leung and Harper. The two pairings are also joined by the second Paradine Motorsport BMW entry of Phil Keen and Ian Loggie as a non-points scoring entry. With Keen and Loggie also being former Silverstone 500 victors in their own right, the three entries look like strong contenders at winning the fabled race.

However, the full season entries are certainly also up there in contention for the top step as GT aces Morgan Tillbrook and Ben Barnicoat will lead Optimum Motorsport as they go for their first Silverstone 500 wins. They are joined by former two-time GT4 winner of the Silverstone 500 Jack Brown and teammate Marc Warren who make the step up to GT3’s.

Beechdean Motorsports entry have a previous winner at Silverstone in their ranks, but before it became the 500-mile event it is known as today. Andrew Howard claimed his last victory at the circuit in the championship back in 2011 and has since then claimed multiple runner up finishes at the event, can he go one step further this year with Ross Gunn who himself won the race in the GT4 class back in 2015?

Barwell Motorsport goes into the season with three entries just a year out from the debut on the new Lamborghini Termerario. Rob Collard looks to claim his second race win at the circuit alongside Hugo Cook as the pair aim to lead Barwell Motorsport back to the top step of the podium.

The GT4 class seems much more impossible to predict. Eleven entries from five manufacturers will race in the class, all entering as full-season entries on top of this. Toro Verde GT have a strong lineup of former winner in the GT4 class Jakc Mitchell will be paired with Ginetta GT AM champion Luke Shaw in familiar machinery for the latter. Toro Verde GT also have reigning Porsche Sprint Challenge GB champions Ian Duggan and Tom Bradshaw running a Porsche Cayman GT4 this season, meaning their lineup is very strong.

However, two-time GT4 race winner of the event, Darren Turner, will be aiming for his third at the 500 albeit with a new team of the debuting Grange Racing with FSR. He will be partnered with newcomer Daniel Lavery.

Optimum Motorsport also have a strong chance this weekend, being very successful at the circuit in the GT4 Class, with reigning Silver Champion Luca Hopkinson and debuting Josh Stanton looking to claim their first 500 wins.

Former BTCC drivers will also be on the grid for their first ever Silverstone 500’s. WSR will be making their debut this season with four-time BTCC champion Colin Turkington making the switch to British GT this year. He will be joined by former historic rally champion Ernie Graham who switches to the track for the first time. Another former BTCC driver will also be making his debut in the series this weekend in Ronan Pearson who will be racing with GBR Stratton alongside John Hartshorne.

This weekend will have specific rules for driver time and pit stop length with three driver changes required, no driver must spend more than 65 minutes in the car at one time, with no more than 100 minutes of driving time per driver across the whole race. GT3’s have to serve mandatory pit stop time of 115 seconds while GT4’s spend 145 seconds on pit lane. An additional six seconds must be served for GT4 Silver entries per driver change as well.