On pure performance alone, Paddock Motorsport deserved a podium finish in the British GT Championship finale at Donington Park last weekend, and it was only a freak turn in the weather that denied Mark Smith and Martin Plowman a haul of silverware. Despite a tricky buildup, Smith and Plowman largely mastered the conditions during a turbulent final two-hour race of the season, entering the final quarter of the race with a podium finish in sight before a swing in the weather undid the #9 McLaren’s strategy. The pair still finished inside the top 10 overall and took home points for eighth place regardless, but what really shone through was the team effort across the season that has put the squad in a position to challenge for podiums at the highest level in British motorsport in the first place. Having swept the board with a quadruple victory in the GT Cup event that preceded the Donington Decider, Paddock’s McLaren had marked itself out as one to watch for the season finale, a fact that was rammed home with an impressive Pre-Qualifying performance from Smith, who registered the fourth-fastest time overall. Sadly, Qualifying itself wouldn’t prove so straightforward, with an early red flag to recover a stranded Mercedes-AMG disrupting the team’s plans. With a heavy headwind making setup unpredictable, a splitter issue led to some unpredictable handling and limited Smith and Plowman to a disappointed 11th on combined times. However, there was still all to play for on Sunday, and the team put on an eye-catching performance across a topsy-turvy race, coming within a whisker of scoring what would have been a sensational podium. A series of balance changes before the race start aimed at providing a more stable platform meant Smith went into the race with an untested setup, and getting a feel for the car would be made even more troubling by a series of rain showers hitting as the field circulated on slick tyres. Smith held station on the fringes of the top 10 through the worst of the first shower, then when the balance came to him as the track dried, the American driver excelled, scything his way up the order as the pit window approached. Smith pulled a series of great passes to move up to seventh before pitting to hand for Plowman at the halfway mark. The team opted to fit fresh slicks with the skies looking clear, and a clean service got Plowman installed and back out in fifth once the stops had cycled through. The return of heavy rain with 40 minutes of the race to run brought a crossroads though. On one hand, Plowman was coping well in the deteriorating conditions, impressively overtaking the Blackthorn Aston Martin of multiple champion Jonny Adam to snatch fourth. Plowman was also closing on the Orange Racing McLaren that occupied third. However, with more rain on the radar and conditions becoming increasingly unstable, the team made the decision to make an extra stop for wets in-line with the strategies of the cars around them... only for the rain to disappear soon after and scupper the plan. With the track now drying, Plowman was forced to ease off and nurse the overheating wets to 10th overall. However, with two non-scoring entries ahead, it would mean points for eighth as some form of reward. Still, the fact the Paddock team was able to turn around its qualifying troubles and manage such an eventful race to create the chance to challenge for a podium speaks volumes about the squad’s progress across the course of the 2025 season.

Paddock Motorsport heads into the British GT Championship season finale this weekend at Donington Park aiming to continue its current strong run of form with the McLaren 720S GT3 Evo. Mark Smith and Martin Plowman will again handle the black-and-pink #9 McLaren and go into the finale full of confidence following a stunning warm up at the Derbyshire track during the GT Cup round last weekend. Driving solo, American racer Smith dominated the event, winning all four races – a mixture of sprint and endurance outings – regaining his lead in the GT3 Championship in the process. The results bring Smith’s tally of GT Cup wins this season to a remarkable 11 from the 18 races held so far. Beyond the headline stats, the additional mileage has also allowed the team to refine the setup of the McLaren GT3 and helped Smith to unlock more of the car’s potential through the additional seat time and confidence-boosting success. Donington is also the British track Smith knows best, having made his British GT debut with Paddock at the finale three years ago The combination of these factors means the team enters the final British GT round in a strong position. Even though British GT represents a step up in the level of competition, Paddock has established itself as a top-five contender across this season. A big points score in the finale would be the perfect way to cap what has been an impressive season of development. 

Paddock Motorsport had a top-five result ripped from its grasp at Brands Hatch last weekend, with a late-race punt from a rival preventing the team for equalling its best British GT finish of the season. Mark Smith and Martin Plowman enjoyed their strongest endurance race outing of the season in the penultimate two-hour race of the year, with Paddock’s McLaren looking nailed-on for fifth place in Kent before being harpooned and spun out in the closing laps. Despite the collision, Smith and Plowman still battled to ninth place overall, adding yet more points to the team’s tally, even if it was scant reward for an otherwise superb performance. Paddock has made huge strides with the setup and operation of its McLaren GT3 across the course of this season, culminating in a season-best finish of fifth last time out at Snetterton. However, at Brands the team showed it had taken yet another step, with Plowman topping Saturday’s Pre-Qualifying session outright, pipping McLaren factory driver Marvin Kirchhöfer to the top time. That signalled good things for Qualifying that afternoon, however a shift in both track temperature and brake balance meant Smith and Plowman would line-up ninth, but knowing they would have a quick car beneath them come Sunday when temperatures would play back into their hands. This was evidenced when Smith got a superb start, passing the Orange Racing McLaren, picking up another spot when the race-leading Aston Martin was handed a penalty for a grid infraction, and then swooped past the Beechdean Aston Martin to grab sixth. And all this around a heavily disrupted opening half which featured two safety car periods, and on a track notorious for its lack of overtaking opportunities. Smith brought the #9 in to switch with Plowman at the first opportunity, with the car filtering back out in fifth after some superb work from the Paddock technical crew to get the McLaren up and running on fresh tyres bang on its minimum pit time. Plowman then found himself defending from the Team Parker Racing Porsche in the hands of factory driver Sven Müller. The German repeatedly attacked but Plowman covered off his advances at every turn. Things came to a head when the Porsche tried to steam up the inside at Surtees, clipping the rear-left of the McLaren and spinning Plowman to the side of the track. Fortunately, Plowman was able to re-fire the car and rejoin, but the damage had been done. The team opted to roll the dice during one final safety car period and pit an extra time for fresh tyres, hoping the extra grip could help Plowman make up some ground over the closing minutes. But ninth would be the limit. It still brought a handful of points, but the excellent team effort had deserved more.