Breakell Racing put in a fantastic performance on their British GT Championship debut at Silverstone last weekend (27-28 April), narrowly missing out on a sensational class podium finish with their Mercedes-AMG GT4.
The biggest sportscar race in the UK and the crown jewel event on the British GT Championship calendar, the prestigious Silverstone 500 provided a fitting occasion for the Lancashire-based team to make their long-awaited debut at the pinnacle of British motorsport.
Joining a mammoth 43-car grid for the big race, the team’s Mercedes would line-up as part of the ultra-competitive GT4 Pro-Am class with the exciting driver pairing of GT rising star Harley Haughton and successful Ginetta racer Carl Garnett.
The duo had got their first race experience in the Mercedes back in March as they contested the opening round of the British Endurance Championship at Donington Park. Instantly gelling well together as a pairing, they put in a great performance to secure a class podium finish.
With that experience under their belt, both drivers got more crucial mileage in the car during official British GT testing last Friday and then a pair of free practice sessions the next day. Increasing their speed throughout, they ended on a high note with the third fastest time in class in the final outing.
Unfortunately, their hopes of replicating that performance in qualifying didn’t quite go to plan. In the high-pressure environment of only a ten-minute segment each, both drivers admitted to not being able to put together a clean lap and maximise their tyres as needed.
With their combined efforts putting them 11th in class on the grid for the race, they were ready to put in a big charge the next day. Persistent rainfall through the morning meant tricky, wet conditions greeted Garnett as he lined up for the rolling start.
A strong and consistent opening stint saw him make steady progress forward, before Haughton jumped in and continued their impressive ascent up the order. That set the tone for a race of faultless performances from the two drivers, which was combined by great strategy and pitstops by the team.
Heading into the final 30 minutes with all pitstops completed, the team found themselves lying a fantastic third in class. Sadly a traction control issue for a car ahead led to an incident on track, with Haughton sadly deemed at fault leading to a drive-through penalty.
While heart-broken to miss out on a potential podium, the team were still elated to take the chequered flag in a sensational fourth in Pro-Am. Their brilliant charge through the field culminated in them gaining no less than 12 places overall to finish seventh in GT4, capping of a superb debut.
James Breakell - Team Principal: “What a race! What a weekend! I couldn’t be prouder of the efforts of everyone involved. Joining British GT for the first time is a huge moment in the history of our team and we went out there and proved we can be a competitive force in the championship.
“The outing in the British Endurance Championship was a great opportunity for the team and drivers to get some good track time in the car across testing, qualifying and a race situation. We made lots of progress with the car that weekend and that continued once we got to Silverstone.
“It was a shame that we didn’t get the sort of result our pace deserved in qualifying, both drivers admit they could have got more from their sessions, but we knew that if we set a consistent pace and stayed out of trouble in the race, the opportunity was there to make decent progress forward.
“Carl and Harley did exactly that, with fantastic stints behind the wheel, while the team in the pitlane executed their roles perfectly too. A podium would have been the icing on the cake, but it takes nothing away from what was a fantastic performance and a weekend we’ll remember for a long time.”
Image: Jakob Ebrey Photography