Silverstone 500 Pre-Qualifying Summary: Kiern Jewiss Sets the Pace
In an intense pre-qualifying session for the Silverstone 500, reigning British GT champion Kiern Jewiss clinched the fastest time with a late effort of 1:58.851 in his #90 Optimum McLaren 720S GT3. The session saw strong competition, with Jewiss narrowly besting Hugo Cook’s benchmark of 1:58.888 in the #63 Barwell Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2.
The 17-car GT3 field demonstrated tight competition, with all but one entry covered by just 1.5 seconds. Early disruptions were caused by the #69 Mahiki Racing McLaren 720S GT3 EVO, which halted due to a loose wheel nut, resulting in no laps completed by driver Steven Lake.
Following Jewiss and Cook, Andrew Gilbert, in the #15 2 Seas Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, delivered a commendable lap with a time of 1:58.966. Barwell’s Jarrod Waberski secured the top Silver-Am spot with the #78 Lamborghini, clocking in fourth at 1:59.060, while Aston Martin’s Ross Gunn placed fifth with a 1:59.174 in the #7 Beechdean Vantage AMR GT3 Evo.
Notably, Ben Barnicoat, BMW’s Dan Harper, and last year’s GT4 champion Jack Brown rounded out the top eight, with times of 1:59.211, 1:59.219, and 1:59.435 respectively.
In the GT4 category, the #61 West Surrey Racing BMW M4 GT4 Evo, driven by Ernie Graham, led the field with a time of 2:10.184. Revie Lake’s #84 Mahiki McLaren Artura GT4 followed closely, while Tom Bradshaw in the #42 Torre Verde Ginetta G56 GT4 Evo took third with 2:10.331.
The grid for the three-hour enduro, set to take place at 15:45 tomorrow, will be determined during qualifying sessions later today.
