British GT Championship: Kirchhöfer Leads Opening Practice at Silverstone 500
In a tightly contested opening practice session for the Silverstone 500, Marvin Kirchhöfer clocked the fastest lap with a time of 1:57.842 in the Optimum Motorsport #77 McLaren GT3 Evo. His quickest lap came early in the session, positioning him ahead of a competitive field where 12 GT3 entries were within a second of each other.
Maximilian Götz secured second place for 2 Seas Motorsport, posting a time of 1:58.225 in the #18 Mercedes-AMG GT3. Sven Muller finished third in Team Parker Racing’s #66 Porsche 911 GT3.R with a lap of 1:58.322, marking the car’s return to Silverstone after a previous effort in 2023.
Championship leader Kiern Jewiss placed fourth in the #42 2 Seas Mercedes-AMG with a 1:58.400, followed closely by Darren Burke, who achieved the highest Silver-Am entry at fifth overall in the #27 Steller Motorsport Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO2, clocking a time of 1:58.511.
Jonny Adam, a four-time British GT champion, finished sixth in the #7 Blackthorn Aston Martin Vantage with a 1:58.521, while 2023 champion Dan Harper came seventh in the #91 Paradine Competition BMW M4 GT3 Evo with a time of 1:58.633. Notably, Matt Griffin followed closely, finishing eighth with a lap of 1:58.690 in the #55 Spirit of Race Ferrari 296 GT3.
The remainder of the top ten included Marcus Clutton in ninth with the #67 Orange by JMH McLaren and Sam Neary rounding out the group in the #8 Team Abba Racing Mercedes-AMG.
In the GT4 category, Mahiki Racing secured a 1-2 finish, with Jack Mitchell leading the charge in the #69 Lotus Emira GT4 at 2:08.355, followed by Aiden Neate in the #84 Lotus, who managed a time of 2:08.834. Century Motorsport’s Charlie Robertson claimed third place in the #71 BMW M4 GT4 Evo with a 2:09.225, edging out reigning GT4 champion Jack Brown.
The session experienced a brief red flag but remained largely clear of interruptions. The Silverstone 500 promises an exciting competition ahead as teams prepare for tomorrow’s main event.
Free Practice Times: [Detailed Times Not Provided]
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Image courtesy of SRO/JEP
