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Paddock Motorsport will get its 2026 British GT Championship season underway this weekend, with Mark Smith and Martin Plowman raring to go for the showpiece Silverstone 500. The Northamptonshire track will host the opening British GT round for the first time since 2001 this weekend. The prestigious three-hour ‘500’ event always being a highlight of the calendar with the winners receiving the historic 1932 RAC Trophy for their efforts. That adds an extra motivation for the 18-strong GT3 entry which will duke it out for both the silverware and valuable early championship points. In total, the British GT grid has swelled to 29 cars, with a healthy GT4 entry also adding an extra challenge for the quicker GT3 cars to navigate. Entering their fourth British GT campaign together, Smith and Plowman are no strangers to the task ahead, and the #9 Paddock Motorsport McLaren 720S GT3 Evo has been fully refreshed ahead of the start of the new campaign. American driver Smith, who made his debut with Paddock in the 2022 British GT finale, has progressed to become one of the most promising amateur drivers in the series over recent years. He and Pro driver Plowman enjoyed a string of top-five results last year, scoring points in every race bar one, while Paddock’s McLaren successfully completed every racing lap of the 2025 campaign with a flawless mechanical record. It is experience and preparation such as this which will pay dividends in a race like the Silverstone 500, which presents some unique challenges. With no set pit windows and teams instead limited by having to make three mandatory driver changes across the race while not exceeding a strict maximum drive time of 65 minutes per stint and 100 minutes total per driver, it leaves strategy wide open. Paddock enjoyed its strongest Silverstone 500 yet last season, finishing eighth overall and with Smith featuring in the outright lead of the race at one point. To warm up, both Smith and Plowman enjoyed a recent test around the 3.6-mile track, and feel fully prepared for what lies ahead this weekend.
Paddock Motorsport has completed its initial two-car line-up for this year’s McLaren Trophy Europe, with two exciting driver combinations ready for action. Having already announced the arrival of the highly-rated Luca Magnussen – son of Le Mans legend Jan and younger brother of F1 ace Kevin – anticipation ahead of Paddock’s second season of European competition has been high for the first two cars, with a potential third entry also in the pipeline. Partnering Magnussen in the Pro class McLaren Artura Trophy Evo will be British racer Callum Davies, who switches across from a successful stint in the GT4 European Series for this year. Paddock will also be gunning for the Pro-Am title, with rising star Matthew Higgins joined by GT racing newcomer David Coelho in the team’s second Artura Trophy Evo. Between the first two cars, Paddock Motorsport aims to build on an impressive debut McLaren Trophy Europe season last year when its cars secured multiple class wins and the Am class title with Tim Docker handling its #78 Artura. Davies already boasts significant experience of racing McLaren GT cars, having recorded podium finishes in both the British GT Championship and GT4 European Series. He began his car-racing career with Ginetta, finishing second in the 2023 Ginetta GT Championship before graduating through the GT Cup and into British GT, scoring his breakthrough podium finish at Brands Hatch in 2024. Last year he stepped up to the European stage with an Artura GT4, celebrating a podium finish at Barcelona and securing a top-10 finish in the world’s toughest GT4 championship. Higgins joins the team as a highly exciting prospect. A professional karting driver with a string of successes – including becoming a two-time British champion and European champion, plus finishing third overall in the world championship – he graduated to GT racing in the GT Cup in 2024, winning the GTH category title at the first attempt. Success in Europe soon followed and he was also part of the winning GT4 team at last year’s 12 Hours of Mugello as well as impressing in selected GT4 European Series outings. The son of 10-time Rally America champion and Subaru factory ace David Higgins, Matthew will undoubtedly be one to watch in the Trophy this year. Coelho is another driver with rallying links, having competed in events around Europe and in his native Trinidad and Tobago. He has gained circuit racing experience in a Mazda MX-5 across recent seasons and has established himself as a frontrunner in the Caribbean Spec Miata Series. He will be making both his GT and European circuit racing debut this year alongside Higgins.
Paddock Motorsport returns to British GT in 2026 with Smith and Plowman aboard its new-look McLaren 720S GT3 Evo
+ Luca Magnussen signs up for 2026 McLaren Trophy Europe campaign + Paddock launches new partnership with Douglas Motorsport + Biggest-ever McLaren Trophy Europe entry on the cards The Magnussen name will return to the hot seat of a McLaren next season when Luca Magnussen tackles his maiden McLaren Trophy Europe campaign with Paddock Motorsport. The 16-year-old Dane – younger brother of ex-Formula 1 driver Kevin and son of multiple Le Mans 24 Hours class winner Jan Magnussen – is the first driver to commit to Paddock’s multi-car entry into the 2026 Trophy as he makes the step into GT racing. Magnussen’s arrival also signals the first success for a new partnership between Paddock and Douglas Motorsport, which will result in the teams sharing technical resources while also providing a clear pathway for drivers seeking to hone their skills in single-seaters before stepping onto the GT racing ladder. Despite only making his racing debut in 2021, Luca Magnussen has impressed across his career so far, competing in professional karting categories such as the Sydsvenskans Kart Champion Cup (SKCC), FIA Karting World and European championships while also representing his county in the FIA Motorsport Games. This season was his first in car racing and he became a GB4 Championship podium finisher during the third round of the year at Oulton Park. Magnussen will now swap the 2-litre Tatuus GB4 car for the 3-litre twin-turbocharged McLaren Artura. In doing so he reignites a link between his family name and the British brand that began exactly 30 years ago when Jan made his F1 debut with McLaren in the Pacific Grand Prix at Aida in 1995. Kevin then became a McLaren Young Driver in 2010, eventually going on to contest 20 Formula 1 grands prix with the team between 2014-15. Magnussen is the first driver to sign up to Paddock’s expanded McLaren Trophy Europe programme for 2026. The team made its European racing debut this season, quickly earning its breakthrough race wins at Brands Hatch before going on to claim the Am class title with Tim Docker. Luca Magnussen says: “I’m really excited to be making the move into the McLaren Trophy Europe and want to thank both Paddock Motorsport and Douglas Motorsport for making this opportunity possible. When I first tested the Artura at Silverstone I found it very different to the GB4 car, with huge power and grip. It was pretty incredible. Learning to drive with both ABS and traction control was a big difference as we don’t have those in GB4, but I’m already looking forward to getting back into the car and adapting more to it. My dream has always been to drive GT cars. Karts and single-seaters give you that experience and grounding as a young driver to learn, but my dream is to one day drive at Le Mans, hopefully alongside my brother, and this is a great step towards that. Working with Paddock and Douglas so far has been great, and I’m just really looking forward to more testing and the start of the season.”
About Us
Paddock Motorsport is more than just a race team. We are an events business; offering world-class VIP Hospitality at major sporting events and really cool corporate experiences under the banner of Paddock Prestige Events.
Paddock Motorsport's Driver Academy headed up by Martin Plowman focuses on career management, intense driver coaching, fitness, nutrition and marketing to develop the next generation of Amateur and Professional racing drivers.
2025 ACHIEVEMENTS
Paddock Motorsport enjoyed a stellar 2025 campaign both in the UK and Europe. Mark Smith was crowned GT Cup GT3 Champion with a huge 16 race wins, while Tim Docker claimed the McLaren Trophy Europe Am title in the team's first season in the series
