Paddock plots progression on British GT return

February 12, 2026

Paddock Motorsport aims to continue its progress toward the front of the British GT Championship grid after confirming Mark Smith and Martin Plowman will return for the full 2026 campaign aboard the team’s McLaren 720S GT3 Evo.
 
This year will mark Smith and Plowman’s fourth full British GT campaign as a pairing, with their #9 McLaren now wearing a revised version of the black and pink colour scheme the team first adopted in 2024.
 
Paddock Motorsport made great strides in performance across last season, with Smith and Plowman becoming regular contenders for the top five. With the acquisition of top engineer Toby Phillips to bolster the technical team, plus extensive additional mileage through a parallel GT Cup programme, the team was able to make significant steps in the setup and operation of the McLaren that reflected with increased competitiveness on track. Paddock’s McLaren also scored points in every race but one last year and completed every racing lap of the season with a flawless finishing record.
 
In the GT Cup Smith enjoyed a stunning season, scoring 15 outright race wins from 19 starts, claiming the championship’s GT3 class honours and marking himself out as one to watch every time he took to the track.
 
For this year the team continues unchanged in British GT, and hopes are high that starting from a solid foundation can bring an early boost as Smith and Plowman look to pick up where they left off in 2025. Smith will also continue to add to his mileage with a select GT Cup programme, and there is also potential to take the team into further European competition at some point following Paddock’s successful first McLaren Trophy Europe campaign last year.

Paddock Motorsport is also launching a new partnership with Prostate Cancer UK, aiming to raise significant funds for the charity through its British GT programme. As well as prominent signage on the car’s livery, there is a full fundraising programme in the works which includes donating a portion of proceeds from hospitality services, exciting charity auction lots and on-event campaigns to raise both funding and awareness of the disease. It is a cause close to the hearts of the entire Paddock Motorsport team.
 
Mark Smith says: “Ever since we took the chequered flag at Snetterton to clinch the win in the GT Cup last October, I have been thinking about British GT in 2026 and finally starting to fight for the podium. Throughout our 2025 campaigns we showed significant improvement, with both better qualifying performances and better race pace developing throughout the year. Toward the end of the season, I felt like we made significant gains in our setup, and this was never more obvious to me than at the GT Cup Snetterton finale. The car felt better than it ever had, and to drive the point home I forced a purple lap out of it on beat-up tires for the final lap of the season. If we can reproduce how the car felt in that race, I have no doubt that we will be fighting near the top in British GT this season.
 
“As a team, Paddock just keeps getting stronger with a flawless mechanical record last year, and Plowey continues to put in competitive performances as he and our coach, Jayde Kruger, get me up to pace. We will again be competing in some rounds of the GT Cup to help with development of both car and driver, and there’s potential to test the waters in additional championships around Europe if we can make the schedules work. In all, I am very hopeful for 2026 and can't wait for our first test of the season at Portimão in February.”

Paddock Motorsport founder Martin Plowman adds: “This year feels like a big one for us. Last season we made huge progress with both the car and our driver development. You only need to look at the fact Mark won so many GT Cup races – 15 from the 19 he entered – to see exactly how much he improved across the year. When it came to British GT, we found ourselves well in the mix for the top five at many rounds, even if a few instances of bad luck meant the results weren’t always there on paper.
 
“We want to push forward this year and be fighting for podium finishes, and I have every confidence we have the team and the expertise in place to do exactly that. Once again the additional mileage in series such as the GT Cup will only help, and we have greater ambitions too with a potential plan to push into more European competition, so it’s shaping up to be a very exciting year ahead.
 
“I’m also delighted about the partnership with Prostate Cancer UK for this year, which is a cause very close to the hearts of the team and my family. It’s such a privilege to be involved in motorsport and a championship like British GT, so it seems an ideal chance to give something back. We have an ambitious fundraising aim and will be doing a number of different activities both on and off track this year to attract donations, raise awareness and hopefully help as many people affected by the disease as possible.”

Seren Evans, Head of Events and Community Fundraising at Prostate Cancer UK, said: “Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men, with 1 in 8 getting diagnosed. We are so grateful for the dedication of Paddock Motorsport and so many others across the UK, who help Prostate Cancer UK fund lifesaving research to stop this disease damaging the lives of men and their loved ones.

“Everyone who supports Prostate Cancer UK has their own story, some heart-breaking and others heart-warming, but all united with a common aim to see a world where men’s lives are not limited by prostate cancer. We thank Paddock Motorsport for going that extra mile and helping to save men’s lives.”

Paddock Motorsport will get its season underway with a test in Portimão, Portugal this month, before British GT Media Day at Silverstone on March 31. The season begins in earnest at the Northamptonshire track over the weekend of April 25/26.
 
Further news on Paddock’s European programmes will be shared shortly.

Paddock ready to break new ground in Brands British GT finale

September 25, 2026
Paddock Motorsport will take on a fresh challenge in this weekend’s British GT finale at Brands Hatch, as Mark Smith returns the Porsche brand to the field for the first time in a year. Smith has facilitated the switch from the team’s usual McLaren 720S GT3 Evo to the 911 GT3 R, which Paddock’s engineering team has already worked wonders to prepare. Alongside technical staff from top German Porsche outfit Black Falcon, Paddock has essentially rebuilt the 911 from the ground up, with the new car making its debut in the hands of Smith during the recent GT Cup event at the Kent track. Once again stripped and prepared, Smith and Plowman will make their British GT debut in it this weekend. Obviously, the switch in machinery brings a host of new challenges, with Smith and Plowman realistic about their prospects in new surroundings for the final race of the year. Paddock will also handle the operation of the McLaren Artura GT4 shared by Revie Lake and Blake Angliss, which made headlines with a breakthrough victory last time out at Donington Park. Things will be made more difficult this time around with the pair having to serve the maximum pit stop compensation time following the result, but the pace the duo have shown since joining the Paddock team means hopes are high that they can still fight for some big points.

Paddock to run Porsche for British GT finale

September 18, 2026
Mark Smith will return the Porsche brand to the British GT3 field for the season finale at Brands Hatch, with Paddock Motorsport taking over the operation of a 992-generation Porsche 911 GT3 R. After almost four full British GT Championship seasons of competition with Paddock’s McLaren 720S GT3 Evo, Smith has opted to evaluate additional opportunities ahead of next season and has facilitated the switch to the Porsche. Despite the move, Paddock’s strong relationship with McLaren remains unaffected, with the team still planning to operate GT3, GT4 and McLaren Trophy Europe programmes with the Woking brand in 2027 and beyond. The 911 GT3 R will make its competitive debut with Smith and Martin Plowman at the wheel in the forthcoming GT Cup event at Brands Hatch this coming weekend, before the pair will contest the British GT finale with the 911 at the Kent venue over September 26/27. It means Paddock will return to full strength for the last race of the season, with the Porsche slotting in beside the race-winning McLaren Artura GT4 entry of Revie Lake and Blake Angliss. Having become regular top-five challengers with the McLaren across recent seasons – including scoring their breakthrough GT3 Pro-Am podium at Oulton Park this year – the switch to Porsche machinery for Smith and Plowman allows the team to evaluate additional GT3 programmes ahead of next season, alongside its plans to compete with McLaren in both British and European categories. Paddock has now taken delivery of the 911, which was the last Porsche to feature in British GT’s top class in 2025 when it was shared by Nick Jones and Sven Müller and run by Team Parker Racing. To aid the technical switch for the two events, Paddock’s engineering team will be bolstered by selected staff from leading German team Black Falcon, which has extensive experience of competing with the Porsche 911 GT3 in events such as the Nürburgring 24 Hours and German GT Cup. The two teams worked together during a recent test at the Nürburgring to get an initial feel for the project and the Black Falcon staff will be embedded within Paddock’s HQ for the duration of the two race events. The Porsche 911 GT3 R features a 4.2-litre flat-six Boxer engine capable of producing around 565bhp (dependent on Balance of Performance), a six-speed sequential transmission and weighs 1250kg.

Breakthrough GT4 glory for Paddock after dominant Donington display

September 7, 2026
Paddock Motorsport produced a flawless performance at Donington Park last weekend, with Revie Lake and Blake Angliss flying to both a breakthrough win for themselves and a maiden overall British GT4 success for the team. The #84 McLaren Artura proved unbeatable across mixed conditions in the Midlands, with Angliss and Lake each putting in a star turn to lead the two-hour British GT race from lights to flag, eventually securing the sort of crushing win their pace of late has deserved. After disappointments from promising positions at both Spa-Francorchamps and Snetterton, there would be no misfortune this time as the Paddock McLaren started and ended the weekend strong. After going fastest of all in opening practice, Lake and Angliss originally qualified third on the grid, but were promoted to pole after the two Ginettas ahead were excluded for a technical infringement. Even then success was far from guaranteed, with heavy rain before the race meaning the majority of the field lined up on wet tyres, but knowing the returning sun would quickly dry the track.

Full focus on the 4: Paddock sets sights on GT4 honours at Donington

September 4, 2026
Paddock Motorsport will set its full focus on fighting for GT4 honours at this weekend’s British GT Championship event at Donington Park. With the team’s McLaren GT3 entry skipping the penultimate race of the season, Paddock will throw its full weight behind the Artura GT4 shared by Revie Lake and Blake Angliss as the team continues to hunt success regardless. Lake and Angliss have been something of a form pairing since joining the Paddock team from the mid-season visit to Spa-Francorchamps, even if luck has so far not been on their side. Even though Paddock took over the operation of the ex-Mahiki Racing Artura only days before Spa, Lake and Angliss qualified the car on the front row of a giant GT4 grid which combined the British GT cars with those of the French GT and Alpine Cup series. After that Lake grabbed the race lead and looked set to challenge for the win before a gearbox glitch struck. Last time out at Snetterton, the pair again showed their speed with Lake placing the Artura third on the grid for Race 1, only to have his race ended before the end of the first sector after being harpooned by a Ginetta heading into Turn 2. Similar misfortune befell Angliss in Race 2, as an early puncture meant an additional pit stop and cost the crew a lap. The team will be hoping that their third event together proves the charm this weekend, with the Artura fully refreshed and ready to go again, this time with the hope that its undoubted qualifying pace can translate into a strong result for Lake and Angliss.

Podium pace goes unrewarded for Paddock amid Snetterton setbacks

August 17, 2026
Paddock Motorsport endured a frustratingly fruitless weekend at Snetterton, despite the team producing arguably its strongest overall British GT Championship performance to date. Both Paddock’s McLaren GT3 and Artura GT4 crews showed performance that on any other weekend would have carried them to the podium. However, through no fault of their own, both cars suffered setbacks that meant the team received no reward for its hard work. Mark Smith and Martin Plowman were fighting for what would have been their breakthrough overall British GT3 podium in Sunday’s opening race, with Smith having just taken third spot overall on track when the #9 McLaren was taken out, clattering the barriers and leaving the result in ruins. Even though the team worked wonders to repair the resulting steering, suspension, bodywork and toe-link damage – plus fully reset the car’s geometry – in time for Plowman to take the start of Race 2, a gearbox failure directly traced back to the earlier damage prevented them from even salvaging some points from the event. The bad luck wasn’t restricted to the GT3 side of the garage either, with Revie Lake and Blake Angliss twice losing a shot at a strong result to freak issues. Lake had qualified the #84 Artura third for Sunday’s opener and looked set to challenge for a trophy, but the car’s race was ended after just two corners when Lake was harpooned by and out-of-control Ginetta heading into Wilson hairpin. Again, the team did well to repair the damage, allowing Angliss to start from ninth in the finale, but his charge was halted by an early puncture that cost an additional pit stop to repair. The sole silver lining was a fourth place in GT4 Silver, but it was a tale of what could have been.

Snetterton sprints set to kick-start second half of British GT season

August 14, 2026
Paddock Motorsport will resume its charge for British GT Championship silverware at Snetterton this weekend, with the return of the series’ sprint format giving double the chance to impress.  After a two-month break since the last event at Spa-Francorchamps, Mark Smith and Martin Plowman will reunite aboard the #9 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo, while Paddock will also continue the operation of the ex-Mahiki Racing McLaren Artura GT4 shared by Revie Lake and Blake Angliss. The return to action in Norfolk marks the second and final sprint event of the season, where the usual standalone race is replaced by two flat-out 60-minute sprints. Traditionally, these have been the races that Smith and Plowman have excelled in, with the pair scoring their strongest British GT result yet in the last sprint round at Oulton Park, finishing fourth overall and securing a place on the GT3 Pro-Am podium for the first time. Unlike the longer solo races, each driver gets a chance to qualify for, and finish, one of the sprints. Smith will qualify the GT3 for Race 1 and take the wheel for the start, before Plowman sets the grid slot for Race 2 before handing to Smith for the run to the flag. With minimal strategy involved, sheer speed is first and foremost, with Paddock’s McLaren faring well in the timesheets so far this year. With its prime race engine restored ahead of the last round at Spa, the car’s pace was masked by the sheer traffic of the 55-car combined grid as British GT mixed with the French GT Championship and Alpine Cup. The pair banked solid points for eighth place overall in what became a race of survival – maintaining fifth in the GT3 Pro-Am points as a result. With a more manageable 24 cars expected around Snetterton’s 300 Circuit this weekend there will be plenty of extra space to attack. The three-mile Norfolk venue is second only to Spa in terms of the longest lap of the British GT season, and it’s a track Smith in particular has excelled at. The American driver celebrated three outright wins from four GT Cup races there last season, while he and Plowman also scored an impressive fifth place during last season’s British GT meeting. Hopes are high the duo can continue to build on that sort of form this weekend. Likewise, Lake and Angliss have also shown great promise since switching to run under the Paddock banner. Despite their move coming just before the last round in Belgium, the pair qualified on the front row in GT4 and were leading the race before a gearbox gremlin denied them. With the technical team enjoying additional time to service and re-prepare the Artura, the duo should be ones to watch in the GT4 hunt.

Podiums aplenty for Paddock in McLaren Trophy Europe scorcher at Misano

July 22, 2026
Paddock Motorsport added yet more silverware to its ever-growing McLaren Trophy Europe collection after another stellar performance at Misano last weekend, with Mark Smith scoring the team’s first class victory of the season while Luca Magnussen and Callum Davies continued to prove their Pro class title credentials. Away from his British GT duties with the team, American driver Smith made an instant impact on his Trophy debut in the third of Paddock Motorsport’s McLaren Arturas in Italy, grabbing an Am class triumph in the opening race. That contributed to a total of five podium finishes out of a possible six across the weekend for the team. One of those came in the Pro class, where Magnussen and Davies battled to their fourth outright podium of the season, a result that keeps the duo out front in the championship points. After impressive results at both Monza and Spa-Francorchamps, the squad travelled back to Italy for two races held in intense summer heat at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. Magnussen and Davies were reunited in the #23 Pro class Artura alongside Matthew Higgins and David Coelho in the #50 Pro-Am car and Smith’s Am entry.

5, 3, 2, 1... Paddock secures stunning McLaren Trophy haul at Spa

June 29, 2026
Paddock Motorsport beat the heat to claim five podium finishes across its three cars in two scorching McLaren Trophy Europe races at Spa-Francorchamps, earning one Team of the Weekend award in the process. The stunning haul of a total 11 pieces of silverware was split across the trio of Luca Magnussen and Callum Davies’ Pro class Artura Trophy Evo and the Pro-Am entries shared by David Coelho/Matthew Higgins and Maximilian Tarillion/Kevin Rohrscheidt. All three Paddock crews appeared on the podium at least once, with Magnussen and Davies claiming a pair of third places – the second taken after a stunning charge from the back of the grid – Tarillion and Rohrscheidt taking a third and second, and Coelho and Higgins scoring their breakthrough podium with second place in Race 1.

Paddock claims points across an ultra-demanding British GT race at Spa

June 24, 2026
Paddock Motorsport emerged from what was perhaps the most demanding British GT Championship race ever with a solid haul of points, with Mark Smith and Martin Plowman securing an eighth-place finish at Spa-Francorchamps last weekend. With the British GT field combined with cars from the French GT Championship and European Alpine Cup, a 55-car ‘mega grid’ would compete across two hours in the Ardennes, however the addition of so many GT4 and production-spec machines made the weekend a minefield of traffic of the GT3 runners. In many ways, ideal car setup mattered less here than anywhere, with traffic management and sheer fortune being more valuable in generating laptime. Smith and Plowman emerged second-fastest overall during second practice, but the #9 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo would have to serve a grid drop regardless following an incident at Oulton Park. That meant Smith took the wheel from 11th for the start on Sunday afternoon. The baking heat of Spa added an extra dimension, making the race a huge challenge both inside the car and out.

Paddock poised for a boost as British GT heads to Spa

June 19, 2026
Paddock Motorsport continues its British GT Championship campaign at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps this weekend, with the team keen to push on from its breakthrough podium finish last time out. Mark Smith and Martin Plowman head to the third round of the season full of confidence after securing their first British GT3 podium finish as a driver pairing in the last outing at Oulton Park, a result that has been long in the making and elevates them to fourth place in the GT3 Pro-Am standings. That result was also taken against the backdrop of the team having to run its spare engine in the #9 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo, with Oulton’s tight and twisty nature helping to mask any power deficit. However, for Spa Paddock’s prime unit has been freshly rebuilt, and will undoubtedly be a key addition given the power-hungry nature of the Belgian Grand Prix track. Spa represents the longest lap of the year, at 4.3miles, with GT3s nudging 165mph along the Kemmel Straight after the near-flat-out run up Eau Rouge/Raidillon, which pushes cars and drivers to their limits.  This event also features a different sort of challenge with the British GT grid combined with that of the French GT Championship and Alpine Cup to create a monster 60-car field. As French GT only caters for GT4-spec machinery, the GT3 field will effectively have three times the amount of traffic than usual to navigate across the two-hour race. This will place the emphasis on clean and consistent racing, something which Paddock should excel at given Smith and Plowman have scored class points in each of the last nine British GT races, a run stretching back to Oulton Park last year.