Charles Dawson and Kiern Jewiss took podium during the British GT Championship this past weekend.

A significant 28.5-point lead – the most at this stage of any GT3 season – made Dawson and Jewiss heavy favourites to win the title. And, ultimately, their lead was never really in jeopardy despite the weather and a penalty briefly threatening to cause the greatest upset in championship history.

Their cause was undoubtedly helped by Barwell whose Lamborghinis were never troubled out front after Collard maintained his initial advantage over Martin at the start. #78 slipped back over the first half of the stint but was tucked up behind again by the time both cars pitted together and duly moved ahead thanks to #1’s Compensation Time.

Mitchell, who took over from Martin, set fastest lap en route to an untroubled first victory of the season from Cook who was similarly serene in second.

The same could not be said for the majority of their GT3 rivals, and especially the four cars capable of winning the title.

Intermittent rain showers made for tricky conditions on slick tyres before the stops when Dawson – who moved up to third early on – had two moments that could have ended in disaster. The first involved Giacomo Petrobelli at the Old Hairpin where side-by-side contact and both cars spinning was ruled a racing incident, before Dawson turned Morgan Tillbrook around at Coppice. The latter earned his 2 Seas Mercedes-AMG an additional 10-second penalty during its pitstop on top of the maximum Compensation Time accrued for winning at Brands Hatch.

Tillbrook retired before the driver changes by spinning into the McLeans gravel trap, while Petrobelli’s earlier delay and Tse’s trip through the gravel trap left both remaining championship challengers needing a miracle. None was forthcoming.

Instead, Jonny Adam was running only fifth when Blackthorn elected to switch from slicks to wets in the worst of the conditions. But when the rain eased and track dried the Aston Martin was forced to stop again, leaving it only 11th at the flag.

The same decisions by Orange/JMH and Paddock, whose McLarens were third and fourth when they pitted, left Jewiss a miraculous fourth overall – more than enough for him and Dawson to win the crown.

Blackthorn’s guest entry shared by Darren Leung and Nick Yelloly battled to fifth, while Beechdean’s Howard and Wood secured the Silver-Am crown with a trouble-free run to sixth overall.