REMO British GT3 2026 Round 1: Ethan Turner Opens the Season With Victory at Donington Park

The REMO British GT3 2026 championship got underway at Donington Park, with Round 1 delivering exactly what you'd hope for from the opening race of a new season: close qualifying, fierce on-track competition, strategic battles and a race that remained largely clean from start to finish.

After 41 laps and one hour of racing around the Grand Prix layout, it was Ethan Turner who emerged victorious in his Aston Martin Vantage GT3, beating Dom Vess in the Ferrari 296 GT3 by 5.681 seconds. Preben Olaissen Hagen completed the podium for Lamborghini, while also claiming the fastest-lap bonus point.

The race was ultimately decided by a combination of racecraft and strategy, with Turner putting together a particularly impressive first stint before extending his advantage through the mandatory pit-stop phase.

Qualifying: Larssen Leads an Incredibly Close Field

The opening qualifying session of the REMO British GT3 2026 season immediately demonstrated just how competitive this grid is.

Jon Wiggo Larssen secured pole position with a lap of 1:26.084, putting his car at the head of the field for the opening round. But Larssen's pole was only part of the story...

The entire qualifying field was remarkably close, with the gap from the front of the grid to the back standing at just two seconds. Even more impressively, the top 15 drivers all recorded laps in the 1:26s.

With such small margins separating the field, there was little room for error and that proved particularly significant once the race got underway.

A Clean Start Turns Into Redgate Drama

The opening moments of the race were surprisingly orderly considering how tightly packed the field was. With everyone alert to the green light, there was no single driver able to make a huge getaway from the line. Instead, the field remained tightly bunched as the cars headed towards the opening corner. For most of the pack, it was a clean run through the opening sequence.

At Redgate, however, the first major incident of the season unfolded.

Pole sitter Jon Wiggo Larssen and Dom Vess came together, sending Larssen into a spin and ultimately into the gravel. It was a costly opening-lap incident for the polesitter, who would eventually recover to finish 12th after what became a difficult race.

While Larssen's race immediately became a recovery effort, Ethan Turner was moving in the opposite direction. Starting from P5, Turner made an exceptional opening lap, climbing all the way to P2 and immediately putting himself into contention for the race lead.

Turner and Vess Settle Into a First-Stint Battle

The fight at the front quickly developed into a fascinating duel between Ethan Turner and Dom Vess.

On Lap 2, Turner made his intentions clear with a late lunge down into the Melbourne Hairpin. It was an aggressive move, with Turner getting his elbows out and making light contact with Vess in the process. The contact was not deemed worthy of race-control intervention, allowing both drivers to continue their battle. And battle they did...

For approximately 35–40 minutes, Turner and Vess remained locked together at the sharp end of the field, trading pace and putting pressure on one another throughout the opening stint. It was the kind of first-stint fight that set the tone for the season: competitive, aggressive when necessary, but ultimately remaining within the limits.

Neither driver was able to completely break away from the other, and for much of the opening phase it looked as though the race could be decided by whoever executed the pit-stop phase best.

The Pit Stop That Changed the Race

With the mandatory pit stops taking place between approximately 27 and 40 minutes into the one-hour race, strategy became increasingly important.

Turner opted to extend his first stint, allowing him to spend longer on track before making his stop. That decision paid dividends!

Once the pit-stop cycle had played out, Turner had gained approximately 4.6 seconds through the combination of his extended stint and the time saved during refuelling.

Vess, meanwhile, lost further ground through his own pit stop, which was 4.4 seconds slower than Turner's. The difference was enough to fundamentally change the complexion of the race. After spending the majority of the opening stint fighting for position, Turner emerged from the strategic battle with a significant advantage.

From Scrapping for the Lead to Controlling the Race

The second half of the race was a very different proposition for Turner.

With the pit stops complete, the pressure was effectively off.

Turner had established a comfortable advantage, with approximately 10 seconds separating him from the provisional podium sitters chasing him down, and the Aston Martin was now able to control the pace rather than having to constantly defend from Vess.

There were moments when Vess managed to close the gap, but never enough to put Turner under serious pressure.

The intense first-stint duel had effectively been decided by the pit-stop phase.

Turner's ability to extend his opening stint, combined with a faster pit stop, transformed what had been an incredibly close race into a controlled run to the chequered flag.

Hagen Claims the Fastest Lap Bonus

While Ethan Turner took control of the race, Preben Olaissen Hagen provided one of the standout pace markers of the evening.

The Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO driver recorded the fastest lap of the race with a 1:26.347.

That was enough to secure Hagen the additional championship point for fastest lap, giving the Lamborghini driver an important bonus as the championship gets underway.

Hagen ultimately finished P3, putting him on the podium and leaving Donington with a strong points haul.

The Recovery Drives

While the podium battle naturally takes centre stage, there were several impressive drives further down the field.

Matthew Pell – Biggest Mover

The biggest positional gain of the race belonged to Matthew Pell.

Starting from P15, Pell worked his way through the field to finish P7, gaining an impressive eight positions over the course of the 41-lap race.

It was one of the strongest recovery drives of the opening round and an excellent start to the season.

Ross Young – A Difficult Recovery

Ross Young's race was very nearly defined by an unfortunate moment at the opening corner. Starting from P6, Young was caught out by the rough side of the apex at Redgate, sending his car into the gravel. Rather than allowing the incident to end his race, Young recovered and fought his way back, eventually bringing the car home in P8. Given where he had started, the result represented a solid recovery from a difficult early start.

Bradley Betts – Another Strong Recovery

Starting all the way back in P17, Bradley Betts had plenty of work to do.

Anyone familiar with Betts' previous performances will know that he is capable of strong drives, and Round 1 provided another example.

Betts steadily worked his way through the field to finish P11, gaining six positions and putting together a respectable opening-round result despite starting deep in the field.

Charlie Okane – Mission Accomplished

Charlie Okane arrived at Donington with a straightforward target: a top-ten finish.

He delivered exactly that.

After putting his race together and avoiding the major incidents around him, Okane crossed the line in P10, matching the target he had set for himself before the race.

Sometimes, the most satisfying result is simply executing the plan.

The Pole Sitter's Difficult Evening

Perhaps the biggest contrast between qualifying and the race came from Jon Wiggo Larssen.

After taking a superb pole position with a 1:26.084, Larssen looked to be one of the drivers to beat heading into the opening round.

Instead, the Redgate incident with Vess on the opening lap immediately put him on the back foot.

From there, Larssen's evening became a combination of battling the car and battling other drivers. A number of incidents throughout the race prevented him from recovering the pace that had put him on pole. He eventually finished P12.

It's a result that doesn't necessarily reflect the underlying pace Larssen demonstrated at Donington and with the qualifying margins so tight, he'll have plenty of opportunity to turn that pace into points in the next round.

Race Control & Post-Race Reviews

As is customary after a closely contested GT3 race, several incidents from Round 1 were reviewed by race control following the chequered flag, with the post-race decisions resulting in one time penalty and two incidents being classified as racing incidents or requiring no further action.

The biggest change to the final classification involved Henrik Strand, who was handed a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision with Craig Hewlett on Lap 3. The incident occurred at the Melbourne Hairpin, where Strand perhaps got a little too excited and made contact with Hewlett. Strand initially crossed the finish line in P4, but the penalty dropped him to P5, promoting Karstein Havdal into fourth position.

The Lap 20 battle between Mark Bowskill and Nico Balderrama was also reviewed for a second time following the race. The pair went toe-to-toe through the Fogarty Esses, with neither driver willing to concede the position. After further review, race control deemed the incident to be a racing incident, leaving both drivers' results unchanged.

Finally, the opening-lap clash between Jon Wiggo Larssen and Dom Vess at Redgate was reviewed. Following examination of the incident, race control determined that no further action was necessary, with Vess deemed to have been established on the inside line at the apex of the corner. As a result, no additional penalty was applied to either driver.

With the post-race reviews now concluded, the official classification has been adjusted accordingly, with Havdal moving into P4 as the only change to the top-five order from the incidents reviewed.

Round 1 Results

POS	DRIVER
1	ETHAN TURNER
2	DOM VESS
3	PREBEN HAGEN
4	KARSTEIN HAVDAL
5	HENRIK STRAND
6	CRAIG HEWLETT
7	MATTHEW PELL
8	ROSS YOUNG
9	MORTEN DALE
10	CHARLIE O'KANE
11	BRADLEY BETTS
12	JON WIGGO LARSSEN
13	NICO BALDERRAMA
14	DAVID FIELDER
15	MARK BOWSKILL
16	BEN VESS
17	LIAM STACEY
18	SAM BAIRD
19	CASEY WALDRON
20	KEN BAKKEN
21	CAMERON BETTS
22	ISAAC BOYS
23	DEAN WRAGG

Championship Standings After Round 1

VIEW THE LATEST CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

What We Learned at Donington

Ethan Turner is an early championship contender

You couldn't ask for a better start to a championship than winning the opening round.

Turner's victory wasn't handed to him. He fought Vess for the majority of the first stint before making the crucial strategic decisions when it mattered.

Pit strategy is going to matter

The 4.6-second gain for Turner and 4.4-second slower stop for Vess demonstrate just how quickly a close GT3 race can change during the pit window.

With the field so closely matched on outright qualifying pace, execution during the race could prove just as important as raw speed.

The grid is seriously competitive

Having the top 15 drivers all within the 1:26s during qualifying is a statement of intent from the REMO British GT3 field.

The margins are tiny, meaning even a small mistake can have a significant effect on the finishing order.

Recovery drives will matter

Pell's eight-position gain, Betts' charge from P17 to P11 and Young's recovery from the gravel show that an incident doesn't necessarily end a driver's race.

The ability to stay composed and recover lost ground could be a major championship asset.

Round 1 has only given us a taste

The Donington result gives Turner the early momentum, but there is a long championship ahead. With drivers already showing strong pace throughout the field, there is little reason to expect the order to remain static.

A Clean Start to the Championship

Despite the inevitable incidents that come with close GT3 racing, Round 1 was ultimately a very clean and competitive opening to the REMO British GT3 2026 season. A small number of incidents have been referred for review by steward Jacob Reid, but the overall atmosphere remained competitive without the race descending into unnecessary contact or chaos. That is particularly encouraging given how closely matched the field proved to be.

There was also plenty of excitement among the drivers after the chequered flag, with attention already turning towards Brands Hatch next week.

Next Stop: Brands Hatch

Ethan Turner leaves Donington Park as the first race winner of the REMO British GT3 2026 season, but the championship is only just getting started.

The next challenge comes at Brands Hatch, where the field will once again face close qualifying margins, heavy traffic and another opportunity to establish themselves as early championship contenders.

If Round 1 at Donington Park is anything to go by, the REMO British GT3 2026 championship is going to be one worth watching.

Round 2: Brands Hatch - 14th September (Broadcast on the Refined Motorsport social platforms).