SMITH & PLOWMAN SCORE BREAKTHROUGH BRITISH GT PODIUM

Mark Smith & Martin Plowman emerged from a scorching Bank Holiday British GT weekend at Oulton Park with a breakthrough podium finish and their best result to date as a pairing.

Fourth overall in the opening race marked a major achievement for the entire Paddock team and was made even sweeter by the fact one of the cars ahead competed in a different class, promoting Smith and Plowman onto the GT3 Pro-Am podium for the first time together in their fourth full season as teammates.

The weekend presented no shortage of challenges, not least the 30-plus degree temperatures on race day and the fact the team’s McLaren 720S GT3 Evo was still running its backup engine while the primary unit undergoes a rebuild, leaving the car at a clear power disadvantage.

That deficit was evident in qualifying, with Smith and Plowman struggling to feature in the speed trap figures. Nevertheless, strong laps from both drivers secured promising starting positions for Monday’s races, with Smith lining up seventh for the opener.

By race day, track temperatures had climbed to 38 degrees as the lights went out for Race One. Smith made a strong launch to hold the inside line into Old Hall and then expertly navigated a three-car squeeze that resulted in contact and a spinning Optimum McLaren directly ahead.

Avoiding the chaos, the American emerged fifth and settled into pursuit of the Barwell Lamborghini driven by multiple race winner Alex Martin. Aware the Lamborghini would have to serve additional success penalty time during the pit stop window following its Silverstone result, Smith focused on maintaining pressure rather than forcing an overtake before handing over to Plowman.

A strong pit stop elevated the Paddock McLaren into fourth overall, with Plowman immediately coming under pressure from the Barwell Lamborghini, now in the hands of Jarrod Waberski. The extreme heat reduced the straight-line advantage of rival cars and allowed the McLaren to remain competitive, with Plowman producing a composed defensive drive to maintain position.

A late safety car transformed the closing stages into a 12-minute sprint to the flag, but Plowman held firm to secure fourth overall and third in the GT3 Pro-Am class, triggering huge celebrations within the Paddock garage.

Race Two proved more difficult. Even hotter temperatures, a safety car start and limited overtaking opportunities around the narrow Oulton Park circuit made progress difficult from the outset. Starting 10th, Plowman climbed to ninth before the driver change, with a clean stop releasing Smith directly behind the Rodin Ferrari.

However, contact between the two cars under braking for the chicane caused damage to the Paddock McLaren and forced an unscheduled return to the pits, prematurely ending hopes of another strong finish.

Despite the disappointment of Race Two, the weekend remained a hugely positive milestone for the entire team.

 Mark Smith said: “I really enjoyed this weekend, and to finally get that third place feels so good. The heat was a big factor and the races were hard work, so I had to bide my time in the first race and play the waiting game as we knew the cars ahead had longer pit stops, which played into our strategy. To finally stand on that podium was amazing, and hopefully it can be the first of many! Race two I was trying to push on but then when I went into the chicane with the Ferrari I just couldn’t slow the car down enough, I don’t know if there was something down on the track or whatever, but it was really unfortunate. It may not have been the finale we wanted, but this has still been a weekend to remember.” Martin Plowman said: “I’m really proud of the entire team this weekend, and to finally get the podium finish we craved just shows how far we’ve come. Mark drove brilliantly in some really difficult conditions, especially as we were lacking some power from the engine in qualifying. Although the heat made the races really physical, it did even the playing field a bit for us, but it’s just so hard to overtake around here as the cars are so fast and there’s such limited opportunities with the aero wash and the tyres going off. Still, I think we can all leave Oulton Park really pleased, and hoping to continue this sort of form next time out at Spa.” The next round of the British GT Championship takes place at the world-famous Belgian Grand Prix venue, Spa-Francorchamps over the weekend of June 20-21.