Vantage Point

In a series of new articles AMOC gets behind the scenes access with some of our leading Aston Martin Racing teams. Here we follow GBR Stratton Motorsport during at the opening rounds of the 2026 British GT Championship at Silverstone and Oulton Park.

A Dramatic British GT Championship Debut at the Silverstone 500

A Podium Against the Odds

When a new team rolls into the British GT paddock, the garage atmosphere usually gives the game away. Some look nervous. Some look overwhelmed. But GBR Stratton Motorsport, Aston Martin’s newest partner team for 2026, looked quietly determined. Calm, prepared and composed for a squad making its championship debut.

Co-founded by AMOC member Roger Bennington, the Norfolk based outfit arrived at the Silverstone 500 with a winter’s worth of testing behind them and a fresh Aston Martin Vantage GT4, Car #97. What followed was a three hour rollercoaster that tested every assumption, every system, and every nerve inside the garage.

Roger Bennington – Co Founder GBR Stratton Motorsport & AMOC Member
Credit: GBR Stratton/Gary Parravani

A Blend of Youth and Experience

The team’s driver pairing blended experience with youthful ambition. John Hartshorne, returning to British GT for the first time since 2014, brought decades of endurance racing know how.

Alongside him, Ronan Pearson, a British Touring Car race winner and AMR young academy driver, was making his long anticipated GT racing debut.

From the moment the lights went out at 13:00, John delivered exactly what the team needed: stability. While the midfield jostled for early position, he kept the Vantage clean, conserved tyres, and navigated the first wave of GT3 traffic with the calm of a man who has seen far worse at Le Mans and Spa. By the time he rolled into the pits for the first driver change, the pace was strong. The strategy was intact.

#97 – John Heartshorne – Silverstone 500
Credit: Darren Price DP7 Photos & Media

Ronan’s Trial by Fire

If John’s stint was serene, Ronan’s was anything but. He joined the race under Full Course Yellow, barely settling into the cockpit before the timing screens lit up with a message that sent a ripple through the garage:

“FCY procedure under investigation — Car #97”.

A software glitch buried deep in the Vantage’s systems had triggered a procedural irregularity and resulted in a pit lane speed infringement. The penalty was swift: a drive through.

Yet Ronan handled the chaos with remarkable composure. His radio messages were calm, measured, and mature beyond his GT racing experience. Battling on track while dealing with the news of the penalty Ronan set some fantastic lap times, overtook other cars for overall position.

A mature start dealing with this and very relaxed on the cars radio with clear radio communications showed that he was a definite star in the making. Another driver change, and an extra pit stop to check some damage at the rear of the car…the pit crew retired to the rear of the garage and began to contemplate what could have been…then the radio crackles into life!

FCY!

18minutes to go is reported back to Ronan.

This is great for us! It’s a reset and we can go again!

Suddenly, the field compressed. The gaps evaporated. And Ronan, still in the car, had maintained just enough track position to make the restart meaningful.

When the green flag waved, it became a two-lap sprint to the finish. Ronan attacked with precision, defending when needed and pushing when the opportunity arose. The garage fell silent — the kind of silence that only motorsport can produce, where every mechanic, engineer, and team principal holds their breath at the same time.

Moments later, the Aston Martin crossed the line to secure a GT4 Pro Am podium.

Pit stop – Silverstone 500
SRO Motorsports British GT

Relief, Reflection, and a Statement of Intent

Ronan summed up the afternoon with refreshing honesty:

“Still trying to compute this afternoon’s race. The race really threw everything at us, including having to pit 6 times and we still came away with some silverware.”

“To secure a podium finish was a great reward after a weekend full of hard work, progress and determination.”

For a debut team, this was more than a result. It was a declaration.

The Aston ran reliably.

The drivers delivered.

The crew executed under pressure.

And the data gathered will shape the season ahead.

As the paddock packed up it was clear that GBR Stratton Motorsport had arrived, and the Vantage GT4 was proving competitive.

Turning Up the Heat at Oulton Park

#97 at Oulton Park
Credit: GBR Stratton/Gary Parravani

A podium, a championship charge, and a weekend that proved this team’s potential.

Oulton Park has a reputation for exposing weaknesses. Its narrow ribbon of tarmac, blind crests, and unforgiving barriers demand precision even on a cool day, and this was anything but. Under blue skies and record breaking heat, the Cheshire circuit became a furnace for Rounds 2 and 3 of the 2026 British GT Championship.

For GBR Stratton Motorsport, fresh from a breakthrough podium at the Silverstone 500, this was the next big test. And once again, the AMR partner team delivered.

Finding Pace in the Heat

The weekend began with a methodical approach. With temperatures soaring, the team spent Friday and Saturday refining the new Aston Martin Vantage GT4, focusing on stability, traction, and braking consistency, all crucial at a circuit where mistakes are punished instantly.

By the end of FP2, the car looked transformed. Improved rotation in the slower corners and stronger top end speed through the first sector suggested the team had unlocked something meaningful.

Qualifying, however, proved trickier.

John Hartshorne placed the car solidly in the midfield in Q1, while Ronan Peason pushed hard in Q2 as the track rubbered in. The GT4 field was brutally tight, less than a second covering the top 12, and GBR Stratton found themselves slightly further back than hoped.

Ronan admitted as much afterward, saying the rising temperatures made the session “more of a struggle than anticipated,” but he remained optimistic, noting that endurance racing “can still throw up many different situations that can play to our advantage.”

He would be proven right.

Credit: GBR Stratton/Gary Parravani

Race 1: Consistency Pays Off

Sunday’s opening race was classic Oulton Park: elbows out racing, relentless traffic, and almost no margin for error. John handled the opening stint with trademark composure, navigating the early chaos and keeping the Aston Martin firmly in the GT4 pack. When Ronan took over, the race came alive. A Full Course Yellow and a safety car compressed the field, giving the young Scot a chance to show the car’s true pace.

He delivered, running with the front group and managing tyres and brakes in the punishing heat. With overtaking opportunities scarce, Ronan brought the car home P5 in GT4 Pro Am and P9 overall, a result that added valuable points and even more valuable data.

Race 2: A Fight Worthy of a Podium

If Race 1 was about discipline, Race 2 was about grit.

With temperatures climbing even higher, Ronan started the race and immediately demonstrated front running pace. His 35 minute opening stint was one of his strongest yet — consistent, aggressive when needed, and perfectly judged in the conditions.

When he handed the car to John P2 in class, the fight was on.

What followed was one of the standout defensive drives of the weekend. Under intense pressure from the West Surrey Racing BMW, John managed tyres, brakes, and track position with remarkable control. Lap after lap, he absorbed the pressure, refusing to yield.

When the chequered flag fell, GBR Stratton Motorsport secured P3 in GT4 Pro Am, their second podium in three races.

Ronan reflects:

“Saturday brought a lot of hope following a fantastic pre event test, but we struggled more than anticipated with the increased temperatures. Qualifying felt like a disappointment, only managing P6 in GT4 Pro for myself and P11 in GT4 Am for John. Whilst we would’ve liked to be starting higher up the order come race day, we still had a lot to work on, carry forward, as the usual nature of endurance racing can still throw up many different situations that can play to our advantage.”

A Team Growing in Strength

The result propelled the pairing to P2 in the Pro Am Drivers’ Championship, a remarkable achievement for a team still in its first season of GT racing.

Ronan reflects:

“Race 2 was at the hottest point of the day and another gruelling sixty minutes were in store for us. My opening stint lasted 35 minutes and was pretty solid, showing great consistency and front running GT4 pace before handing the car over to John, currently P2 in class, and the fight for silverware was on! John did an incredible job to hold his own and bring the Vantage GT4 home in P3, and a trip to the podium to cool down with some champagne spraying commenced. I couldn’t have asked for any more from John when it mattered most, fending off the BMW for an eternity to hold onto our podium spot.”

Team Manager Craig Brunton summed up the weekend with understated pride:

“Tyre management was the key to our podium result and the final stint from John was mega. A few unusual things tested our strategies with higher fuel consumption and brake wear, but the whole team delivered.”

With Spa on the horizon in June, the momentum is unmistakable...