What we're looking forward to in national motorsport in 2025

We are incredibly fortunate in the UK to have such a huge selection of national motorsport events to attend. From humble hillclimbs to historic extravaganzas, there's something to suit everyone.

But, of the hundreds and hundreds of fixtures, some of them stand out as having particular appeal.

Here some of Autosport's national writers pick out the events and categories they are most looking forward to over the next eight months.

A closer British GT fight as new manufacturers join

Barwell's Lamborghinis were regularly at the front of British GT last season but may not be so dominant this year

Photo by: JEP

The 2024 British GT campaign featured one of the most dominant performances from a team in recent history. Barwell Motorsport clinched the title at the penultimate round and the Lamborghini squad won five of the nine races, which even took team boss Mark Lemmer by surprise.

But there will be a few changes for this season at Barwell, so it will be very exciting to see how the dynamic plays out, starting with the Donington Park opener on 5-6 April. In the #1 Huracan is reigning champion Rob Collard, who is striving to become the first amateur – a so-called ‘amateur’ with 15 British Touring Car race wins, it must be noted – to claim three series titles, yet he will be joined by the inexperienced Hugo Cook and not son Ricky, with whom he won the 2024 drivers’ crown.

Cook contested his rookie campaign only last year, finishing 13th for Audi team J&S Racing. So it’s a huge jump for the 20-year-old, who took the 2023 GT Cup crown, to line up alongside the reigning champion at the best squad in the series. Will he handle the pressure?

It could even be argued that the fastest Huracan failed to win the 2024 title: Alex Martin and Sandy Mitchell won more races than the Collards, yet a penalty at Snetterton, retirement at Silverstone and puncture at Donington Park led to this pairing finishing runner-up.

Redemption is therefore the aim for the other car in Barwell’s garage. It will have to be done without Mitchell at Silverstone, Spa and Brands Hatch though, since the factory Lambo ace is unavailable for those rounds, so in his place will be Patrick Kujala, whose most recent British GT campaign was 2020.

Mitchell was the series’ standout driver last year and almost dragged Martin to the title, so how Martin fares with Kujala will determine whether he has improved from an inconsistent season in 2024.

What should also be exciting is seeing who can dethrone Barwell, which enters its final year with the Huracan before switching to the new Temerario model.

The fairytale story will be Ferrari squad AF Corse, the Italian marque returning after being absent from the championship for five years. The team, which will run the 296 GT3 under its Spirit of Race banner, has an experienced line-up to boast in the form of Duncan Cameron and Matt Griffin, who have six series wins together and finished third in the 2010 standings. So all the elements are there for an intense battle between the top two Italian manufacturers in Britain’s top GT series – how great would that be?

Something else to look out for is the new Endurance Cup, which is essentially a championship within a championship reserved for GT4 crews at the calendar’s biggest circuits. Ed Hardy

Aggressive new GB3 car and a series on the up

Silverstone Autosport BRDC Award winner Fairclough is expected to be a frontrunner in GB3

Photo by: JEP

A brand-new car, more teams, and the addition of Monza to the calendar for the first time are a signal of intent as the GB3 Championship aims to reach new heights in 2025.

The Tatuus MSV GB3-025 is expected to be significantly faster than its predecessor, thanks to a fully revised chassis, Formula 1-inspired aerodynamics generating up to 35% more downforce, and a new Mountune engine producing an extra 30bhp. The introduction of a Drag Reduction System will also add another dynamic to the races.

Monza will host the season finale and is one of five current F1 venues on the calendar, including Silverstone - which hosts the opener on 26-27 April - with half of the eight rounds taking place overseas.

The changes have enticed two new teams to the grid: Xcel Motorsport will be joined by fellow British F4 squad Argenti Motorsport, which has formed an intriguing partnership with single-seater powerhouse Prema for its entry.

On the driver front, recent Silverstone Autosport BRDC Young Driver Award winner Deagen Fairclough is a likely early favourite following his record-breaking British F4 performance last year. He could face internal competition within Hitech GP from Nikita Johnson, who won twice in his rookie GB3 campaign in 2024. Alex Ninovic, runner-up to Fairclough in F4, will be aiming to lock horns with his rival again by making the step up with Rodin Motorsport, and his team-mate Abbi Pulling will be hoping to shine after winning the F1 Academy crown last year. Rising star Freddie Slater will also be one to watch during his part-time campaign with Hillspeed. Steve Whitfield

Super Touring Power 3

The halcyon BTCC era will again be celebrated at Brands Hatch in June

Photo by: Gary Hawkins

Judging by early indications, Super Touring Power 3 at Brands Hatch on 28-29 June has the potential to be the best edition yet. That is some going, considering how well the first two stagings of the tin-top extravaganza – celebrating the British Touring Car Championship’s most fondly remembered era – were received.

After skipping last year’s edition, the hugely popular Kiwi contingent will be back, with at least half a dozen cars being shipped from New Zealand. The chance for Brands Hatch local Patrick Watts – a staunch supporter of the event – to get reacquainted with Paul McCarthy’s unique ‘rhubarb and custard’ Mazda Xedos 6 that he raced in period will be a treat.

It’s not just about the Super Tourers. The Classic Touring Car Racing Club’s full suite of championships will also race on both the Indy and Grand Prix layouts, with the Group A element growing in stature each year and now attracting Antipodean interest too.
Star drivers, high-speed demonstrations and off-track displays offer further opportunity to wallow in nostalgia. The event showcases the full history of touring cars, so expect to see anything from the likes of a Bill McGovern Hillman Imp to the musical glory of the late Alan Minshaw’s BMW M3. Mark Paulson

Equipe 6 Hour

New Donington Park race will emulate the Spa Six Hours but without GT40s

Photo by: Mick Walker

Equipe Classic Racing has redefined the competition landscape for owners of pre-1966 GT and GTS cars over the past decade. Marketed as “premium clubman racing”, its initial focus on the marques that engaged enthusiasts on road and track in a golden era has grown to nine grids. ECR’s inaugural six-hour endurance race, “in the spirit of the Spa Six Hours of the early 2000s”, at Donington Park on Saturday 5 July, should be sensational.

Following the model of the Belgian classic, inaugurated in 1993, the Equipe 6 Hour’s USP is outlawing the Ford GT40s (the majority late-built, to FIA HTP specification) that have won 18 of the 31 Francorchamps races. Evocative as GT40s are, the model’s dominance – they now comprise a quarter of the Spa field – has reduced its diversity and entry from 100-plus to around 80.

The first tranche of Donington entries sold out quickly and, capped at 40 cars, an extra batch is likely to be oversubscribed. The accessibility, location and popularity of the fast, flowing National circuit will see around 130 competitors head into battle. An hour of qualifying precedes the 1300-1900 race, with a big party afterwards. “We are not competing with Spa, but see our event as complementary,” says ECR’s John Pearson. What price a trophy for the top-placed crew over both? Marcus Pye

Silverstone Festival

Senna was celebrated at the Silverstone Festival last year, this time it will be F1's 75th birthday

Photo by: JEP

The Goodwood Revival and Silverstone Festival (formerly the Classic) are the first two events that go into this writer’s diary each year. Both feature exotic historic machinery driven by top racers and showcase superb wheel-to-wheel contests. The Festival gets the nod here, partly because of its wider range of eras – which stretch all the way to sports-prototypes that have only just retired from contemporary competition – and also because 2025 is a special year for Silverstone.

To celebrate 75 years since the Formula 1 world championship kicked off in Northamptonshire, a special display of title-winning cars will be assembled. The aim is to have F1 cars raced by all 34 champions together for the first time. Given the success of last year’s Ayrton Senna tribute, it’ll be fascinating to see what will be part of the World Champions Collection at the 22-24 August event.

The racing will, of course, provide much of the action. As part of the F1 75 celebrations, a 500cc F3 grid will be part of the event for the first time. The diminutive single-seaters provided the support act for the 1950 British Grand Prix and more than 60 are expected for the Sunday contest.

Beyond that, there is the usual array of single-seater, sportscar and touring car grids, including Masters Racing Legends for F1 cars of the 1966-85 period and the return of Group C. Whatever your tastes, there will be plenty to savour. Kevin Turner

Walter Hayes Trophy

Quality FF1600 racing can bring cheer at a cold Silverstone

Photo by: JEP

The Walter Hayes Trophy is always a special event. The sight of a horde of Formula Ford 1600 machines swarming into Brooklands squabbling for position is enough to warm the spirits on even the coldest of November days. Plenty of action and close racing is guaranteed, and there is very often a hint of controversy as well.

This year’s edition, following just a week after the Brands Hatch Formula Ford Festival, is set to be extra special. The popular Silverstone event is reaching its 25th anniversary and you can be sure that its creator, James Beckett, will pull out all the stops to attract an impressive entry to celebrate the occasion in style on 1-2 November.

Ex-Formula 1 driver and sportscar star Jan Magnussen was among the notable names to feature last year, when he took part in the pre-1982 Carl Hamer Trophy. And that is the great thing about the Hayes – as well as the contemporary FF1600s, the battling among the two separate contests for historic machinery is just as fierce. With the prospect of further intriguing entries gracing the National circuit, mixing it with the WHT regulars, those spectating will need to secure a spot early in the BRDC grandstand! Stephen Lickorish

Roger Albert Clark Rally

Seb Perez and his Lancia Stratos starred on the previous edition of the R.A.C.

Photo by: Paul Lawrence

The Roger Albert Clark Rally is still months away, yet the buzz is already building ahead of this remarkable event.

For five days, the forests of England, Scotland and Wales will host a huge field of rally cars and thousands of fans, reliving the glory days of the RAC Rallies of the 1970s and 1980s.

A unique atmosphere surrounds this epic biennial challenge and the 2025 edition, held over 20-24 November, promises to be even better than the last one. It is about BDGs in the forest, rallying in the dark, relentless days, fierce competition, challenging weather and great banter.

It’s also about star names, star cars and true clubmen taking on the biggest rally in the UK. Can anything match the spectacle of Ford Escorts, Porsche 911s, Triumph TR7 V8s and the glorious Lancia Stratos doing battle in the forests? It’s a true celebration of the era when Roger Clark was in his pomp.

The 180 available places will be in big demand and lots of overseas entries and some big names are sure to be part of it all.

It’s an absolute stand-out fixture on this writer’s calendar and is an event that celebrates everything that is good about British rallying. But it’s more than just a rally: this is a five-day adventure! Paul Lawrence

The epic historic rally recreates the spirit of the RAC events of the 1970s and 1980s

Photo by: Paul Lawrence