Greystone GT made a near-perfect start to the International GT Open season with a commanding victory in the opening race of 2025 at Portimao, Portugal.
James Kell and Dean MacDonald were the class of the field during Saturday’s 70-minute race aboard their McLaren 720S GT3 Evo while the similar car of Andrey Borodin and Oli Webb was in action in the British GT Championship’s blue-riband ‘Silverstone 500’.
International GT Open
Having triumphed in 2024’s Monza finale, James Kell and Dean MacDonald began the new season targeting an overall title challenge and set a solid pace during Friday testing.
McLaren factory driver Dean, from Kelty, Fife, then stormed to second place in Saturday qualifying to equal Greystone GT’s best-ever starting position in the series and stayed within a second of the lead through Race One’s opening stint.
It was the mandatory driver change that determined the result as a super-slick pitstop by the pit crew helped James to climb in and emerge with a small, but decisive lead.
The Morpeth racer increased his advantage to over nine seconds at one point and was able to preserve the car in the latter stages as he claimed his, Dean’s and the team’s second series win in a row.
The duo added sixth place in Sunday’s race; the mandatory 10-second pitstop handicap they earned as a result of their Race-One victory preventing forward progress.
They hold second place in the Drivers’ Championship with one round complete.
British GT Championship
Much closer to home was the Silverstone 500, the second round of the series. Following a top-10 finish in the GT Pro-Am class at Donington Park, Andrey Borodin and Oli Webb were faced with additional competition for the three-hour race.
Qualifying 14th in class, Andrey made a solid start, but his attempts to settle into a rhythm were blighted by a number of Full-Course Caution periods caused by incidents elsewhere on track.
It was just after racing conditions had resumed towards the end of the first hour that the crucial moment occurred. Andrey was squeezed onto a large kerb by another car; the ensuing contact damaging a radiator and forcing a pitstop for a replacement unit.
The time lost in doing this made any chance of a strong finish impossible. Despite a few exploratory laps by former European Le Mans Series Champion Oli, the car was retired.
Mark McLoughlin, Team Principal, said: “It’s been a fantastic start to the International GT Open season. To have won at Monza last year was exciting, but there were a number of strategy-related factors that benefitted us on that occasion. This time at Portimao the win was achieved through pure performance by Dean and James on track and by the team when it came to car performance and pitstop execution. We’re serious about fighting for this championship title and this a very good way to start. Silverstone showed some improved performance with Andrey making places up early in the race until the radiator damage. We now have more testing planned before Round Three and will continue making progress.”
