Winner: Gavin Dunn (BMW E36) · Armed Forces class winner: John Cobley (SEAT Ibiza Cupra) · Weather: Bright, dry · Distance: 18 laps (21.74 miles), the full 20-minute distance interrupted once by a safety car
Race Summary
Gavin Dunn led every lap to win the second and final Armed Forces Race Challenge race of the day at Brands Hatch, taking over the BMW E36 M3 that Ray West had driven to victory earlier and controlling the race from lights to flag for a 16.457-second win over fellow guest entry Anton Martin. Behind them, John Cobley made it back-to-back Armed Forces class wins, holding off a determined Andrew Bailey by just 0.418 seconds after a race-long duel that was still separated by half a second with two laps to go.
The race was neutralised once, when Class A leader Jasmin Norman’s smoking Audi TT went off at Druids on only the second lap, ending her charge for a fourth win of the season and denting an otherwise strong run of form since her return from a major accident at Castle Combe. Once the race restarted, the front two pulled clear while a string of tight class battles played out behind, several of them decided in the closing laps.
How the Race Unfolded
Grid and Build-Up
Gavin Dunn’s BMW E36 — the same guest-entered M3, prepared by CWR Racing with a Ray West-mapped engine, that had won the day’s first Armed Forces race under West’s ownership — started from pole ahead of Anton Martin’s BMW E46 330ci. Alex Rivett, Sebastian Unwin, Robin Fisk and Sean Storey were all notable absentees from the printed 28-car grid, several of them following incidents in the earlier race, while late entrant Robin Norman joined the back of the field in his Audi TT after completing some lunchtime laps to qualify. John Cobley’s SEAT Ibiza Cupra lined up fourth, with Andrew Bailey’s Caterham Seven 270R fifth alongside Jasmin Norman’s Audi TT — Norman arriving as the form driver of the Armed Forces contingent with three wins already this season at Silverstone, Snetterton and Cadwell Park, and having taken the Armed Forces honours again in the day’s first race behind winner John Cobley.
An Even Start, Then an Early Safety Car
The two guest BMWs made an even getaway, Dunn leading Martin through Paddock Hill Bend as John Cobley’s SEAT and Andrew Bailey’s Caterham ran side by side for third, Cobley the first of the two into Druids. Jasmin Norman ran with Jack Ijewsky just behind the leading group, while Kieran Lambourne quickly went to work in the Class C battle, diving inside Ijewsky at Graham Hill Bend before the Honda driver hung around the outside to keep the place.
The race’s rhythm was broken on only the second lap when Jasmin Norman’s Audi — smoking noticeably on the earlier green-flag lap — went straight on into the gravel at Druids without contact, ending her race and bringing out the safety car. The field was down to 25 runners for the restart, with John Cobley leading Class A, Andrew Bailey Class B, Jack Ijewsky Class C, Alexander Martin Class D and Joe Turrell the 116 graduates cup.
The Restart and the Armed Forces Duel
With half the race still to run, Gavin Dunn resumed in commanding fashion, immediately opening a gap that Anton Martin — in the less powerful car — had no answer for. Further back, the Armed Forces contest became a two-way fight between John Cobley and Andrew Bailey, the lead changing hands repeatedly through Paddock Hill Bend, Druids and Graham Hill Bend as Bailey’s superior cornering speed in the Caterham was offset by the SEAT’s advantage in a straight line. Kieran Lambourne, meanwhile, went round the outside of Jack Ijewsky at Paddock Hill Bend to take the Class C lead — “Army versus RAF”, as the commentary team put it — despite a late lock-up from Ijewsky, sealing what would become his second Class C win of the day and fourth of the season.
In the 116 graduates class, Joe Turrell held a narrowing lead over Charlie Honeywood and David Inglis through a race-long scrap that included backmarkers Robin Norman and Dean Fletcher, with Turrell’s advantage stretching briefly to around a second as Norman’s pace faded and the leaders picked their way past him.
Traffic, and a Photo Finish for the 116s
As Gavin Dunn began lapping the tail of the field, the Cobley–Bailey battle for the Armed Forces lead was interrupted by exactly the traffic the commentary team had predicted, the pair losing time picking through backmarkers while Kieran Lambourne and Jack Ijewsky closed in behind. Through it all Cobley and Bailey remained separated by only half a second lap after lap, right up to the closing stages, when Jake Osborne’s Renault Clio moved ahead of Paul Waterhouse’s Peugeot for what became seventh place.
The 116 class produced the tightest finish of the race. As the leaders worked through traffic in the closing laps, contact between backmarkers at Paddock Hill Bend — believed to involve David Inglis — briefly threatened drama without lasting consequence, while up front Charlie Honeywood closed inexorably on Joe Turrell, the pair running nose-to-tail into the final lap. Honeywood found a way alongside through Clearways only for a backmarker to force him wide, handing the momentum back to Turrell, who held on to take his first class win of the season by 0.207 seconds.
The Finish
Gavin Dunn crossed the line to take the chequered flag unchallenged, a third win of the season for the Dunn and West partnership sharing the guest-entered BMW, with Anton Martin a comfortable second. Behind them, John Cobley resisted Andrew Bailey’s late lunge through Druids on the final lap to win the Armed Forces class for the second time on the day, the SEAT and the Caterham taking third and fourth overall by just 0.418 seconds. Kieran Lambourne completed a Class C double to finish fifth, ahead of Jack Ijewsky, Jake Osborne, Paul Waterhouse, Gareth Moss and Peter Fisk’s Ferrari 308 GT4 in tenth.
Full Classification
Race Distance: 18 laps / 21.74 miles · Start 15:58, Finish 16:18 · Brands Hatch Indy Circuit, 1.2079 miles · Weather: bright, dry.
| Pos | No. | Cl. | Driver | Car | Laps | Time / Gap | Best Lap |
| 1 | 130 | — | Gavin Dunn | BMW E36 | 18 | 20:35.233 | 52.910 |
| 2 | 330 | — | Anton Martin | BMW E46 330ci | 18 | +16.457 | 53.948 |
| 3 | 47 | A | John Cobley | SEAT Ibiza Cupra | 18 | +18.401 | 55.449 |
| 4 | 131 | B | Andrew Bailey | Caterham Seven 270R | 18 | +18.819 | 55.341 |
| 5 | 7 | C | Kieran Lambourne | BMW E46 330ci | 18 | +23.658 | 55.940 |
| 6 | 99 | C | Jack Ijewsky | Honda Civic | 18 | +26.839 | 56.589 |
| 7 | 44 | C | Jake Osborne | Renault Clio 182 | 18 | +45.832 | 58.054 |
| 8 | 230 | B | Paul Waterhouse | Peugeot 306 GTi-6 | 18 | +47.300 | 58.214 |
| 9 | 26 | C | Gareth Moss | Mazda MX5 | 18 | +49.556 | 58.199 |
| 10 | 310 | INV | Peter Fisk | Ferrari 308 GT4 | 18 | +50.932 | 58.339 |
| 11 | 95 | C | Mark Jones | Renault Clio 200 | 18 | +55.684 | 58.200 |
| 12 | 51 | C | Ian Cooper | Daewoo Nexia | 17 | 1 Lap | 59.779 |
| 13 | 11 | D | Alexander Martin | Mazda MX5 | 17 | 1 Lap | 59.732 |
| 14 | 92 | C | Mason Cook | Peugeot 206 GTi | 17 | 1 Lap | 1:00.920 |
| 15 | 6 | C | Lee Kenealy | Citroen Saxo | 17 | 1 Lap | 1:01.042 |
| 16 | 43 | D | Dean Fletcher | Ford Fiesta | 17 | 1 Lap | 1:02.038 |
| 17 | 18 | 116 | Joe Turrell | BMW 116i | 17 | 1 Lap | 1:02.777 |
| 18 | 305 | 116 | Charlie Honeywood | BMW 116i | 17 | 1 Lap | 1:02.836 |
| 19 | 37 | B | Robin Norman | Audi TT | 17 | 1 Lap | 1:01.426 |
| 20 | 56 | D | Luke Davies | Peugeot 206 GTi | 17 | 1 Lap | 1:02.257 |
| 21 | 39 | 116 | David Inglis | BMW 116i | 17 | 1 Lap | 1:02.662 |
| 22 | 134 | A | Sean Graham | Sylva/Locost | 16 | 2 Laps | 1:03.041 |
| 23 | 69 | 116 | Jamie Brackley | BMW 116i | 16 | 2 Laps | 1:03.753 |
Not Classified
| Status | No. | Cl. | Driver | Car | Notes |
| DNF | 14 | D | Peter McNicol | Mazda MX5 | 12 laps |
| DNF | 277 | A | Jasmin Norman | Audi TT | 1 lap — off at Druids |
Class Winners
| Class | No. | Winner | Car | Detail |
| Overall win | 130 | Gavin Dunn | BMW E36 | Lights-to-flag; won by 16.457s |
| Armed Forces / Class A | 47 | John Cobley | SEAT Ibiza Cupra | Back-to-back win; by 0.418s |
| Class B | 131 | Andrew Bailey | Caterham Seven 270R | Chased Cobley to the flag |
| Class C | 7 | Kieran Lambourne | BMW E46 330ci | Second Class C win of the day |
| Class D | 11 | Alexander Martin | Mazda MX5 | Second Class D win of the day |
| Class 116 (Graduates) | 18 | Joe Turrell | BMW 116i | First win of the year, by 0.207s |
| Invitational | 310 | Peter Fisk | Ferrari 308 GT4 | 10th overall |
Performance Index — The Consistency Award
As with the day’s first race, the Performance Index (PI) table — measuring how close each driver’s average lap was to their own best, rather than outright finishing position — tells a very different story to the results sheet. Jack Ijewsky topped the overall standings with a score of 98.04 despite finishing sixth on the road, while race winner Gavin Dunn placed only 17th for PI and Armed Forces winner John Cobley seventh. Paul Waterhouse, Mason Cook and Jake Osborne completed the top four, none of whom led a class.
| Pos | No. | Cl. | Driver | Best | Average | PI |
| 1 | 99 | C | Jack Ijewsky | 56.59 | 57.72 | 98.04 |
| 2 | 230 | B | Paul Waterhouse | 58.21 | 59.51 | 97.83 |
| 3 | 92 | C | Mason Cook | 60.92 | 62.31 | 97.76 |
| 4 | 44 | C | Jake Osborne | 58.05 | 59.39 | 97.75 |
| 5 | 26 | C | Gareth Moss | 58.20 | 59.67 | 97.54 |
| 6 | 310 | INV | Peter Fisk | 58.34 | 59.82 | 97.53 |
| 7 | 47 | A | John Cobley | 55.45 | 56.87 | 97.51 |
| 8 | 95 | C | Mark Jones | 58.67 | 60.18 | 97.50 |
| 9 | 6 | C | Lee Kenealy | 61.04 | 62.68 | 97.39 |
| 10 | 7 | C | Kieran Lambourne | 55.94 | 57.45 | 97.37 |
Sub-Championships
Veterans: 1st Paul Waterhouse (97.83), 2nd Mark Jones (97.50), 3rd Lee Kenealy (97.39), 4th Robin Norman (94.25), 5th Peter McNicol (91.16, DNF).
Novice: 1st Mason Cook (97.76), 2nd Jake Osborne (97.75), 3rd Charlie Honeywood (96.87), 4th Joe Turrell (96.75), 5th Dean Fletcher (96.62), 6th David Inglis (95.76), 7th Luke Davies (95.73), 8th Jamie Brackley (95.53), 9th Robin Norman (94.25).
Graduates (116)— ranked on raw race position: 1st Joe Turrell, 2nd Charlie Honeywood, 3rd David Inglis, 4th Jamie Brackley.
Retirements
Only two cars failed to reach the finish. Jasmin Norman’s Audi TT retired at Druids on lap two after going off with a visible smoke issue, ending her run of three wins this season and leaving Thruxton — the series’ first-ever visit there next month — as her last chance to add to that tally in 2026. Peter McNicol’s Mazda MX5 retired after 12 laps.