The Mazda MX-5 GT team at Brands Hatch finished the two hour Avon Tyres British GT Championship race in third place in GT4 driven by Mark Ticehurst and Owen Mildenhall. Sponsored by SMH Fleet Solutions, Mazda Financial Services, Total Lubricants and Jota Aviation, the Mazda MX-5 GT ran competitively all weekend, posting the second fastest time in free practice before qualifying fifth in class in the 30 minute session late Saturday afternoon with just 1.1 seconds separating the top five.

The race started in a short lived rain shower with Mark Ticehurst storming through the pack to take the class lead by the third corner, a lead he held for the next 20 minutes. At the halfway point Mark had pushed the Mazda MX-5 GT to second overall before pitting and handing over to Owen Mildenhall.

Owen brought the car home third in class demonstrating that GT4 is no longer about Ginetta dominance, the Mazda MX-5 GT is a competitive proposition that has the potential to win.

“British GT4 has been dominated by Ginetta for a number of years now, but now there is another highly competitive option,” commented Graeme Fudge PR director, Mazda Motors UK. “The team has worked incredibly hard over the last two weeks and that hard work paid off here at Brands. To see the diminutive Mazda MX-5 GT in amongst the much larger Ferraris, Porsches and Mercedes was quite a sight, particularly when we were running second overall.”

“We have some more work to do on the car before the next race at Snetterton on the 5th August and the Mazda MX-5 GT will be running up the hillclimb at the Goodwood Festival of Speed next weekend, but we are confident that we can get another good result at the Norfolk circuit.”