Feathers Motorsport (FMS) maintained its exceptional 100% podium finishing record in the UK-based 2025 GT Cup while also collecting its fifth victory of the season in the quadruple-header at the Snetterton meeting, last weekend. The results mean that sixteen-year-old series debutant Archie Clark, one of 23 candidates nominated for the 2025 Aston Martin Racing Driver Academy, and his co-driver, the 2019 AMR Academy winner Tom Canning, remain at the top of the GTH Class standings, 49 points clear of their nearest rivals after 11 rounds. FMS, the Northamptonshire-based organisation which runs an Inspire Engineering-prepared version of the ultra-successful Aston Martin Vantage GT4, and which returned to the GT Cup for 2025 after a season’s sabbatical, faced several challenges through the weekend that made the podium sweep even more remarkable. The UK Cup ran its traditional format of a 25-minute Sprint Race and 50-minute Pit Stop Race on each day. Despite the best efforts of the team, the Vantage simply could not match the pace of the rival Ginettas on the 2.97-mile Norfolk circuit. It meant that for the first time this season Clark could not achieve pole position for the opening Sprint race. In the end the best he could manage was third, which was where he also finished in the rain-affected race.
The 50-minute Pit Stop Race started dry, but there was not enough time to tweak the set-up of the Vantage, so Clark had to contend with a softly-spring Aston Martin with slick tyres. This, and a 45s success/pro driver penalty in the pit stop added to the deficit to the Ginettas, meaning Clark and Canning were anchored to the rear of the class. Even despite brilliant driving by Canning and a whippet-fast stop by Inspire Engineering to switch back to wets as the rain returned, was not enough to change the status quo. The team was promoted to third when a rival failed scrutineering. Overnight changes to the series’ Balance of Performance allowed Feathers a chance to close the gap to its rivals on Sunday slightly, although not enough to make a significant difference to the outcome of the weekend’s second Pit Stop race. But a clash between the two Ginettas allowed Clark and Canning to move into third and keep the podium streak going. The final Sprint Race was the highlight of the weekend as Clark delivered another unflappable and superb performance to win, having started from pole position. Unflustered by losing the class lead early on, he benefitted from a retirement by the SVG Motorsport Ginetta while soaking up the pressure from the faster Innovation Racing Ginetta behind throughout.
The victory means that FMS has won on each GT Cup weekend held so far this season. Clark said: “The team have done a fantastic job this weekend. The car, this weekend, was not the fastest in the class, but everyone did their maximum to make the most of the package we had. I don’t think we left anything on the table, so to be able to come away with a victory was outstanding for everybody concerned!” Canning added: “Sometimes you are just presented with a situation where you do not have a car capable of fighting for wins on outright pace, that’s motor racing. That’s when you need a good team and a strong teammate to make sure you execute to the best of your ability. We did that this weekend and I’m very proud of what we achieved, especially the results on the Sunday. We’ve got the championship to think about and we will leave no stone unturned to regain the overall points lead and protect our class lead next time out in the GT Cup 100 at Silverstone.” Team Manager Simon Rose, said: “FMS has maintained its 100% podium record for the season, for which of course we are all justifiably proud. It was a difficult weekend for us to manage in terms of pace in the car, but everyone in the team and the drivers did their level best and we absorbed the situation very well. As ever Archie and Tom excelled themselves and we leave Snetterton still at the top of the GTH Class points standings. This is an excellent position in which to head to our home race – the GT Cup 100, at Silverstone – in August.” The GT Cup championship continues on 2-3 August at Silverstone, in Northampton.
