Marshall and Rogers star at 2026 season opener

Joe Marshall (Team Parker Racing) from Cheshire won the opening three races of the Porsche Carwow Sprint Challenge GB season at Donington Park. Marshall continued where he left off at the end of 2025, taking a hat-trick of victories to start his season in perfect fashion. Meanwhile, Australian Joshua Rogers (Team Parker Racing) made a spectacular debut. The Porsche Esports factory driver raced to three podium finishes at the wheel of his 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport.

In the RS Am category, Reece Somerfield (Breakell Racing) from Walsall in the West Midlands rose from the back of the grid to take category victory in the opening race of the season. While Dean Burden (Toro Verde GT) from Lincolnshire took two RS Am wins of his own, adopting an early category championship lead. Newcomer Gabe Fairbrother (Graves Motorsport) from Chester made his mark in Clubsport, driving to a trio of category wins in the 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport.

Marshall takes a hat-trick in RS Pro
Samuel Harvey (Xentek Motorsport) from Sutton Coldfield established himself as the pacesetter in qualifying, taking pole position for the first two races of the weekend. Harvey and Rogers got away cleanly at the start of the season’s opening race, while Marshall moved ahead of RS Am category racer Matthew Kyle-Henney (Clean Racing) from Hampshire to snatch third. As the leaders bunched together at the front of the pack, Marshall achieved a run around the outside of Rogers at Redgate, pulling off an impressive pass to take second.

In the final five minutes of racing, Marshall tried to replicate his earlier move at Redgate, this time on the leader, Harvey, but he was denied. However, on the penultimate lap, Marshall did find a way through at Coppice, taking the lead at a decisive moment in the race. Marshall crossed the finish line first, with Harvey finishing a close second, and sim racing star Rogers enjoying a maiden podium result in his first real world race with Porsche.

Harvey got away well from the front row of the grid at the start of the weekend’s second race, he led into Redgate. Marshall slotted in behind Harvey after defending second spot from Rogers. However, Harvey’s advantage was soon quashed when he received a five second penalty for exceeding track limits. That made Marshall the leader on corrected time, with Rogers just behind in second, and Kyle-Henney – now re-classified as an RS Pro category driver – promoted to third.

Halfway through the race the action was paused by the arrival of the Safety Car, and following the restart Kyle-Henney also received a five-second penalty for exceeding track limits, impacting the race order once more. Harvey took the chequered flag first on the road, but with his penalty applied, Marshall was the winner. Rogers took second, with Oliver Cottam (Graves Motorsport) from Shropshire enjoying his first podium of the weekend in third.

The final race at Donington Park saw Marshall get away cleanly in the lead, while Cottam leapt ahead of Rogers to take second. After only a few laps of racing the Safety Car was scrambled, and following the restart another incident quickly brought out the red flag. Marshall was declared the winner of the shortened race, with Cottam finishing second and Rogers taking his third podium result at the National circuit.

Somerfield and Burden top RS Am
Kyle-Henney was the fastest RS Am driver in qualifying, and he made a good start to lead Burden, Will Rochford (Breakell Racing) from Bristol, and James Seale (Xentek Motorsport) from Hampshire in the early part of Saturday’s race. Somerfield soon began to recover from a tricky qualifying session, moving up through the ranks while Rochford fell backwards. Somerfield overtook Seale for third in the category order, and his progress continued when he found a way ahead of Burden for second, but he could not catch Kyle-Henney before the flag. Kyle-Henney took RS Am category victory in Round One, with Somerfield in second, and Seale took third after Burden slipped back down the order in the closing stages of the race.

Following the race, for an incident between Seale and Burden, Seale was handed a six place finishing position penalty. Meanwhile, Kyle-Henney was recategorised and placed in the RS Pro category, with the results of Round One recalculated, and the finishing positions of those below reclassified accordingly. This handed RS Am category victory to Somerfield in the new results, with the revised top three finishers being Somerfield, Aimee Watts (Clean Racing) from Kent, and Daniel Lewis (Race Car Consultants) from Essex.

Burden led the RS Am drivers at the start of Sunday’s first race, with Lewis in second and Somerfield in third. Seale soon attacked Somerfield for the final podium spot, and they swapped places on two occasions before the Safety Car neutralised the race. Matthew Briers (Toro Verde GT) from Kent found the gravel trap at Old Hairpin. Following the restart Burden was untroubled to the flag, taking his maiden RS Am category win, he was joined on the podium by Lewis and Somerfield – who triumphed over Seale in their race-long scrap.

The weekend’s third race saw Burden leading Lewis and Somerfield once more. When Briers found the gravel the Safety Car was deployed to allow for the recovery of his car. Shortly after the restart, an incident between Seale and Lydia Walmsley (Clean Racing) from Suffolk at the final corner brought out the red flag, concluding the race early. Burden, Lewis and Somerfield formed the RS Am category podium once again.

Fairbrother makes a perfect start in Clubsport
Fairbrother had the measure of his Clubsport category rivals in qualifying, and he got away well at the start of Round One to lead Gracie Mitchell (Graves Motorsport) from Teesside, and Giancarlo Romano (Tuthill UK) from Glasgow. As the top two pulled clear, an exciting battle developed between Romano and Alister Weston (Xentek Motorsport) from Kent, who swapped places on more than one occasion, before Romano emerged ahead. At the flag, Fairbrother took his maiden championship win, joined by Mitchell and Romano on the first Clubsport podium.

Fairbrother led Mitchell and Romano at the start of Round Two, but the latter soon came under fire from Weston in a close fight. Following the Safety Car period Weston attacked again, overtaking Romano for third, however, he ran wide at the last corner on the final lap, allowing Romano to secure the final category podium place before the flag. The last race at Donington Park saw Fairbrother leading Mitchell once more, with Mark McKenzie (Graves Motorsport) from Stockton-on-Tees in third. After the Safety Car period, the race was cut short by the appearance of the red flag. The third Clubsport podium of the weekend was formed by Fairbrother, Mitchell and McKenzie.

The championship travels to Oulton Park in Cheshire on the weekend of 5-7 June. Follow the latest Porsche Carwow Sprint Challenge GB news directly from Porsche Motorsport via Instagram – @PorscheRaces_GB – where users can share experiences via the hashtag #CarwowSprintChallengeGB, and the Porsche Motorsport Hub: https://racing.porsche.com

Championship positions*

RS Pro:
Joe Marshall - Team Parker Racing - 30
Joshua Rogers - Team Parker Racing - 21
Samuel Harvey - Xentek Motorsport - 17

RS Am:
Dean Burden - Toro Verde GT - 27
Reece Somerfield - Breakell Racing - 23
Daniel Lewis - Race Car Consultants - 23

Clubsport:
Gabe Fairbrother - Graves Motorsport - 34
Gracie Mitchell - Graves Motorsport - 24
Giancarlo Romano - Tuthill UK - 17