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Evolution-backed driver delivers a composed, podium-finishing debut at British motorsport's most prestigious season opener
The journey to Silverstone
Every podium has a backstory. For Josh Stanton, the journey to Sunday’s Silverstone 500 podium spans eight years, multiple championships, and one unwavering belief from his long-time sponsors at Evolution.
It began in a Mini. A young driver with obvious talent, early promise, and a team at Evolution who saw something worth backing. Then came the Porsche Carrera Cup, and then a championship title that proved the belief was justified. Each season, each circuit, each lap, Evolution has been right there. Number 59. Always.
Sunday 26th April 2026 was the next chapter. And it was the biggest stage yet.
Race day: Silverstone 500, 26 April 2026
The Silverstone 500 is British GT’s marquee event, a three-hour endurance race around one of the world’s most iconic circuits, broadcast to a global audience, and contested by the best GT machinery in the country. For Round 1 of the 2026 British GT Championship to open here, at Silverstone, set the tone immediately. This was serious motorsport.
Josh and co-driver Luca Hopkinson had qualified the #59 Evolution-backed McLaren Artura GT4 in fifth on the grid, just 1.258 seconds off pole in a tightly-contested GT4 qualifying session. In an endurance race, grid positions are only ever the starting point. What matters is what you do over three hours.
What they did was deliver.
Three hours of controlled, intelligent racing
The Silverstone 500 was defined by drama elsewhere on the circuit. The reigning champion pairing retired with mechanical issues. A Lamborghini caught fire and was eliminated at Village Corner. Safety Cars punctuated the race at crucial moments, reshuffling strategies and catching out teams who had built comfortable leads.
Through all of it, the #59 held firm. Josh and Luca drove a clean, measured race, managing tyres, managing traffic, managing the pressure of competition from other GT4 teams. When the chequered flag fell after three hours of racing, the McLaren Artura GT4 crossed the line in third place in class, on the podium, on the points, and on the right side of history.
The final GT4 podium read: Innovation Racing in first, MK Racing in second, and Optimum Motorsport’s #59 – Josh Stanton and Luca Hopkinson – in third. The margin behind second place was just 1.881 seconds after three hours of racing. That is the definition of competitive.
A podium for the team, a win for the partnership
What made Sunday even more remarkable was the broader context. Optimum Motorsport, Evolution’s partner team, did not just take a GT4 podium. Their #3 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo, driven by Yasser Shahin and Garnet Patterson, claimed the outright race win in a stunning strategic drive from ninth on the grid. It was, by any measure, Optimum’s finest hour at Silverstone and Evolution was there to share it.
For Evolution, this is what partnership looks like. Not a logo on a car. Not a passive investment. A genuine, active involvement in a team, a programme, and a driver who delivers results.
“We back the best” is not a tagline. On Sunday at Silverstone, it was a result.
What comes next
The 2026 British GT Championship is a long season. Round 2 heads to Oulton Park in May, with further rounds at Spa-Francorchamps, Snetterton, Donington Park, and a season finale at Brands Hatch in September.
Josh and Luca leave Silverstone with championship points on the board, confidence in the package, and the knowledge that a podium-pace McLaren Artura GT4 is more than capable of fighting at the front of the GT4 field all season long.
Evolution will be there for every lap of it. 💚💛
Evolution is a proud sponsor of Josh Stanton and the #59 Optimum Motorsport McLaren Artura GT4 in the 2026 British GT Championship.
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