Célia Martin and Lindsay Brewer secure ProAm top-5 in first ever GT3 Revival Series weekend
- RACERS
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
Célia Martin and Lindsay Brewer began their GT3 Revival Series campaign with a weekend of steady progress at Circuit Paul Ricard, where they shared the #40 Klausen Racing Ford GT Matech to secure a fifth-place finish in the Pro-Am class, overcoming early issues in the first ever weekend for the series.
Lindsay Brewer and Célia Martin teamed up for the inaugural weekend of the new GT3 Revival Series, sharing the #40 Klausen Racing Ford GT Matech in the Pro-Am class at Le Castellet, securing a fifth place in class and making significant gains over their first weekend in the car.
For American racer Brewer it was her first ever time at the Paul Ricard circuit, and despite some technical issue for the car over the first sessions, the two drivers soon found increasing speed to run competitively in the races, showing very encouraging pace.
The championship celebrates the early years of GT3 racing, featuring iconic machinery from the category’s first decade, and marks an exciting new challenge for both drivers. Martin enters the series following a significant step forward in her career, having completed a full season with the Iron Dames at the highest levels of endurance racing, including the FIA World Endurance Championship and European Le Mans Series. Brewer, meanwhile, has made a very successful transition from single-seaters to GT racing, building on a strong debut season highlighted by race wins and consistent podium finishes in Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America.
The programme also represents Brewer’s first full European GT campaign, offering valuable experience on some of the continent’s most renowned circuits. At the same time, Martin remains within the GT3 environment, albeit in a historic format that adds a new dimension to her racing resumé.
Their car, the Ford GT Matech GT3, has competed in major GT championships between 2007 and 2011 and its return to the track was be one of the highlights of the GT3 Revival Series opener in the South of France.
The weekend got off to a difficult start in Free Practice 1, when a technical issue halted Martin after just one lap and prevented Brewer from getting any track time at all, leaving the team immediately on the back foot. With limited opportunities to learn both car and circuit, this was a setback, particularly for Brewer.
However, the team managed to fix the issue ahead of FP2, where Martin returned to the track and set a 2:14.3 to go second in Pro-Am. Brewer then climbed aboard for her first laps at Paul Ricard and in the Ford GT, making rapid progress despite the lack of mileage. Lap after lap, she significantly reduced the gap to Martin, building confidence and adapting quickly to the car’s characteristics. By the end of practice, the duo had climbed to P20 overall.
Qualifying continued this upward trajectory. Martin took on Q1 duties and initially struggled with traffic, posting a 2:14.886 to sit P18 overall and fifth in Pro-Am. However, she then found a major improvement, delivering a 2:11.341 lap that vaulted the car up to P13 overall and fourth in class.
In Q2, Brewer took over and once again showed clear progression, setting a 2:13.300 to qualify P21 overall and sixth in Pro-Am. Considering her extremely limited track time prior to qualifying, the American’s performance was particularly notable.
Race 1 on Sunday morning saw Martin take the start for the first-ever race in GT3 Revival Series history, lining up on the sixth row for the 50-minute contest. As the lights went green after the formation lap, she opted for the outside line into Turn 1 and navigated the opening corners cleanly, immediately settling into a strong rhythm.
Running close to the #13 Aston Martin driven by Lynn, Martin held fourth in Pro-Am and twelfth overall in the early stages, maintaining a gap of around half a second as she waited for an opportunity while the cars ahead battled. Behind her, pressure mounted from the #47 Audi, which eventually made a move at the Mistral Chicane on lap five, dropping Martin to fifth in class.
Undeterred, Martin continued to push, clearing some traffic and maintaining a consistent pace while chasing the Audi. As her confidence grew, she dipped into the 2:10s, her fastest laps of the weekend, demonstrating clear progress. However, just before the pit window opened, drama struck: under braking into the Mistral Chicane, the #40 Ford spun and stalled. Losing around 40 seconds, Martin managed to restart the engine and continue, but dropped to P24 overall and sixth in Pro-Am.
Staying out for two more laps as the pit window opened, she briefly cycled back up the order before pitting on lap 12 with 22 minutes remaining.
The stop included checks for potential technical issues, slightly delaying the handover to Brewer, who rejoined P23 overall and sixth in class. Tasked with both learning the car and recovering positions, Brewer delivered a very clean and consistent stint: she quickly began closing on the #28 Porsche of Caumes and found a consistent rhythm despite the natural drop in pace across the field due to tyre wear.
With seven minutes to go, she overtook Legras for P23, then passed Mol’s #80 Porsche a lap later to climb to P22. Continuing her charge, Brewer set a personal best of 2:13.010 and crossed the line P21 overall. A post-race penalty for the #888 BMW promoted the duo to fifth in Pro-Am, ending a promising recovery drive.
In Race 2, Brewer took on the starting duties from P21 overall and sixth in class, and immediately demonstrated how much she had learned. Taking the inside line at the start, she initially found herself boxed in through the opening corners and briefly lost ground to the #58 Audi of Isringhausen. However, she quickly regrouped, closing over two seconds in just a couple of laps and forcing her rival into a mistake, which she capitalized on to reclaim the position.
With clear air ahead, Brewer began an good charge, rapidly reducing a six-second gap to the #94 Aston Martin of Santa. By lap seven, she was right on its tail and set a new personal benchmark with a 2:12.941 lap, in her first time under the 2:13 barrier.
Displaying great racecraft and growing confidence, Brewer executed a decisive move into Turn 6 to claim P20 overall, then began pulling away while targeting the #15 Corvette ahead. She gained nearly two seconds before the pit window opened and pitted on lap 10, handing over to Célia Martin after another clean and competitive stint that saw her gain a position from the start and solidify sixth in Pro-Am.
Martin rejoined P23 overall and quickly got to work, battling the #25 Audi of Desbrueres and making a clean pass into Turn 1 to move up to P21. With further attrition ahead, including the retirement of the #2 Audi R8, she climbed to P19 overall by the end of the pit cycle, maintaining sixth in class.
Showing good pace, Martin began closing a 20-second gap to the #28 Porsche of Caumes, reducing it to 15 seconds and then 10 within just a couple of laps. However, a safety car triggered by the stranded #3 Audi on lap 16 neutralized the race with 11 minutes to go, bunching up the field.
At the restart, with just five minutes remaining, Martin faced the added challenge of navigating traffic, including lapping cars that disrupted her pursuit of the group ahead. Despite this, she maintained a strong pace and brought the car home in P18 overall and sixth in Pro-Am, completing another solid race for the duo.
Overall, it was a highly encouraging debut weekend for Martin and Brewer in the GT3 Revival Series. Despite early technical issues and limited practice running, both drivers made significant gains throughout the event. Brewer’s progression was particularly impressive: from having no laps in FP1 to setting the car’s fastest time in Race 2, she demonstrated rapid adaptation in a demanding car like the Ford GT.
Combined with Martin’s consistency and experience, the duo showed potential as they head to the next round at Spa Classic on 22–24 May, having built a strong foundation in one of the most demanding and characterful GT3 cars of its era.