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Simon Hawkins talks to Simon Rose, Feather Motorsports team owner

Simon Rose, left, team owner of Feathers Motorsport, with Team Driver Tom Canning

March is a strange month weather wise. The dual between winter vs spring takes effect and I remember well the hail stones pouring into Garage 13 at Donington Race circuit. Leaf blowers were deployed to remove the ice from the garage floor so as to retain a dry working space. The pit crew were working flat out to keep nature at bay but also to keep warm. GT racing is not all glamour and you need large amounts of hardiness and resilience to succeed.

Dancing in the Rain - The Vantage GT4 finding its grip levels during heavy showers at the Donington Test Session- February 2025

Shortly afterwards a Vantage GT4 entered the garage with the front splitter white from the accumulation of ice crystals over the air intake. The hot engine providing a rare taste of warmth. The Vantage belongs to Feathers Motorsport and is co-owned and managed directly by Simon Rose. The pit crew jumped to work checking the car over, clearing debris and downloading the data for review. A change of driver took place and in 5 minutes the car was back out on circuit. Wet weather tyres were ready for when the hail turned to rain.

Simon and the team were undertaking testing for the 2025 GT Cup Championship due to start at the end of March. Having taken a break from racing in 2024 Simon was keen to get back into the rhythm of racing and hungry for success. This was an opportunity to get the drivers back behind the wheel and for the team to familiarise themselves with the car after a 12-month break from competition. The first race of the season was back at Donington during the weekend of the 29th and 30th March.

Simon has been an AMOC member for over 20 years and has been proactive in heading up the Portugal region for many years. Simon lives in London, works near Banbury and spends a fair amount of time in the Algarve. I first met Simon as part of Area 00 in central London and he has been hugely supportive of AMOC setting up the new Sports Car Reporting section in our publications and the website. Simon is well respected and connected across the sport and is passionate about its development and promotion both outside and inside the club. Simon typifies the character and attitude that is required both to enter a team and be successful. Simon is also a director and shareholder of Base Performance Simulators, BPS, alongside the Le Mans winner and AMR driver Darren Turner.

Simon invited me to join the Feathers test session and to meet the team. I was keen to accept to learn more about how the logistics of the team and what is takes to get a car on the grid of a UK based championship and to run for a full season of racing.

In between testing sessions, I caught up with Simon and asked him what motivates him to invest heavily his own time and resources into GT racing. "I enjoy the challenge of racing but ultimately for me its victories and podiums that make it all worthwhile. The thrill of competition, combined with teamwork makes for a stimulating environment to be a part of. GT racing is a complex sport with multiple rule regulations along with frequent changes. I also enjoy problem solving and you need to be good at it to be competitive. Whether its responding to rule changes, driver line ups, complex logistics, team dynamics, sponsors requirements and budget control, you need to always be on top of situations."

Ryan Waldron, Tom Holland and Matt Hawkins - Refuelling stop Round 3 – GT Cup Championship

I was keen also to understand how Feathers had become an AMR Customer team.

Simon started in racing with Porsche Club GB in the 1990’s co-organising their extensive annual race programme. He worked under the expert guidance of Charles Ivey. Charles was a well know Porsche dealer in Mayfair as well as Charles Ivey (Specialist Cars) Limited and has been selling and servicing Porsches since 1970.

Charles was an inspiration and charismatic figures having run successful endurance race programmes, including Le Mans, during the 1970’s and 1980’s. "In 2013 I started racing a Porsche 968 Club Sports in the AMOC Intermarque Championship, with a few successful seasons whetting my appetite for future racing. At the same time, we purchased and began racing a unique Ginetta GT10 in the AMOC Innes Ireland Cup."

Having had success with the Porsches he then ran a Ginetta G55 GT4 in the GT Cup Championship. "Eventually the Ginetta became uncompetitive, and a new car was needed. I had owned 3 Aston Martin Road cars by then and was already a member of AMOC. It seemed natural to progress in this direction and the opportunity in 2020 of a second-hand AMR Vantage GT4 became available through David Appleby Engineering. With only 300 race kilometres on the clock, it was a great car to acquire. This was reinforced by two of the main Appleby engineers deciding to start their own engineering company, Inspire Engineering, which meant the invaluable Aston Martin racing experience was continued. Additionally with my business interests in Banbury provided me with the ability to drop in on Prodrive for parts and support, which made for another appealing element to being an AMR customer team."

The GT Cup Championship is a UK based series which was started in 2008 by the late Marc Haynes, son of John Haynes (Founder of the Haynes Manuals and the Haynes International Motor Museum). Marc was passionate about motor sport overcoming his own disabilities and supporting others. He established the GT Cup which has succeeded in his aim of providing amateur enthusiasts with the opportunity to race against like-minded teams and drivers. It is a professional and friendly championship with close racing coupled with mutual support throughout the paddock. In 2025 there will be six rounds in the provisional calendar.

I asked Simon about the logistics and financing of a full season in the GT Cup Championship. "Obviously you need to get yourself a racing car and you can achieve this by either buying a brand new AMR Vantage GT4 direct from Prodrive or sourcing a good second-hand example from other racing teams. Once you have acquired the car you then need to purchase a transporter and other associated equipment such as team overalls, tyre containers, seating, refuelling equipment, computers, and in- car communication systems. It is probably best to provide a budget of circa £350K-£500K for these start-up costs, depending how you source the car. Having secured the racing equipment then your attention needs to start to financing the season and building a team. If you are racing yourself then you need to source a second driver. This can either be a paid driver or you can pay for a professional to bolster the team’s performance. You then need a support team. The expertise and experience of this element will make the difference between winning and losing."

Simon buys this from Inspire Engineering. Simon is a director but the team is owned by Reece Beard and Tom Holland.

Both of them have the expertise vital for the pit and in-garage operation. Inspire Engineering are based in Hanslope, Buckinghamshire and provide a range of services including service, engine and transmission rebuilds and race car preparation. Tom & Reece bring a wealth of race car experience having worked in WEC, British GT, BTCC, GT Cup and Asian Le Mans Series. Other members of the Feathers team include Matt Hawkins and Ryan Waldron (Pit/Garage Engineers), Simon Strang (PR) and Philip Martin (Media).

Matt Hawkins undertaking routine checks on the car during driver changeover stints

"Then you need to consider entry fees to a race, accommodation & food for the team, PR and marketing, fuel, tyres and a healthy contingency for mechanical breakdown and accident repairs. Spare parts are sourced from Prodrive. This is usually sourced via a sale or return package at the start of the season that allows the team to carry out basic repairs during the weekend.Essentially you will have to set aside another £350k to £500K for a 6 race season at this level which is at the top of the club racing programmes."

Taking the chequered flag and class win at Donington, Round 1 of the GT Cup Championship – March 2025

Simon went on to say "You must be prepared to underwrite this level of budget, but sponsorships and paid drivers can help offset these costs. Having existing sponsor contacts also helps. but at this level gaining large sponsorship deals are very difficult and can be become very time consuming."

With testing complete the Feathers Motorsport team arrived at Donington during the last weekend of March to compete in the first 3 rounds of the GT Cup.

A typical weekend involves the team assembling and travelling to the circuits on the Thursday with set up and testing on the Friday and races on both the Saturday and Sunday. The cars and equipment are then all packed and transported back to Milton Keynes and the team members return home late on the Sunday night.

Tom Canning (AMR Academy winner) and Archie Clark discuss tactics before the opening round of the GT Cup Championship March 2025

Placed in GTH category for GT4 cars the weekend started with qualifying. Simon had to make the difficult decision of who was going to partner with the pro driver Tom Canning. Simon took a calculated risk with 16-year-old Archie Clark taking his first drive in an Aston. Archie had shown real pace in a Ginetta last year and was delivering impressive lap times during the inclement weather in February testing.

GT Cup rules stipulate that the pro driver cannot qualify the car nor take part in the sprint races. This placed a huge responsibility onto Archie. The Vantage had shown brake judder issues during the warm up but there was not enough time to change the discs and pads before qualifying. Archie took the car out and set a pole position lap and returned straight to the pits. This impressive driving set the scene for the rest of the weekend with Archie finishing in the 25 minute sprint races 1st and 2nd in class plus was awarded “Driver of the Day”. Round 3 was a 100-endurance race; Archie and Tom delivered an impressive and mature drive to secure victory, P1 in class.

16 year old Archie Clark having secured class wins in the opening rounds of the GT Cup Championship March 2025

By the end of the weekend Feathers were in position P1 in the championship standings and position 1 in class with a lead of 15 points.

Simon and the Team – March 2025 after podiums in all of the first 3 rounds of the Championship

Simon commented: "A superb result to start the season off and great performances from all the team members."

The Feathers team will next be in action at Brands Hatch on 16th -17th May. Please do go and support Simon and the team. The race will be on the full GP circuit. Simon flies the flag for AMOC and his passion and commitment to GT racing runs deep.

All photos credit of Feathers Motorsport.