Leading GT race team Breakell Racing are celebrating a sensational end to the 2025 Porsche Sprint Challenge GB season, securing their best ever qualifying and race results in the championship across the final two rounds at Silverstone and Brands Hatch in recent weeks.
The Lancashire-based team have enjoyed a breakthrough season in the ultra-competitive one-make championship in 2025, with their talented driver pairing of Reece Somerfield and Karim Sekkat combining to record no less than 16 class podium finishes across the campaign.
The penultimate round of the season took place at Silverstone (20-21 September), with three races around the short, fast National layout. Somerfield headed into the event with an impressive record of nine RS AM class podiums from the opening 12 races.
The opening race proved to be one of the most challenging of the whole season. A sudden rain shower prior to the start led to a wet but drying track, leaving tyre choice up in the air. While others took the safe option of wets, Breakell Racing made a bold call to go for slicks.
It was risky, but certainly paid off. In conditions that Somerfield has historically excelled in, the talented racer produced a thrilling performance as he scythed his way through the field to finish third overall. That was the best ever race result for the team in the Sprint Challenge GB.
The drive also secured Somerfield second place in the RS AM class, and he went on to back that up with two more hard-fought podium finishes across the remainder of the weekend. Those results filled him with confidence heading into the season finale on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit.
Somerfield immediately made his mark on the event as he finished fastest in class and second overall in treacherous wet weather in Friday practice. A change of conditions for Saturday didn’t phase him, with rapid pace in the dry too seeing him secure a maiden RS AM pole position in qualifying.
He did that as the second fastest driver overall, securing Breakell Racing their highest ever qualifying result in the championship. That put Somerfield in the mix with the leading PRO drivers in the championship for the races and he excelled against the highest competition in the series.
He ran in the lead pack throughout the opening race, with just a post-race penalty dropping him to second in class. He hit back in the final two races though, with two excellent drives seeing him secure his first two RS AM class victories and a superb third place overall in the final outing.
Sekkat meanwhile stepped up to the newer Cayman RS car this year and has progressed superbly in the RS AM class. Looking to add to his great podium-finish back at Brands Hatch, he joined his team-mate in benefitting from Breakell Racing’s great tyre decision for the Silverstone opener.
A superb charging drive of his own saw Sekkat impressively climb as high as the top six overall at one stage, on his way to a great top five class finish. His ambition to score more good results over the weekend were cruelly dashed though as he got caught up in an incident in race two.
Sekkat found himself forced off circuit by another driver at the high-speed run out of Copse corner, leading to a heavy contact with the barriers. The damage caused to his Cayman would unfortunately rule him out of the rest of the season’s racing, a difficult end to a hugely promising season.
James Breakell – Team Principal: “The whole team at Breakell Racing have worked incredibly hard over the last few years to establish ourselves in the competitive Porsche paddock and we really feel like this end to the season has shown everyone that we can be a force to be reckoned with at the front of the grid.
“Reece’s performances have been absolutely exceptional over the last couple of weekends. It was an inspired tyre call by the team for race one at Silverstone and Reece delivered on track with a brilliant drive through the field to get us a really memorable first overall podium finish in Porsches.
“That filled us with confidence for Brands Hatch and credit to the team for giving Reece a rapid car in both the wet and dry conditions. For an Am driver to qualifying and race ahead of some of the top Pro’s on pure merit is fantastic and we’re incredibly proud of the results that Reece achieved.
“We’re gutted for how the season ended for Karim. He put in a brilliant drive in the opening race at Silverstone, but unfortunately he was caught up in an incident that wasn’t his fault and that brought his season to an early end. It takes nothing away from what’s been a brilliant year for him.”
Images from Porsche GB.