Jarrod Waberski has become the first 2026 SRO GT Academy winner to secure his place in next year’s CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa after edging Charles Clark by only two points at the British GT Championship season finale.
The Anglo-South African entered the Brands Hatch weekend 12 points clear of Clark before the Century Motorsport driver mounted a late challenge. Waberski ultimately held on to win the Academy contest by two points and will now form part of a four-driver line-up in a fully funded Mercedes-AMG GT3 run by Team Motopark at the 2027 24 Hours of Spa.
He will eventually share the car with one winner each from the GT World Challenge America, Asia and Australia Academy competitions, with all eligible drivers required to hold FIA Silver status and be under 30 years old.
Waberski holds off Clark in close Brands Hatch finale
Waberski arrived at Brands Hatch already fighting on several fronts. Alongside Alex Martin, the 21-year-old remained one of five crews mathematically capable of claiming the overall British GT3 Drivers’ Championship, while the pair also led the Silver-Am standings and Barwell Motorsport remained in contention for the Teams’ crown.
The overall title eventually went to Simon Orange and Marcus Clutton, but Waberski and Martin still completed the season with fourth place in the standings and secured the Silver-Am Championship. Their fourth-place finish at Brands Hatch also helped Barwell Motorsport claim its eighth British GT Teams’ Championship.
Clark and Jonathon Beeson finished third overall and won Silver-Am at the finale, which allowed Clark to close substantially in the Academy competition. However, Waberski had accumulated enough of an advantage across the year to finish two points ahead and become the first driver confirmed for the Academy’s 2027 Spa line-up.
His strongest single Academy performance came at Spa-Francorchamps, where he earned the maximum 36 points. Waberski and Martin also won the British GT round there, making the Belgian circuit particularly significant even before his place in next year’s 24-hour race became official.
Waberski delighted to secure major 2027 opportunity
The Spa prize ranked among Waberski’s main objectives entering the season, particularly as the Academy offers a direct route into one of GT racing’s biggest events.
“Winning British GT’s SRO GT Academy seat was amongst my priorities at the start of this year so I am absolutely delighted to already have that in my back pocket heading into next season,” said Waberski.
His battle with Clark remained close throughout the campaign, even though the pair competed in different cars and with different teammates. Waberski believes the Academy’s evaluation model helped reduce some of the variables that can make direct driver comparisons difficult in GT racing.
“Charles and I have been very closely matched throughout 2026, which was reflected in the final Academy scores.
“The nature of GT racing can make it difficult to assess an individual’s performances but, from what I’ve seen, SRO appears really invested in teasing out the sort of details that can go unnoticed.
“I’ll be following the three GT World Challenge series with even greater interest now my place at Spa is secured.”
Academy evaluates more than race results
The SRO GT Academy expanded significantly for 2026, with its evaluation system designed to focus on individual performance rather than simply championship position.
Eligible drivers earn points through factors including qualifying speed, average race pace and individual lap times. Officials also consider race performance while applying deductions for incidents and mistakes, allowing the programme to reduce the influence of co-drivers, reliability and other external circumstances.
The approach explains why Waberski could secure the British GT Academy prize independently of the overall championship result. His performances across the season, particularly the maximum score at Spa, ultimately separated him from Clark after a close final calculation.
Waberski was also one of only a small group to record a maximum 36-point Academy score this year. Tom Sargent achieved the same in America, while Oscar Targett and Valentino Astuti have done so in Australia. Yu Kuai and Atsushi Miyake also reached the maximum in Asia.
Motopark to field four Academy winners at Spa
The four continental winners will share a Mercedes-AMG GT3 operated by Team Motopark at Spa from 24–27 June 2027.
SRO confirmed the German squad for the programme shortly before Waberski secured the first seat. Motopark brings extensive young-driver development experience from both single-seaters and GT racing and will now oversee a crew assembled from four separate championships.
The Spa opportunity represents one of three major elements within the expanded Academy structure. The programme first launched in Championnat de France FFSA GT, where Gaspard Simon emerged as its inaugural standout and subsequently secured a 2026 GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup programme with Walkenhorst Motorsport.
A separate GT2 European Series Academy contest will also reward its winner with a funded GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup seat in 2027.
Three Spa seats remain undecided
Waberski can now watch the remaining Academy battles knowing that he has already secured his place on the grid.
The GT World Challenge Asia competition continues on the streets of Beijing before concluding at Shanghai in early November. Yu Kuai and Atsushi Miyake remain among the drivers fighting for that place.
The American contest will reach its conclusion at Indianapolis in October, while the Australian competition will run until the Adelaide finale at the end of November. Those three championships will determine the rest of the crew that joins Waberski in Motopark’s Mercedes-AMG.
For Waberski, Brands Hatch therefore brought more than the Silver-Am title and another Teams’ Championship for Barwell. By holding off Clark in one of the closest Academy battles of the year, he also became the first driver to secure a place in SRO’s fully funded 2027 Spa programme and ensured his next major international opportunity is already confirmed.
