The Intelligent Money British GT Championship roars back into life after a thrilling 2021, with a line-up of entries stacked with quality and potential.
Getting underway on the traditional bank holiday date at Oulton Park over the Easter Weekend, the grid in GT3 is filled with pairings where anyone could stand on the top step of the podium. The secondary GT4 class is much the same, with the level of quality not showing any signs of diminishing with a nice mix of youth Silver Cup crews and experienced Pro-Am cars.
To make sure you’re fully up-to-date with every single car and crew, GT REPORT has detailed every entry below. For the entry list at a glance, make sure to head over here.
GT3
Quite a few years ago, the lead GT class was down in the dumps and entries were slipping under the double-figure mark as drivers elected to go into GT4 and go across the channel and into one of the European championships instead.
Now, though, GT3 has never been stronger and with SRO mandating Pro/Am crews only – gone are the days of silvers – the level of competition has massively increased with 17 cars (and another doing a part-season) set to do battle for overall glory.
#2 Team Rocket RJN McLaren 720S GT3 – Simon Watts / James Kell
Team Rocket RJN makes a welcome return to the GT3 ranks as it confirms a return for its McLaren 720S and an interesting pairing in what is a nicely-sized Silver-Am sub-class, of which there are six entries this season.
The first driver is Simon Watts, who is the Am in the pair and has experience in Endurance Racing Legends, Historic Touring Cars and the Focus Cup. This, though, is the first time he’s raced a GT3 car so it will be interesting to see how his experience develops throughout the season.
He’s got good hands on the other half of the crew, as James Kell continues his own development in the ranks of GT racing which has already seen a solid haul of podiums in GT4, and a win at Snetterton last year racing in RJN’s McLaren 570S GT4.
#3 Assetto Motorsport Bentley Continental GT3 – Mark Sansom / Will Tregurtha
While there has been quite a few surprise announcement you’ll read about further down, this is the surprise of the pre-season. Assetto Motorsport has made a name for itself as experts in running all things Ginetta – and indeed had a solid British GT debut last year when Mark Sansom ran with Charlie Robertson in a Ginetta G56 GT4.
Now, in an actual shock – and not just one we create for effect – the team will run a Bentley Continental for Sansom and up-and-coming GT racer Will Tregurtha, who puts in cracking performances wherever he is and whatever he is sitting behind the wheel of.
It’ll be interesting to see how the pair get on, in what is a major step up for team and one of the drivers.
#4 2Seas Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 – James Cottingham / Lewis Williamson
After a smash and grab win at Silverstone last year, 2Seas Motorsport comes back to British GT after sitting out the rest of 2021. It comes back with two Mercedes – more on the second below – and is raced by James Cottingham and Lewis Williamson.
Cottingham made an eye-catching British GT debut at Brands Hatch last year, where he was mixing at the front of the field before unfortunately failing to finish. The ace historic racer, who has a string of successes in all manner of legendary racing cars – of which a small selection includes E-Type Jaguars, Ford GT40s and Shelby Daytona Coupes – has now caught a taste for modern racing and is stepping into the championship for a full-season.
Williamson, meanwhile, has become a solid pair of hands in GT3 cars but has had a disrupted couple of years thanks to the pandemic – he’ll be raring to get going again.
#93 Sky Tempesta Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 – Kevin Tse / Chris Froggatt
A round-by-round entry for GT World Challenge regulars Sky Tempesta Racing will be run at Oulton Park by 2Seas Motorsport before being handed over to the team’s European partner team GruppeM for the subsequent appearances at Silverstone and Brands Hatch.
The driver line-up is staying the same though, with Kevin Tse – who won at Oulton Park last year when he made his championship debut with RAM Racing at Tom Onslow-Cole – coming back again for more.
He’s alongside Chris Froggatt who has a GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup title to his name and plenty more wins with Sky Tempesta Racing.
#5 Greystone GT McLaren 720S GT3 – Stewart Proctor / Lewis Proctor
The first of the father/son duos in British GT comes in the form of Stewart and Lewis Proctor – the reigning Silver/Am champions back again for another charge in their McLaren.
Anchored by son Lewis, who put in some markedly solid performances at points last year, the partnership is sure to produce even better results as Stewart continues his own development.
Indeed, the pair could have got themselves onto a good thing with Greystone GT. The team started out as Track Day specialists and moved into running a full-bore race team in GT Cup, where their philosophy of pairing experienced driver coaches – like Oli Webb, A1 GP racer Adam Carroll and Jon Lancaster – with Gentleman drivers secured the squad plenty of silverware. Taking that same supporting approach with the Proctors can only be a good thing.
#6 RAM Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 – Ian Loggie / Jules Gounon / Callum Macleod
It was so close yet so far Ian Loggie last year as he just lost out on scooping the crown at the Donington Decider, as he marked himself out as one of the top Am drivers in the championship.
To try and go one step better, he’s keeping the trusted RAM Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 that served him so well, but he’s changing up his co-driver as Spa 24 Hours and Bathurst 12 Hours winner Jules Gounon steps in as the Pro driver for what should be – as far as we can tell – the first time he’s properly raced in Britain, aside from fleeting visits to Silverstone and Brands Hatch as part of GT World Challenge Europe.
Callum Macleod will return alongside Loggie, reuniting an old pairing, because of a couple of clashes in Gounon’s busy schedule.
#8 Team ABBA Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 – Richard Neary / Sam Neary
A break-through British GT win at Donington Park, and a storming run to the GT Cup title marked out 2021 as the year father-and-son Richard and Sam Neary really hit the high-levels of performance they’ve shown flashes of in the past.
While Richard has stepped up his own driving to mix it with the fastest of the Ams, the real revelation has been Sam’s ever-increasing pace. As he often mention himself, his performance regularly matched or exceeded that of the factory drivers that graced British GT last year.
Now they’ve got the pace nailed, the pair haven’t changed the formula, with the family-run team sticking with the previous generation of the Mercedes-AMG – a car they’ve expressed more confidence in, having not particularly clicked with the newer version of the car when tested in the past.
#11 Paddock Motorsport McLaren 720S GT3 – Kelvin Fletcher / Martin Plowman
Paddock Motorsport makes a return to British GT after it’s 2021 debut with a brand-new car, as the Bentley is swapped for a McLaren for team bosses Kelvin Fletcher and Martin Plowman.
Fletcher is the Am in the Pro-Am pairing but is coming on leaps and bounds since his British GT debut five-or-so years ago. Swapping the awkward Continental for the much friendlier 720S will help find those last extra couple of percent he needs to really mix it with the likes of Ian Loggie and Richard Neary at the very sharp-end of the Gentleman driver field.
For Plowman, team management is just another string to his bow and will no doubt be looking forward to getting behind the wheel of the McLaren – a car that hits another level in the hands of a Pro, as Enduro’s Marcus Clutton proves most weekends.
#15 RAM Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 – John Ferguson / Jamie Caroline
The second RAM Racing entry has a very different entry this year, as the Mercedes-AMG GT3 is piloted by John Ferguson and Jamie Caroline – the pair sticking together for a second season after an initial campaign in the Speedworks Toyota Supra GT4.
Ferguson has done pretty well on his move from the single-make Porsche Carrera Cup to the British GT field, where he’s already taken a pair of podiums. There’s scope for him to keep progressing even further, a lot of Ams have often found the move from GT4 to GT3 unlocks extra performance with drivers benefitting from race-spec aero and driver aids, rather than the road car stock items that make up GT4.
Jamie Caroline, meanwhile, could be a dark horse for mixing things right at the sharp-end – especially at Oulton Park with the Pros qualifying for their own grid – his speed has never been in doubt – he’s a champion in multiple categories, including British GT4 back in 2020.
#18 WPI Motorsport Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo – Michael Igoe / Phil Keen
Two wins and two podiums was a solid return from the first year of a two-year partnership, but now Michael Igoe and Phil Keen will be targeting the title as they continue their partnership for another year.
On paper, this is a team that should be challenging for the title from the word go. Keen has the record for most wins in British GT history, while Igoe has made the most of his team-mate’s experience to learn and develop his own driving, from what was not an inexperienced base to begin with.
#22 Balfe Motorsport Audi R8 LMS Evo II GT3 – Shaun Balfe / Adam Carroll
Fan favourites Balfe Motorsport makes a welcome return to British GT, but keen-eyed fans will notice that the team has swapped its traditional McLaren for the newest Audi R8 LMS, the Evo II version no less – the first Audi since Steller Motorsport ran the last Evo for a couple of rounds back in 2020.
The constant is team boss Shaun Balfe, who knows a thing or two about securing wins and podiums both in British GT and International GT Open and will always put himself in the title mix.
That’s especially true when you throw Adam Carroll into the mix. The former A1GP racer has raced all sorts, everywhere, and has always put in maximum effort wherever he goes. Expect the pair to be battling right at the front, especially with their vast experience of racing on British circuits.
#32 Redline Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo – Alex Malykhin / James Dorlin
Arguably the most surprising announcement of the off-season, renowned Porsche specialists Redline Racing has announced it will move into British GT with a Lamborghini for James Dorlin and Alex Malykhin.
Malykhin is relatively new into his racing career having finished second in the Porsche Sprint Challenge GB’s Am category, and took in some of the Middle East Porsche series over the winter – as well as taking a cameo GTH (GT4) win at GT Cup’s Silverstone round last year.
His move into British GT is a big step up in terms of both car performance and series too. Although, he’ll have long-time driver coach Dorlin with him to keep his development going in the right direction. That said though, Dorlin is also making a step up so will be doing some learning of his own.
#40 Fox Motorsport McLaren 720S GT3 – Nick Halstead / Jamie Stanley
Fox Motorsport is a well-known team in British GT, but predominantly in the GT4 class. This year, it makes a push up to the GT3 class as it swaps the McLaren 570S for a 720S.
Team Manager Jamie Stanley remains with the team, as does his co-driver Nick Halstead – the pair making a decent partnership in the GT4 class last year, despite the challenges of being a Pro/Am pairing in a class where Silver Cup crews still rule the roost. Stanley is a race winner in GT3 in the past, and Halstead has proved to be a quick learner – a key skill on their move up to the premier class.
#66 Team Parker Racing Porsche 991.2 GT3R – Nick Jones / Scott Malvern
The fan favourites, in one of the best looking cars of the grid, are back for more as Nick Jones and Scott Malvern continue their Porsche GT3 campaign.
Their 2021 ended on a positive note as the duo started to really get a handle on what made the 911 tick, and their breakthrough weekend was actually at the venue where they’ll start this season – Oulton Park. A pole position and fourth overall in Cheshire was confirmation the pair were on the right path and they should be looking to that weekend for the base they need to work from come the Easter Weekend.
#72 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo – Sandy Mitchell / Adam Balon
Why change what isn’t broken? Mitchell has proven himself such a quick driver behind the wheel of a Lamborghini that he now drives for the factory. Balon, meanwhile, is becoming an ever-quicker Am who can hold his own against the other Gentleman drivers too. The pair took silverware on a few occasions as they kept themselves in with a shout of the title right to the end – expect at least the same this season.
Under them both, is a car that is proving a reliable work horse. The Huracán seems well-suited to every track on the British GT calendar and the preparation by Barwell is second-to-none – what else would you expect from Mark Lemmer’s squad?
#76 7TSIX McLaren 720S GT3 – Mia Flewitt / Euan Hankey
After two appearances last year, Mia Flewitt and Euan Hankey have confirmed they’ll be tackling the full 2022 season in a McLaren 720S GT3.
The 2020 GT4 Pro-Am Champions will be making their proper step up to the top class with a new team 7TSIX. The squad is anchored by Jody Firth, a racer who has plenty of experience in a variety of championships and is spearheading the new entry.
#77 Enduro Motorsport McLaren 720S GT3 – Morgan Tillbrook / Marcus Clutton
After a 2021 which featured a storming victory at the final Donington race, and plenty of occasions where Marcus Clutton in particular stormed up the timesheets in qualifying, he and co-team owner Morgan Tillbrook are bringing their Enduro Motorsport squad back for another season.
The pair have wasted absolutely no time mixing it at the front in their debut season in the championship, and will no doubt be right at the sharp-end again as they come into the season with a brand-new McLaren 720S GT3 to replace their older chassis – which will be heading to GT Cup where Tillbrook and Clutton will also be racing.
That dual programme has allowed Tillbrook to quickly adapt to life in GT3 and improve his pace with every weekend that has gone by.
#91 Century Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 – Betty Chen / Angus Fender
Century Motorsport makes a step back into GT3 with BMW’s newest machine, the M4 GT3. Proving to be solid in Europe and the USA, the German machine will no doubt be watched with interest.
The team has confirmed Betty Chen in the car and she’s got a wealth of experience already. A race winner in Asia in the M6 GT3, the Taiwanese racer has moved to the UK to try and kick start her career in Europe having had a very disruptive time of things as the pandemic shut down motorsport in Asia.
Joining is her is Angus Fender, who’s got plenty of experience racing in British GT and for Century Motorsport, having driven the GT4 version of the M4 and the M6 GT3 too. He raced a Praga last year, and is also campaigning a Dodge Viper in the British Endurance Championship, so safe to say the M4 GT3 is quite a different beast entirely but will certainly provide good knowledge to draw from.
GT4
The GT4 class continues to provide a solid level of entries as it proves to be the gateway for teams and drivers looking to enter GT racing. That’s no different this season, as the entry list shows a mix of Pro/Ams with teams and drivers looking to dip their toes into British GT, and Silver Cup entries with promising youngsters seeing a future in sportscars.
#9 Century Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 – Chris Salkeld / Tom Rawlings
While the GT3 side of things still has a few gaps, Century Motorsport’s GT4 entries are all sown up and it once again enters a pair of the GT4 versions of the M4.
Returning is Chris Salkeld, who took a trio of podiums during his British GT debut season and has proved to be a pretty solid pair of hands in multi-class racing. He’ll be helped no end by Tom Rawlings, who finished second in GT Cup’s GT4 category – Group GTH – last season and has shown himself to be an increasingly rapid GT racer, having swapped from the Mini Challenge last year.
#14 Inspire Racing Ekris M4 GT4 – Richard Marsh / Gareth Howell
Another M4 on the grid comes from a very rare source, as it’s an Ekris-badged M4, which hasn’t been seen very much on the British scene – indeed British GT only sees an Ekris on the grid on the rare joint races with the GT4 European Series.
Now, though, we’ll get to see one more often as Richard Marsh – a trophy getter in GT Cup in a Porsche Cup – moves to British GT4 with BTCC race winner, and tester for Gordon Murray Automotive, Gareth Howell. The pair both know their way round getting good performance out of a race car, and it’ll be interesting to see how Howell gets on having not taken on a full race season for a number of years.
#23 R Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 – Josh Miller / Jamie Day
Alongside a lot of Ginetta Junior drivers moving into British GT this season, there’s a Ginetta Junior team making the move too, as R Racing enters one of just two Aston Martin Vantages in the championship.
The new team, will enter a pair of young drivers – Josh Miller and Jamie Day are both just 16-years-old and will take the record as the youngest pair to enter British GT when the action gets underway at Oulton Park this weekend.
Jamie Day makes the move to GT racing after two seasons in F4 in the United Arab Emirates, while Miller at least has knowledge of the British circuits – with podiums and a win in Ginetta Juniors over the last two years. Both definitely have fire and talent, could they become the youngest race winners?
#26 Paddock Motorsport McLaren 570S GT4 – Ash Marshall / Moh Ritson
Paddock Motorsport’s expansion continues in GT4, and enters a McLaren 570S GT4 to join its GT3 entry.
The two drivers will be forming what is a decent Silver Cup as Ash Marshall continues with McLaren machinery into a second British GT season having taken a win at Spa last season. He joins Moh Ritson, who enters British GT for the first time having raced with Paddock Motorsport in GT Cup last season. Ritson, who partnered with Rawlings, took two wins and 11 podiums in the 570S on his way to second in the Group GTH standings.
#27 Newbridge Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 – Matt Topham / Darren Turner
One of the revelations of British GT4 last year was the remarkable performances by Newbridge Motorsport’s Matt Topham and Darren Turner.
The pair took a brace of victories in their Aston Martin Vantage as Topham more than held his own against his Silver Cup competition, and Turner proved why he’s basically never got a free weekend as he blitzed everything in his path every time he got behind the wheel.
A few fiddly results meant they couldn’t challenge for the overall GT4 title, but took the Pro/Am competition in a storming fight right to the last lap of the Donington Decider. Look for them to repeat that, at a minimum, this season.
#42 Steller Motorsport Audi R8 LMS GT4 – Richard Williams / Sennan Fielding
Why change what isn’t broken? A late entry for this season, Steller Motorsport returns with its Audi R8 LMS GT4 for Richard Williams and Sennan Fielding.
The pair haven’t changed, because why would they? Williams and Fielding have taken wins, podiums and pole positions in the Audi over the last couple of years – this year they’ll be hoping that their experience and speed can be harnessed into a proper championship challenge this season, especially considering their British GT history compared to the less experienced pairings.
#48 Toyota Gazoo Racing UK Toyota GR Supra GT4 – Tom Edgar / Jack Mitchell
The Toyota Supra has shown great speed since it made its debut in British GT in 2020, but not quite the consistency to really challenge for the GT4 title. Hopefully that will now change as Toyota Gazoo Racing UK – run by BTCC squad Speedworks – enters a line-up full of title potential.
First up is Jack Mitchell. Mitchell should be well-known to fans of the championship, he’s the 2018 British GT4 champion and is a race winner and multiple podium-getter in the GT3 class too. After a brief foray into touring car racing, Mitchell has been tempted back to tame what is a bit of a beast in the Supra.
Joining him is his good friend Tom Edgar – yet another graduate of the Ginetta Junior Championship. Circumstances meant that he didn’t complete the full season last year, but three wins and a second showed that he’s definitely not lacking in speed.
#51 Valluga Racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Club Sport – Ross Wylie / Benji Hetherington
If we were to put our money on anyone this season, it would be the #51. Valluga Racing enters British GT with what is a cracker of an entry, as it pairs Ross Wylie and Benji Hetherington with the latest Porsche GT4.
Wylie hardly needs an introduction, but we’ll give him one anyway. Titles to his name include British GT4 and Britcar, with wins in plenty of other championships besides, in cars that range from Ferraris to the new Brabham in GT Cup. He’s no stranger to the podium and will be pushing hard from the get-go.
You could say the same for team-mate Benji Hetherington, himself no stranger to a vast array of championships over the course of his career with a pretty decent trophy cabinet to go with it. As a Silver Cup entry, these two could be right up there at the end of the year.
#56 Assetto Motorsport Ginetta G56 GT4 – Freddie Tomlinson / Joe Wheeler
More familiar territory for Assetto, which is running the newest of Ginetta’s race machines for the second season in a row. This time, it’ll have a rather unique pairing behind the wheel.
That’s because both Freddie Tomlinson and Joe Wheeler are the sons of people who’ve had a particularly large influence on British motorsport over the last few decades. Freddie is the son of Ginetta boss Lawrence, whilst Joe is the son of former TVR boss Peter.
As well as having well-known surnames, the pair have some decent race experience to boot having both experienced the chaotic nature of the Ginetta Junior Championship.
#61 Academy Motorsport Ford Mustang GT4 – Matt Cowley / Marco Signoretti
American muscle is always welcome in British GT, so it’s great to see Academy Motorsport bringing back the Ford Mustang for another go and uniting two pretty interesting drivers too.
Matt Cowley has become a pretty reliable racer in the Mustang and certainly knows how to extract the most out of the blue oval around the circuits of Britain. That’ll come in handy as he’s paired with Marco Signoretti, who made a one-off British GT appearance at Donington Park a few years ago.
That said, the Canadian is familiar with the Ford as he’s raced for Multimatic – the car’s builder – over in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge so at least knows his way round the Mustang, even if his circuit knowledge will need to be boosted throughout the season.
#65 Team Parker Racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport – Seb Hopkins / Jamie Orton
After two seasons in Ginetta Junior, Seb Hopkins has made the move up to British GT in an updated version of the Cayman GT4 in what is a remarkable step up the motorsport ladder for the 16-year-old.
He’s taken the move with the best possible team. Team Parker has experience with all manner of Porsches – see their GT3 entry above – and also in the Porsche Carrera Cup and Sprint Challenge in the UK.
Speaking of experience in Porsches, his team-mate will be Jamie Orton – a man who’s taken overall wins, class wins, podiums and championships throughout his career, so adds that race-winning know-how to a team that has bags of potential if everything goes in their favour.
#68 Team BRIT McLaren 570S GT4 – Aaron Morgan / Bobby Trundley
One of the stand-out entries for the 2022 season comes from Team BRIT, the UK’s leading motorsport programme for drivers with physical and psychological disabilities, as it enters a McLaren for Aaron Morgan and Bobby Trundley.
Having finished in the top five of the Britcar standings last year, the pair have swapped their Aston for a brand-new 570S GT4 which will be fitted with hand-controls to aid Morgan, who is paraplegic after a motorcross accident. He’s partnering with Trundley, who was diagnosed with severe autism as a child.
The pair have already demonstrated that they’re a good duo behind the wheel, and with McLaren providing assistance – as it does with all its customer programmes – Team BRIT should also learn a lot about what it takes to race in British GT.
#90 Century Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 – Jack Brown / Will Burns
Rounding out the field is one of our reigning champions, as Will Burns returns to British GT4 and Century Motorsport for a go at defending the title his breezed his way to (relatively speaking) last season.
Joining him for that charge is Jack Brown, who took that win at Spa last year with Ash Marshall and has race-winning experience in Ferrari Challenge Europe. If the pair can gel as well as Burns did with Gus Burton last year, there’s no reason why Burns can’t add another GT4 crown to the one he secured in 2021.
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