TEENAGERS GET MCLAREN LAREN GT4 SHOT
Single-seater stars Haggerty and Mitchell will enter British GT with new 570S GT4
Single-seater drivers Ciaran Haggerty and Sandy Mitchell will graduate to the British GT Championship this season to spearhead development of Mclaren’s new 570S GT4 challenger.
BRDC F4 graduate Haggerty and MSA Formula race winner Mitchell will join the factory-blessed Black Bull Ecurie Ecosse team to race the 570S GT4, which was unveiled during the British GT media day at Snetterton last week.
The new car runs a 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 engine and will be the first homologated GT4 car to run with a carbonfibre tub, which is carried over from the baby Mclaren’s road-going version. A nonhomologated Sprint-spec car will also be built. The Mclaren factory has developed the car in partnership with CRS GT.
Ecurie Ecosse will field the GT4 entry for the full season, helping Mclaren in development of the car before its general release later this year.
Former Scottish Formula Ford 1600 champion Haggerty, 19, finished fifth in last year’s BRDC F4 points, while former British karting champion Mitchell was seventh in the MSA Formula points with two race wins during his maiden car racing campaign. Both are on the Ecurie Ecosse Young Driver scheme. Mitchell will become the youngest driver ever to race in British GT, having only turned 16 this month.
“This is a huge break for both my career and Sandy’s,” Haggerty said. “It’s been a hard winter putting a GT deal together but to get a chance to run with a manufacturer like Mclaren with a new programme is a dream.
“I’ve not tested the GT4 yet, but I did do eight laps in the 650S GT3 last year. It’s a very different driving style to singleseaters. You have to get used to the braking and the extra dive and roll of the car due to the weight difference, and also using systems like ABS and traction control.
“Sandy’s a top driver and between us we’ll make one of the strongest pairings in GT4. Mclaren wants this season to be all about development for the 570S GT4, so there’s not huge pressure, but we both want to perform to our best and fight for wins.”