Short and Neary to invest in new machine

Martin Short and Richard Neary will return to the British GT Championship next season with a new-generation GT3 machine, having sold their BMW Z4.

Sportscar veteran Short and Neary have sold the German machine to Europe, and are in talks to buy one of the new-spec cars for the championship next season.

The pair are assessing both the Mercedes AMG GT3 and the Bentley Continental GT3.

“We’ll definitely be back in British GT next season, that’s the plan,” said Short. “The BMW Z4 is a great car, but when you look at how far forward the new wave of GT3 cars have pushed things, it’s out of its depth now.

“Being naturally aspirated it lacks torque out of the corners and the Z4 used to lead the way in terms of aero, but now it lacks heavily against the Mercedes or Lamborghini.”

Short and Neary are the sole bronze-bronze driver pairing on the grid this year. British GT organiser SRO is known to be working on packaging a new all-amateur GT3 class for next term.

Short added: “Pro-am is all well and good, but it can be intimidating for amateurs, both due to the level of competition and the costs involved. By having a dedicated all-bronze class it opens the series up to drivers who can find £150,000 to race, not upwards of £300,000 when they have to pay for a pro driver too.”