Four star – the British GT4 battle
British GT’s GT4 runners and riders have parallels with GT3’s. There are plenty of win and title contenders, and none of last year’s frontrunners enter 2024 unaltered.
We can start with last year’s drivers’ champions. Academy Motorsport’s Erik Evans and Matt Cowley had a dramatic late charge to 2023’s crown, and the team once again enters two Ford Mustangs, though now they’re newly upgraded machines. There’s also a change in Academy’s driver line-up as Cowley – its pacesetter last year – has switched to a Paddock GT4 Mercedes Pro-Am partnership with Ed McDermott. Cowley’s replaced by Marco Signoretti, a familiar figure who also did a lot to develop the new Mustang.
The Optimum McLaren Artura, that dominated most of last season before an extraordinary late run of ill luck, returns and still has Jack Brown driving. Alongside him though Charles Clark – again likely its pacesetting driver last year – is replaced by youthful Zac Meakin. He was hard to judge on his debut last year in a trying Team Parker campaign, and views this as his “redemption year”. He’s been getting seat time and winning races in GT4 Winter Series.
Yet, again like in GT3, perhaps a new entry is title favourite. New team Forsetti’s strong-looking driver line-up for its two upgraded Aston Martin Vantages is led by starlet Jamie Day, who so impressed us in nearly bagging a 2022 debut title, and Forsetti has plenty of overlap with the R Racing effort then. Furthermore, Day is now paired with Mikey Porter who finished fourth in Ginetta Junior last year, and the duo is fresh from dominating GT4 Winter Series in a Forsetti Vantage.
Last year’s GT4 teams’ champion Century still has two BMW M4 GT4s, but with all-new, and strong, driver pairings. Pro-Am duo Ian Gough and Tom Wrigley – who were outside overall title contenders last year – have switched from a Race Lab Artura, while the other M4 has a potent-looking pair Charlie Robertson – until recently a
Ginetta factory driver – and last year’s Ginetta GT Academy titlebattler Ravi Ramyead.
Two formidable teams are back after a year away: 2022 double champion Steller Motorsport has GT4 title-battler Jordan Albert and his GT Cup partner Tim Docker sharing an Audi R8, while the Speedworks-run Toyota Gazoo Racing Supra – often fast but unlucky previously in British GT – is back with 2020 champion Dan Vaughan alongside Kavi Jundu who switched from Paddock.
Harry George – who showed promise on debut last year in a technically trying campaign with Enduro – is “quietly confident” now that he’s in a Mercedes for RAM Racing’s maiden GT4 class assault. He’s joined by another Ginetta Junior graduate Luca Hopkinson.
The 2017 GT3 champion Seb Morris is back, this time in a Team Parker Mercedes GT4 shared with Charles Dawson. Morris accepts this will be a learning year for the pair, but doesn’t rule out race wins.
Young hotshoe duo Alex Walker and Blake Angliss will be worth attention in a Paddock Artura, as no doubt will Mahiki Racing that brings Lotus back to British GT with two Emiras, and the effort has plenty of backing and enthusiasm.