This season the British GT Championship will introduce a new class – GT3 Class B – and the series already has a pair of high profile entries more than two months before the first round of the championship.
The new class is intended for older spec cars such as the Ferrari 430, or Dodge Viper that have been able to compete in the premier GT3 class before this season.
One man well qualified to judge the cars is Aaron Scott, who will race a Ferrari 430 for MTECH this season after driving a Viper throughout 2010; “Cars like the Ferrari 430, the Lamborghini and Viper are relatively inexpensive to buy and can be run for a fraction of the budget, which means that a less experienced driver can afford to spend more time testing. I really see a good future for the class, and there are a lot of cars out there which are eligible.”
Scott will share the Ferrari – one of two MTECH intend to field in GT3 Class B – with John Dhillon.
“It will be an ideal introduction to British GT for John,” assesses Scott. “He is a driver with experience and aspirations, and gaining experience in the championship with a three-year-old machine will provide the perfect opportunity for him to learn the ropes without the pressure of being in a first-line car.”
British GT championship manager Benjamin Franassovici supports Scott's opinion. “MTECH is hoping to run two older Ferraris and I have interest from other teams,” he says. “These are cars which will probably be a second a lap or more off the best time which a state-of-the-art car can achieve, so it is easy to see the attraction of being competitive in a car which costs so much less to race.”
GT3 Class B will be just one part of the British GT field. As many as six manufacturers are set to fight for overall wins in the premier GT3 Class, GT4 and GT Cup spec cars also welcomed into their own classes for the championship.
The first race is at Oulton Park on Easter Monday (April 25).
