Jody Fannin will join JRM Racing for the 24 Hours of Spa on the 27-28th July.
The 19-year-old will share the #230 Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 Pro-Am entry car with Matt Bell, Charles Bateman and Humaid Al-Masaood at the event, which will also form the fourth round of the Blancpain Endurance Series. Fannin raced for JRM Racing in a similar car in the opening round of the British GT Championship at Oulton Park earlier in the year, in which he led a portion of the race.
“Confirming Jody for Spa gives JRM one of the strongest Pro Am driver line-ups out there,” said JRM Racing Team Principle James Rumsey. “We know him well from the British GT races and testing and have seen he is quick, committed and fits in well with the JRM mentality, which is to push to the end and polish every area for maximum gain. Thanks to his outings over the past six months, he understands the car and how to get the most from it so I am sure he will complement Matt, Charles and Humaid in the Pro Am Car very well. He also attended the Silverstone race to get to know everyone so Spa should see him hit the ground running. We’ve improved the car a lot since the first race in Monza and have also stepped up our testing for the longer distances, so I’m confident that this combination will achieve a very strong result.”
Fannin, who is half South African, half British, took the JRM machine to 12th and 11th in the two British GT races at Oulton Park, only missing out on points due to a penalty applied for driving as a solo silver driver. He took the 2012 British GT4 drivers’ championship along with Warren Hughes in a Ginetta G50 GT4 which helped him earn the British Racing Drivers’ Club rising star award at the end of the year.
“I’m delighted to make my Spa debut with JRM, who I have got to know very well in the past six months thanks to the racing and testing activities I’ve carried out,” said Fannin. “I’ve seen first-hand how they, Matt, Charles and Humaid work in Blancpain: they are a strong, professional team who know how to get the most of the car, as they showed with the strong performance they put in at Silverstone last month. I feel like I know the car well and this will stand us in good stead for Spa, one of the toughest races out there. The Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 is good on the straights, which should carry over well to Spa where outright power really pays off. I can’t wait to get going.”
JRM will also field a Pro class entry with Peter Dumbreck, Lucas Luhr and Steven Kane lining up on the 70-car grid.
