Britcar, the organisers of the Dunlop 24 Hours at Silverstone, have released the provisional entry list for the event. Thirty-four cars will take to the track for the event, which marks the return of twice round the clock racing to the UK for the first time since 2013. Spread across five classes big names include Ferrari, Jaguar and Porsche.
Class 1 deals with purpose built endurance racers with Ferrari, Radical and Ginetta models among others. Former 24 hour and Britcar Endurance Championship winners MJC are bringing their Ferrari 430 GT2 for Witt Gamski, the car owner, along with Avon Tyres British GT Championship protagonists Phil Dryburgh and Rory Butcher. Joe Macari also joins the squad giving impressive strength to this effort.
GT3 is represented by Simon Green Motorsport who are returning the Jaguar name to endurance racing after a three year absence. Nigel Rata and Freddy Hunt, the son of Formula 1 legend James Hunt will race the Jaguar XKR-S with another drivers who are yet to be confirmed.
There will also be a selection of prototype machinery on offer, ISL have entered a Tampolli SR209 into the LMPX class for Alun Edwards and Gerry Hampshire. Radical Sportscars are one of two factory entries to the race in class 1. Laurence Wiltshire, Chanin Nouri, Richard Roberts and Martyn Smith. The RXC V8 is a road going machine built on the lines of a Daytona Prototype so should have impressive pace down the long Hangar and Wellington straights but it’s longevity is yet to be proven.
Also entered is the Riley TDC which Nigel Mustill campaigned in the Britcar Championship in 2014. Mustill returns with Wessex Vehicles again preparing and running the car, additional drivers are yet to be confirmed.
Team LNT will be bringing their Ginetta Juno LMP3 Prototype. (Credit: Craig Robertson/Racephotography.net)
The big name in class 1 is Team LNT, the factory team from Ginetta Cars. Usually the outfit would run a G55 GT3 at an event like the 24 Hours but company boss Lawrence Tomlinson has instead opted to give the newest Ginetta product more mileage. Following the debut of the Ginetta-Juno LMP3 chassis at Silverstone in the European Le Mans Series season opener, Tomlinson will be joined by factory driver Mike Simpson, Nissan racer and knight of the realm Sir Chris Hoy and Charlie Robertson. Nissan GT Academy winner Gaetan Paletou is also listed in the entry.
Nailing down a winning prediction for the class is a big ask. MJC have a strong line-up and a race proven chassis while the Team LNT line up is also rock solid. Questions may rightly be asked about the Ginetta Juno – Nissan’s ability to last a full 24 hours so early in its development though, the LMP3 machines are only being raced for four hours at a time in the ELMS. Despite this we wouldn’t rule out LNT for a podium and if the team get a clear run, they could be lifting the winners trophy come 4pm on Sunday.
