RACE Performance have revealed that Árón Taylor-Smith will partner Sam Smelt in a Ford Mustang GT4 for the 2019 British GT Championship.
The former BTCC driver spent a year racing in the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup last season, in which he finished ninth in class with Josh Caygill. Despite having raced on all the tracks he will face in 2019, this will be his first season in the British GT and his first experience of a GT4 race car.
Despite all of this, Taylor-Smith believes that, “it is the perfect blend for me; I get to capitalise on my track knowledge from my time in the BTCC but also benefit from last season’s experience in Blancpain GT.”
Team Principal Ryan Connolly is extremely proud of his driver line-up for the coming season. Speaking about the duo, he added, “Aron and Sam’s BTCC experience ensures their ability in close-quarter racing and race craft are things we don’t need to worry about, so as a team we can simply focus on the results I am sure we will collectively deliver.”
Taylor-Smith has already tested the car at Donington Park and the experience left him saying, “I can’t remember the last time that I was this excited for a season to start as I see great potential to mount a championship fight.”
RACE Performance will not be the only team running a Mustang GT4 this season with Multimac Motorsport running two cars with Billy Johnson, Scott Maxwell, Sebastian Priaulx and a driver still to be announced. It will be interesting to see how the two teams compare in equal machinery in their début seasons.
The full unveiling of the Mustang as well as all the other teams and liveries will happen on 5 March at Donington for the Media Day. It is clear that RACE Performance are going to be gunning for the title.