In2Racing Confirms Pair of McLaren 570S GT4s for British GT

Photo: British GT

In2Racing is set to join the British GT Championship with a pair of McLaren 570S GT4s this season, following plans for a 2016 entry that didn’t come to fruition.

The Warwickshire-based team is best known for its Porsche Carrera Cup GB entries, but this year steps up to GT4 with a pair of McLarens.

Plans to enter a Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport in the series last season were scrapped after pre-season supply issues that affected several teams hoping to run the Porsche in British GT.

In2Racing joins Tolman Motorsport and Track-club as the third customer team confirmed to be running the GT4-spec McLaren in the series, and the first to commit to a two-car entry.

So far, it has confirmed Gareth Howell and Richard Marsh in one of its two McLarens, with the second lineup yet-to-be-announced but understood to include at least one driver with considerable experience in the series.

Howell is a former British karting champion and British Touring Car Championship race-winner but hasn’t raced competitively for a number of years.

However, the 36-year-old has recently been working as a development driver for McLaren Automotive, meaning he has a fair deal of prior experience with the car in both road and race-specs.

“I hadn’t shut the door on racing but it certainly wasn’t something I was chasing either,” he said. “Richard [Marsh] and I raced together in 2000 but met again by chance a couple of years ago.

“We stayed in touch, just chatting about motorsport really. We would idly discuss racing together but it wasn’t until he tested the car and spoke with In2Racing that the opportunity to actually do it became more realistic.

“I spent two years developing the 570 road car and have previously tested the GT4 but don’t know it that well.

“I travel a lot in the week with my day job so I wouldn’t be doing this unless I thought the team, Richard and I could be competitive and build a proper Pro/Am partnership.

“I’m new to GT racing but, from what I’ve heard, you’re only as competitive as your Am. Fortunately I see a lot of potential in Richard.”

Since retiring from the BTCC in 2007, Marsh has gained experience in a variety of categories, and has four British GT outings to his name so far.

“The McLaren looks like the car to have this year and it’s also an iconic brand, so this is an ideal opportunity for me to go racing properly again,” he said.

“I certainly didn’t want to do it half-heartedly and having Gareth with me proves that. We’re a proper Pro/Am pairing and although he’s been out of racing for a while I’ve no doubt he’ll be one of the class benchmarks this year.”

Jake Kilshaw

Jake Kilshaw is a UK-based journalist. He is a graduate of Politics and International Relations.