GT: Balfe Announces Revised British GT Programme.

Balfe Motorsport has announced a revised Intelligent Money British GT Championship programme for 2020.

The Lincolnshire-based team was originally due to field a full-season entry for Shaun Balfe and Rob Bell in its McLaren 720S GT3.

However, the #36 entry will now also feature the driving duo of Stewart Proctor and Joe Osborne and will be on the grid at both of the Donington weekends of August 15 – 16 and September 19 – 20 in addition to the Snetterton round on October 3 – 4.

Stewart Proctor, father of Optimum Motorsport pilot Lewis, is looking forward to being reunited with Joe Osborne with whom he worked with six years ago.

“I am very much looking forward to racing with Balfe Motorsport in the British GT Championship once again this year,” said Stewart Proctor. “The late start to the season has allowed me to complete some good miles in testing with the McLaren 720S GT3 and I am enjoying the step up from GT4. The car drives and feels great and I am grateful to be in the hands of a safe and experienced team like Balfe Motorsport.

“The first race Joe and I will compete in will be at Donington Park, which is not only a track which suits the car, as shown by Shaun and Rob’s victory at the end of last season, but is also one of my favourite circuits, so it will be a fun weekend and interesting to see how we perform in what is one of the benchmark race series for GT3 machinery.”

Joe Osborne, who last competed in the premier UK domestic racing series in 2018, is now part of the commentary team for the championship and will will be in the booth for the rounds at Oulton park, Brands Hatch and Silverstone this season.

“Stewart and I have a relationship which goes back almost six years now, so he is a friend and someone I have worked with since his first test days,” said Joe Osborne. “He was one of the first Pure McLaren customers and drove the road cars, then the 570S GT4, and went into our one-make Pure McLaren GT Series

“Now he has a 720S GT3, which makes him the perfect example of progression with everything we do at McLaren. He has outgrown what we offer at Pure McLaren currently, so that’s where our Customer Racing teams come into play. He has chosen Balfe Motorsport who know the car inside and out with Shaun and Rob’s antics last year, so it is a natural progression for him.

“It’s very easy for Am drivers to overlook what team they go with, but Stewart has appreciated the professional but friendly nature that Balfe offers, and from the test days I have done with the team I have been super impressed with the way they operate and it gives me confidence that Stewart and I will be given the best tools on the grid to go and get some decent results.

“British GT has been a championship I had done at least one race in every year for a decade until last year, so it is a series I am familiar with and I think in the ten years I have been around it, it has gotten better and better.”

The 2020 Intelligent Money British GT Championship gets underway at Oulton Park on August 1 – 2.