2016 British GT Championship GT4 champions Graham Johnson and Mike Robinson have announced that they will campaign a McLaren 570S GT4 for the remainder of the 2017 British GT Championship, saying goodbye to their Ginetta G55 GT4 which has served them well for many seasons.
The duo recently tested the McLaren 570S GT4 at Silverstone and have decided to make the switch with immediate effect.
“We couldn’t believe what a difference the McLaren gives to the Ginetta,” said Johnson. “It’s a very ‘easy’ car to drive quickly, whereas the Ginetta is more an out-and-out racer: hot, noisy and on a knife-edge. Both the Ginetta and the McLaren have their merits and we’ll unquestionably miss our Ginetta at some circuits, but it’s time for us to see what we can do in another car.”
Team Principal of Optimum Motorsport, Shaun Goff, is excited at the opportunity that running the McLaren represents to the Wakefield-based team.
“Having run Ginetta GT4 cars successfully and winning the 2013 and 2014 British GT4 championships, I’m really excited to be able to expand our knowledge of another manufacturer under our umbrella,” said Goff. “We’ll continue with Ginetta in GT4 programmes as it’s the best value car out there.”
Graham Johnson is cautious about results at this weekend’s Silverstone round of the British GT Championship.
“We’re realistic about our chances at Silverstone,” said Johnson. “The team only collected the car from factory today (June 5) and Mike and I have completed just eight laps each in McLaren’s development car.”
“A podium finish would be nice, but I think the first goal has to be to compete every lap of the three-hour race. That’s a feat we’ve never managed in previous years!”
Round six of the 2017 British GT Championship takes place at Silverstone on June 11.
