Paddock Motorsport has expanded its 2022 Intelligent Money British GT Championship presence by announcing it is to enter a McLaren 570S GT4 for Ashley Marshall and Moh Ritson. The GT4 entry joins the team’s existing GT3 entry.
The team, owned by Martin Plowman and actor and businessman Kelvin Fletcher, joined the British GT grid in 2021 with their Bentley Continental GT3 after an initial outing with JRM. The duo finished 11th in the overall GT3 drivers standings and 7th in the GT3 GT3 Pro/Am drivers table.
Ashley Marshall began his racing career in 2016 and contested the Ginetta GT5 Challenge for five seasons before switching to the British GT Championship in 2021, driving the #90 Balfe Motorsport McLaren 570S GT4 alongside Jack Brown. Marshall and Brown finished 6th in the overall GT4 drivers standings.
Moh Ritson will be making his debut in the British GT Championship in 2022. The 19-year-old from Leeds began racing in 2018 and contested the 2021 GT Cup Championship GTH class in the Paddock Motorsport McLaren 570S GT4 with Tom Rawlings. Rawlings and Ritson had a strong season, finishing second in class in the drivers standings, taking a class win at Snetterton in the process.
Kelvin Fletcher has acknowledged that the team had a tough challenge in 2021.
“I’ll be honest: the team was flying by the seat of its pants last year!” said Fletcher. “Martin and I were supposed to spend the season with JRM but when that unravelled we were left with no choice but to turn Paddock into a bona fide British GT operation literally overnight. That wasn’t the plan at all: it was supposed to be something we built slowly, methodically and when time allowed, but the situation dictated otherwise.
“Just having the Bentley on track each weekend required a minor miracle and amazing support behind the scenes, most notably from Martin’s mum and dad who rolled up their sleeves and got stuck in.
“We learnt a helluva lot in a very short space of time but can now put that experience to good use by expanding further this year. Paddock is already the race team I think we hoped we’d have maybe two or three years down the line. We were already running the McLaren GT4 in GT Cup so that’s a known quantity and continuation for the drivers, as well as a natural progression for the team. It means Martin and I can focus more on our own racing, getting to grips with the 720S and building on our existing GT3 momentum.”
Moh Ritson is looking is looking forward to making the move to the British GT grid.
“Moving up to British GT is a big deal for me,” said Ritson. “It looked like I’d be doing GT Cup again until a few weeks ago when Martin mooted the idea of British GT. It’s taken some time to get everything in place but I’m delighted with how things have worked out.
“Most of GT4’s debutants are starting from scratch and a lot of established drivers have moved teams or manufacturers. Sure, I’m new to the grid, but I know the car and team from last year, and can also count on Ash’s race-winning experience. It feels like a great combination.”
The 2022 Intelligent Money British GT Championship gets underway at Oulton Park on April 16 – 18.
