Martin Plowman’s Paddock Motorsport has revealed its second entry for the 2023 Intelligent Money British GT Championship, this time in the GT4 category.
After the announcement that Plowman would be joined in the team’s McLaren 720S GT3 by Mark Smith, the Staffordshire-based squad has now revealed that the team’s two-car entry will be completed by a McLaren Artura GT4 to be piloted by Kavi Jandu and Tom Rawlings.
Rawlings is no stranger to the British GT Championship, having driven the Century Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 to 12th place in the GT4 drivers standings alongside teammate Chris Salkeld.
West Bromwich-based Jandu began his racing career in 2022, driving the Paddock Motorsport McLaren 570S in GT Cup as well as a one-off outing in the British GT Championship with Moh Ritson, resulting in a win in the Pro-Am Cup class at Donington.
Kavi Jandu is aware that the McLaren Artura is a very different machine to the its predecessor, the 570S GT4.
“This year is going to be something quite special, stepping up to British GT with Paddock Motorsport and a brand-new McLaren Artura… it’s going to be incredible,” he said. Last year was my first season of racing, and I learned an incredible amount. I’d done loads of high-performance track days, but learning about things like qualifying, race starts, pit stops all clicked toward the end of the year. Then to get a class win on my British GT debut was a dream.
“British GT is a real step up,” said Jandu. “The grid is packed with so many great drivers, cars and teams… it’s just another level.
“I did have a brief test in an early version of the Artura GT4 last year and it felt much different to the old 570S GT4. It was more alive, the front-end is much more responsive and it should be a big step forward in all areas. I think Tom and I will make a great partnership. We have similar driving styles and setup preferences, and with the Paddock team behind us we should have a car to go out there and challenge for some strong results this year.”
Tom Rawlings is looking forward to the new season in the Artura.
“I’m really excited to get going, and it’s great to be back with the guys at Paddock Motorsport,” he said. “This is where I started my GT racing career and I’m definitely looking to carry on the same sort of success we had together in the GT Cup where we finished second in the 2021 championship.
“I learned a lot from my first British GT season last year in the BMW, and feel I’m a better all-round driver coming into this year. Getting to grips with the new McLaren Artura will be a great experience, too. It’s a brand-new car that is both lighter and more powerful than the old 570S GT4, and I loved driving that, so this promises to be even better!
“I’m looking forward to working with Kavi. He had an impressive British GT debut last year, so I hope we can achieve a lot together in his first full season.”
The 2023 Intelligent Money British GT Championship gets underway at Oulton Park on April 8 – 10.
