RACE LAB, the team owned by Lee Frost and for which Euan Hankey is Sporting Director, will be entering a McLaren Artura GT4, to be driven by Ian Gough and Tom Wrigley, in the 2023 Intelligent Money British GT Championship. The entry is backed by The Lions Barber Collective and FastR in support of mental health awareness.
The Lions Barber Collective is a charity that uses the skills of barbers as communicators and listeners to identify signs of depression in their clients. The partnership with RACE LAB will allow the charity to raise money and awareness for their work.
The Lions Barber Collective will be offering free pre-race day haircuts to all teams and series personnel at each round of the British GT Championship. On race day, the charity will provide a ‘beat the pro’ race sim challenge for race fans to enjoy.
“When I was approached by Ian to put a programme together, I was immediately drawn to the idea,” said CEO and Founder of The Lions Barber Collective Tom Chapman. “We are a grass roots charity and everything we do has to either raise awareness or raise money. This does both.
“I can’t wait to take The Lions Barber Collective to British GT, to raise awareness and reach our audience. British GT has 85% male trackside attendance and with our pop-up barber at every race and with our brand on the car, I know we will make a difference and save lives faster together.”
Ian Gough began his racing career in Formula Fords before making the switch to GT machinery in 2022. Gough competed in selected rounds of the 2022 Ginetta GT Academy and the British Endurance Championship.
“I can’t wait to get going with this,” he said. “It’s a life goal realised racing in British GT but the stakes are high; raising awareness for The Lions Barber Collective is an important purpose that is driving our team but at the same time we’re here to win.
“I’m delighted to be sharing the driving duties with Tom Wrigley. Tom brings raw speed and engineering insight that should put us in a position to be challenging for wins from day one.”
Wrigley is returning to the race track after a three-year hiatus during which he focused on business development for his tuning company.
“After several years off trach building my BMW tuning company, Tom Wright Performance, a new chapter has opened in my racing career,” said Wrigley. “I am extremely excited to be back behind the wheel in the Intelligent Money British GT Championship driving the McLaren Artura GT4 with RACE LAB.
“This year presents new challenges as the pro driver in a Pro-Am partnership with Ian but I’m feeling ready for it!”
Fin Green will be joining the GT4 programme in a driver development capacity and will take on testing commitments when Ian Gough’s work commitments conflict.
RACE LAB has already announced its GT3 entry for the British GT Championship and is expected to release details of a third entry ahead of the pre-season Media Day at Donington on March 14. Racing for the 2023 Intelligent Money British GT Championship gets underway at Oulton Park on April 8 – 10.
