Steller set for Silverstone battle with Audi R8 GT3 Evo

Steller Motorsport tested their Audi R8 GT3 at Silverstone last week (Photo Freddie Beckett)

Steller Motorsport will return to the British GT Championship for this weekend's three-hour Silverstone 500 race with their former Michelin Le Mans Cup-contesting Audi R8 GT3 Evo car.

The Vale-based team are concentrating on running Chevrolet Corvette GT3 cars in the Stephane Ratel Organisation created GT World Challenge Europe this year, and the announcement they are making a return to the British GT Championship with their Audi R8 GT3 Evo was something of a surprise.

Matt Topham and Darren Burke will drive the team's car that has been prepared in a new carbon black and yellow livery for the Silverstone race, and will carry the number 27.

Topham, who has British GT4 experience did drive in the championship's opening round at Donington Park earlier this month for the Barwell Lamborghini team, and remains in the GT3 category for Silverstone with Steller, where he will be joined by Kent racer, Darren Burke.

Steller Motorsport were present at Silverstone last week to take part in a two-day test that also saw many other British GT Championship teams in action. During the test, the V10-powered Audi performed well, and the Steller team have high hopes for a strong showing this weekend. Topham and Burke will contest the Silver-Am class of the Silverstone 500 race - the jewel in the British GT Championship crown - that will take place on Sunday around the full 3.6-mile Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit.

Former champions in the GT4 class of the British championship, Steller, although running Corvette cars in Europe this year, have long links to Audi Sport and its much-loved Customer Racing programme. The Steller Motorsport Audi GT3 first appeared in the British GT Championship back in 2020 when it was driven by Sennan Fielding and Richard Williams, and the car was then entered to race internationally in Michelin Le Mans Cup and Road to Le Mans events driven notably by Fielding, James Wood and Mark Cole.

Also in action at Silverstone will be the Beechdean AMR team. Andrew Howard and Tom Wood will drive the Vale-based Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo supported by Sides. The duo raced well in the season-opener at Donington Park, and should feature towards the sharp end of the race that starts at 12.30pm on Sunday afternoon.

* The FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) was in action at Imola in Italy last weekend, where two Heart of Racing Aston Martin Valkyrie cars were on-track. The WEC continues at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium in just over two week's time, and as the race is the last WEC event before Le Mans it is possible that Vale-based Aston Martin star, Ross Gunn, may join the part factory-supported Aston Martin team for the event despite it clashing with a round of the US-based IMSA series that he regularly drives in.

* Tom Ingram starts his Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship season at Donington Park this weekend. Ingram is entered to drive the number 80 Hyundai i30N for Team Vertu, and the Bucks racer will start the 2025 as a title favourite.