Vale racers set for big weekend at Nurburgring and Silverstone

Ross Gunn will drive an Aston Martin Vantage GT3 for the Walkenhorst Motorsport team in a round of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Endurance Cup in Germany, while Andrew Howard and his Beechdean AMR squad will tackle a round of the GT Cup around the Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit.

Gunn returns to the GT World Challenge, fresh from finishing fourth in the recent CrowdStrike Spa 24 Hours. The Aston Martin factory-supported driver will lead the number 34 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 squad, comprising also of David Pittard and Henrique Chaves, in a three-hour race that forms the third round of the GT World Challenge Endurance Cup.

Two further Aston Martins will make up the Walkenhorst Motorsport challenge in the three-hour contest that has attracted a huge fifty car entry.

Speaking this week, Gunn said: "Finishing fourth in the last round at Spa was a great result but obviously we would have liked to win the race that was won by an Aston Martin. It is out plan to be in the mix again this weekend."

The Nurburgring, set in the Eifel region of Germany, is steeped in motorsport tradition, and has hosted many Grand Prix events in its time as one of the world's leading circuits. The three-hour Endurance Cup race will take place on Sunday afternoon.

*Andrew Howard and his Beechdean AMR team will race at Silverstone in rounds of the MSVR GT Cup Championship.

Howard, a two-time British GT Champion will share his Beechdean Ice Cream-supported Aston Martin Vantage GT3 with three-time Le Mans 24 Hours class winner Darren Turner. The Silverstone event will reunite Howard and Turner, winners together of the the 2016 European Le Mans Series, and who last shared a car at the British GT finale at Donington Park in 2018.

Howard says, “I’m pleased to be getting back behind the wheel at Silverstone. Taking part in the GT Cup at Silverstone is a great way for me to stay race-sharp for when Jessica Hawkins and I are next in the car together. Darren has a fantastic history with the team, including winning the ELMS crown, and has been supporting us this year as a driver coach, so this is a great opportunity to get him behind the wheel too."

*After a short summer break, the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship resumes at the Croft Circuit in Yorkshire this weekend. Vale-based racer Tom Ingram is currently placed second in the BTCC Drivers' Standings with a total of 207 points.

The EXCELR8 Hyundai racer, winner of the title in 2022, is just four points behind series leader Jake Hill (BMW), with reigning champion, Ash Sutton (Ford) twenty points back in third.