Dan Harper is returning to defend his British GT Championship title after all following a late decision from within Century Motorsport.
The 23-year-old BMW factory driver joins Michael Johnston in a M4 GT3.
Harper won the title in dramatic fashion at Donington Park last October but had already marked himself out as 2023’s breakout star by winning twice and earning a reputation for his overtaking prowess. Those elements also helped him collect British GT’s highest non-championship accolade: the Allan Simonsen Award.
Darren Leung’s decision to race on the international stage this year initially left the Northern Irishman without the chance to defend his title – something that only Jonny Adam has successfully achieved in British GT’s 31-year history.
“I’ve got to be honest: British GT wasn’t on my radar for this year, even yesterday afternoon!” said Harper. “I’ve got a busy year with BMW ahead but by complete chance didn’t have a clashing commitment elsewhere. Perhaps it was meant to be.
“I haven’t raced with MJ before but we shared Century’s garage and motorhome last year so know each other pretty well. It’s not like we’re starting from square one, and obviously I know the car and team. We’re really lucky to be starting from such a strong position given how late this has come together.”
Johnston and Harper’s entry moves to Pro-Am from Silver-Am, a class that will still feature a record seven cars at Oulton Park this weekend. In total, Monday’s two 60-minute races feature a senior class comprising 19 entries and six different manufacturers.
Qualifying, warm-up and both races are live on SRO’s GT World YouTube channel this weekend, while Sky Sports F1 also has live race and qualifying coverage.
Day and weekend tickets covering Friday-Monday can be purchased for a reduced rate until 16:00 Wednesday at oultonpark.co.uk.
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