Three-time British GT3 race-winner Marcus Clutton has switched teams and co-drivers for the upcoming campaign after joining forces with Simon Orange and his eponymous squad.
Fortunately, the former championship contender knows his ‘new’ McLaren 720S GT3 Evo inside out after spending four years campaigning the same model alongside Morgan Tillbrook, first with Enduro Motorsport and then Garage 59.
However, this will not be Clutton’s first experience of working with Orange Racing powered by JMH. The same combination also raced together in the Asian Le Mans Series in 2022.
“I’m delighted, and excited, to start a new journey with Orange Racing powered by JMH,” said Clutton. “Since working with them at the Asian Le Mans series, back in 2022, I knew they had the ingredients of a race winning team. That hasn't happened yet, so I relish the challenge of achieving this for the team, staff, and particularly Simon.
“Simon has a great amount of raw pace and has shown this previously when racing against him. With some fine tuning I'm confident we can make him a consistent front running AM driver in one of the most competitive fields around.
“Working with McLaren again ensures my previous years can be drafted into the package and hopefully we can hit the ground running. Workshop work has already commenced, and the level of detail has ramped up massively.”
Orange and his team, meanwhile, are preparing for their third British GT season after first stepping up as GT Cup champions at 2022’s season finale. Results have been hard to come by since then, but Orange is confident that Clutton’s experience will pay dividends.
“It’s great to be back in British GT for another season,” he said. “Lauren [Granville, championship manager] and the team at SRO do an amazing job and without doubt run the best national GT championship in the world.
“This year marks a return to the top Pro-Am category for me, and the team, and we are chomping at the bit to get started. Management have done a great job of retaining the services of our talented team of engineers, mechanics, and support staff, which helps immensely, as continuity is key. The big change for this year though is my partner in the car. I’m so excited we were able to secure the services of Marcus Clutton. I first met Marcus when he joined the team for Asian Le Mans, and we got on like a house on fire. Since then, we have remained friends and when the opportunity came to sign him, we jumped at the chance.
“Work is underway in the factory and his presence is already paying dividends, due to his vast racing experience and knowledge of the McLaren 720S GT3 Evo, which we are campaigning again this year. I would also like to thank Rob Bell and the team at McLaren Customer Racing, as we continue to develop an ever-growing relationship.
“After two years of indifferent results, I feel energised for the new season, and we go into 2025 with the aim of winning races and taking a shot at the title.”
The majority of this year’s entries will it the track for the first time at Silverstone’s media day on March 21 before the season begins in earnest at Donington Park three weeks later.
