> Proctor/Osborne also return for second GT3 outing of the season
Balfe Motorsport has confirmed Jan Klingelnberg and Warren Hughes will join the team’s expanded Intelligent Money British GT Championship entry at Donington Park next weekend (September 19/20).
Klingelnberg makes his debut alongside 2012 class champion Hughes who previously coached the Swiss driver in the Pure McLaren GT Series. The pair have also claimed three GT Cup podiums together this year aboard the same 570S they’ll now race in British GT’s extended three-hour enduro.
They’re joined in Balfe’s garage by fellow Pro/Am pairing and Pure McLaren duo Mia Flewitt and Euan Hankey, while the team’s 720S GT3 returns for the second of three scheduled outings in the hands of Stewart Proctor and Joe Osborne who claimed pole position at Donington in mid-August.
“I am very happy to race with Balfe Motorsport once again, after an enjoyable weekend with the team at Silverstone last month, and hopefully we will have drier conditions than we experienced there!” said Klingelnberg.
“With there being no Pure McLaren GT Series this year, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to test myself in some new series and the British GT Championship was definitely on the list. I have seen how successful Balfe have been so far this season, so know I am in good hands, and think it will be an enjoyable, if challenging experience.”
Hughes, who makes his first British GT appearance since 2013, added: “It’s great to be taking that next step into a known environment. The appeal for Jan is the ability to measure himself against the competition. In the GT Cup we were kind of in a class of our own. Now we’ll have competitors in the same class and so it helps to work a bit harder and to dig a bit deeper for the competitive edge.
“Mia and Euan have got a six-month had start on us but they are known quantities and a good reference, so it’s perfect as we can share data and monitor performance and progress. We’re both really happy to be back with Balfe as it was a very easy fit. Jan gelled really well with the team and love the job that everyone did at Silverstone so it was a logical progression.”