Garage 59 and Sky Tempesta Racing have joined forces for a two-car Intelligent Money British GT Championship programme this year.
The familiar combination of Alex West and McLaren factory driver Marvin Kirchhoefer are teaming up in Garage 59’s new 720S GT3 Evo, while the similar Sky Tempesta-backed example features Kevin Tse and Chris Froggatt.
Both entries are overseen by Garage 59, just as they will be in Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS. The two elements were former rivals on the continent where Froggatt/Sky Tempesta and West/Garage 59 have traded Pro-Am titles in recent years.
2023 represents Garage 59’s first full-season British GT programme since 2017 when it ran McLaren’s junior GT4 programme. However, it and West have also made two senior class appearances since then, first in 2020 and last year when the Swede and Kirchhoefer were narrowly beaten to Silverstone 500 victory by Adam Balon and Sandy Mitchell.
Theirs is likely to be one of the strongest Pro-Am entries on this year’s GT3 grid, which now includes no less than six factory drivers.
“British GT is a new challenge for me,” said former single-seater ace Kirchhoefer. “It’s always exciting for a driver to get out on tracks that you are not familiar with and I will be doing a lot of that as I only know Silverstone and Brands Hatch.
“Alex has shown some very strong performances so I hope we can challenge for wins. I think we showed in the Silverstone 500 last year that we have the pace as we came very close to winning that race. I think we should have a good season!”
Meanwhile, Sky Tempesta returns to the Silver-Am ranks where Froggatt and Tse made several appearances together last year, albeit aboard a Mercedes-AMG GT3. Tse also has an overall British GT victory to his name after triumphing at Oulton Park in 2021.
“I am excited I can finally do a full season in the Intelligent Money British GT Championship, and I am delighted to be driving with Sky Tempesta,” he said, “I have known Chris for many years. We worked well last year with some success, so we will definitely be looking for multiple podiums this year.
“Overall, I am thrilled to be able to join the team for the whole season and looking forward to getting on track.”
Sky Tempesta Racing’s founder, Froggatt, added: “We're excited to announce our participation in the Intelligent Money British GT Championship and Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS Endurance Cup in the new McLaren, and to continue our partnership with Mercedes-AMG in IGTC.
“Taking on a championship in a new car is always challenging. However, the new McLaren feels great to drive on the track, and we’re thrilled to have the expertise of Garage 59 supporting us for both championships in the new car. Our team has been working hard to prepare for the upcoming season, and we’re looking forward to showing our determination for success this year.”
Oulton Park hosts the opening round of this year’s Intelligent Money British GT Championship campaign on April 8 & 10.