Beechdean Aston Martin to return to British GT Championship

The Vale-based squad made a winning return in British GT last October in a one-off appearance in the Silver-Am category during last season’s Donington Park finale, but for 2023 the squad will contest the Pro-Am class with Aston Martin's factory-supported racer, Gunn, leading the crew's line-up.

Beechdean AMR team has a strong record of success in the British GT Championship, with the team's boss, Andrew Howard, one of only two drivers to have won the overall British GT title more than once. Success in 2013 and 2015 saw Howard and Beechdean AMR then graduate to the European Le Mans Series - winning the GTE class title on their debut in the series.

Howard last contested a full season in British GT in 2021 but returns aboard the number 97 Vantage GT3 following a handful of appearances in the Fanatec GT World Challenge and cameo outings in the British GT Championship last year.

Gunn's naming as a driver for Beechdean AMR will see the Vale-based racer further increase his on-track activities for 2023 that already sees him driving in the US-based IMSA and GT World Challenge America for Aston Martin teams. Winner of the British GT4 Championship in 2015 with Jamie Chadwick, Gunn has enjoyed racing with the Beechdean team previously, notably in the Le Mans Cup and scoring pole position in a race at Le Mans.

Speaking this week, Andrew Howard said: “We’ve tried other championships and events in Europe and beyond and been title winners, but inevitably we always come back to British GT because it’s a mega series and because racing in front of your home crowd is special.

"Winning the title in 2013 remains one of my proudest moments as a driver and Team Principal and seeing us taking GT3 and GT4 crowns – with Ross as one of our GT4 champions – two years later was fantastic. It’s great to have him back in the fold as the Gunn family have been involved with the team for over twenty years. Our comeback win in the Silver-Am class at Donington last year was a toe-in-the-water exercise to see if we were still as competitive as we thought we would be, and we were, so putting our efforts into a full-season campaign was a no-brainer."

Ross Gunn said, "It’s great to be back in British GT and with Beechdean AMR. I probably first sat in a Beechdean car when I was about five years old when my Dad was racing Minis with them, and I’ll always be grateful to Andrew and Susie Howard for their backing eight years ago that set me on the path to becoming a professional racing driver.

"British GT is one of the most competitive national series in the world and you can see how hard it is to win because so few drivers have done it more than once. My job is simple; work as hard as I possibly can to help Andrew fight for a third Drivers’ title. Podiums are 100 per cent the aim straight out of the box.”

The 2023 British GT Championship begins at Oulton Park on Easter weekend and comprises seven events including a trip to the Portimao circuit in Portugal, with the finale taking place at Donington Park in October.

*Ross Gunn's busy season continues this weekend, when he contests the opening two rounds of the Asian Le Mans Series at the Dubai Autodrome in an Aston Martin Vantage GT3.