A small sample of the 2017 British LMP3 Cup Championship runners were present at Brands Hatch today to get some on-track running ahead of the series’ inaugural season which is set to kick off at Donington Park on the 22-23rd of April.

The three teams present took part in a lengthy test session during the afternoon as part of MSVR’s 2017 Media Day festivities at the Kent-based circuit.

As well as the new LMP3 Cup Championship having a presence, Bute Motorsport’s GT Cup organisers as well as a handful of cars were also on-site.

New challenge for Horsepower Racing

DSC caught up with Horsepower Racing driver Andy Schultz, who this season will take part in the full LMP3 Cup season driving with Paul Bailey. The team – assisted by G Cat Racing – received a brand new JS P3 last Friday, and is at Brands to give the car its first run out.

“It’s a new challenge for us,” Schulz told DSC. “We got the car last Friday and haven’t even done a seat fitting yet! We’re here just to make sure that everything is up to speed before we start our full preparations ahead of the season.

“For both Paul and I it’s going to be a learning year. We’re not necessarily expecting to be running up the front at first, as we’ll be up against people who have drive prototype machinery before. It’s going to be different, as Paul has driven plenty of GT machinery which have more driver aids than the JS P3.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun though, who knows where it will take us? There’s so many places to race an LMP3 car, that there’s not really a plan. British Prototype Cup is great for beginners who don’t want to take on the big teams in the ELMS and want to get sprint races under their belt.

“It’s easy on the spares, and overall a lot cheaper than racing in GTs. Paul was due to buy a new Ferrari GT3 or GTE, but he thought otherwise, that’s half a million, where as this is £200,000. United Autosports will also be on sight at every race to provide us with support and spares, so it works well as a new package.”

F3 Cup winner to receive Ligier test

Showing the immediate prestige of having a national ACO-approved series in the UK, it has been announced that the winner of the 2017 F3 Cup will receive a very valuable prize this year.

A 200km test drive in an exclusive Ligier JS P3 organised by Ligier UK is on offer to the series’ victor, as an incentive to encourage drivers to make the leap into the budding formula.

Butel set for Speedworks drive

Jersey-born 20-year-old Jack Butel has announced his participation in the full 2017 LMP3 Cup with Speedworks. Butel, who has become the series’ youngest driver to enter, sees the LMP3 Cup as the perfect pathway to Le Mans for young drivers, jumping from drives in MSA Formula and British F4 over the past two years into the LMP3 Cup.

“Once this series was announced I immediately saw the appeal,” he told DSC. “I tested the car last year with United Autosports at Snetterton, loved it, and signed with Speedworks at the Autosport Show.

“It’s going to be different, but it’ll be good to have a rood over my head.”

The Speedworks team has found a driving partner for Butel, who is set to be announced in due course.

Stay tuned for a full interview with Butel on DSC very soon!

Photo courtesy of jackbutelracing.co.uk

Boland positive ahead of the new season

LMP3 Cup’s Phil Boland was on site for the pre-season press conference during the morning, where he added to the general positivity surrounding the young series.

“We’ve been working on this for 12 months, to get a defined path we needed agreement from the ACO,” he said. “We didn’t think we’d ever be an authorised championship by the ACO. This sort of series has never been done in the UK before, it’s unique. There are other series which run prototypes, but this is run to ACO LMP3 regulations. Even the ACO don’t run a dedicated LMP3 championship, so it’s exciting.

“Things are happening on a daily basis. Just today the youngest British driver to sign up is present today, that’s Jack Boutell. He’s an aspiring driver using this route. He’s looking for a career path in sportscar racing, and he’ll send out a message to other young drivers that this is a path to Le Mans.

“There are a number of well-known top teams stood win the touchline. We’re hoping to push them over the line now and get them to join us.”

Douglas fully prepared for the new season

Douglas Motorsport team owner Wayne Douglas was on hand in Kent to oversee the team’s activities, as its extensive the pre-season programme continues.

“We’ve done plenty of testing with our Ligier (above) since the end of last year,” he said. “We’ll also have another six or seven days out before the season starts too. The car is great, from far away it looks like a Radical, but up close it really does look like a Le Mans Prototype.

“We think this is going to be a great series. We have our two drivers Thomas Randle and Mike Newbould signed up and ready to go, so we’re eager to hit the track.”

For 2017 the Corby-based outfit, which is set to race in F3, Ginetta Junior and Ginetta SuperCup alongside its LMP3 programme has confirmed a full season for LMP3 Cup, with the potential for a couple of additional LMP3 races on the continent to add to its busy schedule.