GT4’s reigning Silverstone 500 winners, Track-Club, will enter their second season of British GT this year after confirming McLaren Academy Driver Ben Barnicoat alongside Adam Balon aboard the team’s 570S.

Balon and his previous co-driver, Adam Mackay, who finished fourth in last year’s class standings, also famously won on their championship debut at Oulton Park before adding a second victory in the season’s blue riband event.

Joining three-quarters of that same partnership – team, car and Am driver – is 21-year-old Barnicoat who spent 2017 racing McLaren’s GT3 model in the Blancpain GT Series’ Endurance and Sprint Cups, as well as Stateside in Pirelli World Challenge. Prior to that he enjoyed a successful junior single-seater career that featured stints in both FIA European F3 and Formula Renault 2.0, the NEC version of which he won overall in 2014. Two years prior to that he was crowned European karting champion.

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“This chance all came about through McLaren, they asked me if I’d be up for racing in GT4 this year and I have the capacity so I figured, why not?” he told Motorsport News. “I’m a racer and I want to be out there as much as I can.

“This will be an interesting challenge as it’s my first British championship since karting in 2012, which is pretty surreal. I do know the majority of tracks on the calendar as I’ve done the testing work in either GTs or single-seaters. Ironically about the only track I don’t know is Donington; even though it’s my local track all I’ve done there is one BMW race to get a licence upgrade!

“I don’t know too much about Adam, or about British GT. I’ve been mates with Seb Morris since we were team-mates in single-seaters back in 2014, so I talk to him to see how he’s getting on, and I know Will Tregurtha and Stuart Middleton too and saw what they did last year, but that’s about it.”

Barnicoat will have a chance to reacquaint himself with Donington Park and learn a bit more about British GT this Thursday when he, Balon and Track-Club attend the championship’s pre-season Media Day. Entry is free for fans also wishing to attend.

The 2018 season then begins at Oulton Park on Easter Bank Holiday Weekend. Reserve your tickets in advance for Oulton and any other British GT event using the links below to benefit from discounted rates.