British Touring Car Championship squad Speedworks Motorsport has announced that it will run a Ligier JSP3 in the upcoming British LMP3 Cup Championship.

The team unveiled its new car at the Autosport International show in Birmingham on Thursday morning.

The ACO and Le Mans-backed British LMP3 Cup Championship features 12 races across four different circuits in the United Kingdom plus an overseas event at Spa in Belgium.

Team manager and founder Christian Dick told The Checkered Flag.co.uk that entering the LMP3 Cup would be the first step to achieving his goal of racing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

“We’re thrilled to be joining LMP3 with this car,” said Dick.

“Prototype racing is something that has always excited us and we have been keeping a close eye on it since its inception. It’s such an accessible formula: the way the organisers have produced it really works so I’m excited for it.”

Speedworks Motorsport currently runs a Toyota Avensis in the BTCC for Tom Ingram. The team has also entered the Ceventic 24H Series in the past with a GT4-class Ginetta, and Dick confirmed to The Checkered Flag.co.uk that he would be running the same car alongside John Gilbert at selected rounds in 2017.

Speedworks joins a growing list of British teams that have pledged their commitment to the new-for-2017 LMP3 Cup.

Other known entrants to the Bute Motorsport-run series include United Autosports, Tockwith Motorsport, MecTech Racing, Team West-Tec, and Douglas Motorsport, with more still to come.

“These cars are proper bits of kit, and they require proper teams to run them,” said Dick.

“Part of the attraction for us is the opportunity to race against other top teams, and we’re glad to be a part of that. We’re going to start testing drivers soon, but we have had a few people come talking to us and we are interested to speak to others. The LMP3 class is a fantastic category – our intention is to race this car in as many places as possible.”

The 2017 LMP3 Cup Championship gets underway with a pair of one-hour races at Donington Park on April 22-23.

2017 LMP3 Cup Championship Calendar