Steller Performance will become the first team to enter an Audi R8 LMS GT4 in the British GT Championship when Richard Williams and Sennan Fielding line up at Snetterton next weekend.

The racing arm of Steller Engineering has made frequent appearances with Toyota over the last four years but was originally named in 2019’s record-breaking full-season entry list alongside a to-be-confirmed manufacturer.

Its new programme with Audi is no surprise given team principal Gary Blackman’s previous history with the German manufacturer.

“I have fond memories of my time with the Audi UK British Touring Car and Le Mans programmes,” he said. “It’s great to be reacquainted with the brand. Audi always builds a competitive and reliable race car, so we hope and expect to be in the mix in GT4 very quickly.”

The R8 LMS GT4, which shares the same 5.2-litre V10 engine as its production variant, was homologated at the start of 2018 but has yet to compete in British GT. At least one of the cars is expected at the remaining six rounds, starting in Norfolk on May 18/19.

Its Pro/Am driver crew is also top-notch: Williams has driven every iteration of Steller’s self-engineered GT86, while Fielding was frequently one of the fastest Pros when he raced it last season.

The Audi’s confirmation could potentially result in a record-breaking GT4 entry at Snetterton where nine manufactures are expected to compete together for the first time in British GT history.

Steller Engineering also confirmed that its sister company, Steller Performance, is continuing to work on developing a parallel GT4 programme with another manufacturer.