Beechdean AMR name driver line-up for British GT return

Beechdean AMR have named a pair of British GT Champions as the line-up for their race return at the Donington Decider on October 15-16.
Team Principal Andrew Howard – winner of the overall Drivers’ crown in 2013 and ’15 – will be partnered by 2021 Silver-Am Champion Lewis Proctor aboard an Aston Martin Vantage GT3 at the season finale.
The High Wycombe team has been one of the stand-out performers in British GT over the past decade winning seven championship crowns with Aston Martin machinery across both the GT3 and GT4 divisions with drivers such as Jonny Adam, Ross Gunn and Jamie Chadwick.

With a European Le Mans Series title and two participations at the Le Mans 24 Hours to its name, Beechdean AMR’s return adds yet more pedigree to an already stacked line-up at Donington.

Andrew has raced in British GT since 2006, finishing as runner-up in the GTC division the following year and then becoming overall champion in ’13. He and Jonny Adam shared the overall crown two years later while also scooping the GT3 Pro-Am title.

The High Wycombe ace, who has made two British GT appearances already this year with other teams, was part of the 2016 ELMS GTE title success and has been a race winner in both the Aston Martin Le Mans festival and in the Le Mans Cup at La Sarthe.

Lewis, from Aberdeen, first appeared in the series as a McLaren Development Driver in 2018 and has been a winner in both GT4 and GT3 machinery, culminating in the GT3 Silver-Am title last year with his father Stewart.

This year he has scored four podium finishes in Silver-Am and been a top-three finisher in the Silver Cup in his maiden GT World Challenge Europe campaign.

Neither Lewis nor Andrew will score points at Donington Park, however, as the #97 Aston Martin is a guest entry.

Andrew Howard said: “I’m excited to bring Beechdean AMR back to the British GT Championship at Donington – a track where we’ve won titles in the past, including most recently in 2019. It’s been an interesting experience trying some of the other GT cars in the field this year, but racing an Aston Martin is special and with Lewis – one of the absolute fastest Silvers in the field – in the car, I think we have every opportunity to do well. As a team it’s absolutely our intention to race in a strong GT series next year and a return to British GT on a full-time basis is certainly under consideration, so this will give us a good indication of what we could expect if that’s the way we go.”

Lewis Proctor said: “I’m very pleased to join Beechdean AMR for Donington. They’re one of the most successful teams in the history of the British GT Championship and the combination of Andrew Howard’s team and their relationship with Prodrive [builders of the Aston Martin Vantage GT3] makes this a very exciting opportunity. This move, among many factors, is driven by my desire to gain more experience racing front-engined cars. This is a first step in that direction as I’ve almost exclusively raced mid-engined GT cars so far. Although I won’t test the car before Donington, I have total confidence in Andrew and the Beechdean AMR team that they will give me the best possible opportunity to place well in Silver-Am and overall.”