Beechdean AMR make full-time British GT comeback with Howard and Gunn

Five-time title winners Beechdean AMR will return to the British GT Championship full-time in 2023 with an Aston Martin Vantage GT3 to be driven by Andrew Howard and Ross Gunn.

The High Wycombe squad made a winning return in a one-off appearance in the Silver-Am category at last season’s Donington Park finale but will now compete in the Pro-Am class for the upcoming campaign.

Team Principal Andrew was one half of the driver line-up for that Donington victory and is one of only two drivers to have won the overall British GT title more than once.

After taking the overall British GT crown in both 2013 and ‘15, Andrew moved up to the European Le Mans Series and won the GTE title at the first attempt in 2016 sharing an Aston Martin with Alex MacDowall and Darren Turner.

He last contested a full season in British GT in 2021 but returns aboard the #97 Vantage following a handful of appearances last year.

Aston Martin works driver Ross, from Buckinghamshire, was the series’ GT4 champion alongside Jamie Chadwick with Beechdean AMR in 2015 and also won the Silverstone 24 Hours the same year with Andrew as a co-driver

He has contested numerous races in GT3 machinery with the team since then and finished third in the points in the 2019 Le Mans Cup with Andrew – a campaign that included pole position for the series’ showpiece race at the legendary French track.

The 26-year-old was a multiple winner in the IMSA GTD Pro class last year in North America and has also been a class podium finisher in the GT World Challenge Europe and, last month, the Dubai 24 Hours.

The 2023 British GT Championship begins at Oulton Park on Easter weekend and comprises seven events including, for the first time, a trip to the Portimao circuit in Portugal, with the finale taking place at Donington Park in October.

Andrew Howard said: “We’ve tried other championships and events in Europe and beyond and been title winners, but inevitably we always come back to British GT because it’s a mega series and because racing in front of your home crowd is special. Winning the title in 2013 remains one of my proudest moments as a driver and Team Principal and seeing us taking GT3 and GT4 crowns – with Ross as one of our GT4 champions – two years later was fantastic. It’s great to have him back in the fold as the Gunn family have been involved with the team for over 20 years. Our comeback win in Silver-Am at Donington last year was a toe-in-the-water exercise to see if we were still as competitive as we thought we would be, and we were, so putting our efforts into a full-season campaign was a no-brainer. Our Aston Martins have always been favourites with the spectators trackside and I’m expecting a huge amount of home support this year. We’ll do our very best to give the fans what they want.”

Ross Gunn said: “It’s great to be back in British GT and with Beechdean AMR. I probably first sat in a Beechdean car when I was about five years old when my Dad was racing Minis with them, and I’ll always be grateful to Andrew and Susie Howard for their backing eight years ago that set me on the path to becoming a professional racing driver. British GT is one of the most intensely competitive national series in the world and you can see how hard it is to win because so few drivers have done it more than once. My job is simple; work as hard as I possibly can to help Andrew fight for a third Drivers’ title. Podiums are 100 per cent the aim straight out of the box.”