Brown returns to British GT with STP Ferrari
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Your support makes all the difference.The most exciting young driver of last year's Avon Tyres British GT Championship - 18-year-old Daniel Brown - is to return to the Independent-backed series for the coming season at the wheel of a Ferrari 430 Scuderia. Brown is to team up with rapid veteran Chris Hyman in a new car prepared by Chad Racing and backed by USA fuel additive brand STP.
Essex-based Brown was a double outright race victor on his debut in British GT in 2009; his performances earned him the "driver find of the season" accolade from Autosport magazine. Young Dan's teaming with South Africa-born Hyman will be a successful one, says Chad Racing team manager Piers Masarati:
"We are confident that the Daniel Brown/Chris Hyman line-up in our new 430 Scuderia will mount a serious challenge at the front of the GT3 field this year. We started an intensive test programme last November and broke the lap record at two of the championship's circuits. For sure we will be stronger than last year and, with our two cars, we feel confident we can mix it with the other strong pairings.
"I especially look forward to helping develop Daniel's driving. In testing he has been everything I expected, quick and consistent, and paired with Chris, who was so quick in FPA and British GT last year, they will be a force in the championship." Chad is expected to announce the identities of the drivers of its second car within a few weeks.
The deal marks a return to UK circuits for the iconic STP brand, which has a 50-year motorsporting history on both sides of the Atlantic. Additional backers include car styling accessory brand Brown and Geeson, and MOMO, both of whom have supported Daniel since his first steps in racing at the age of 14 in T-Cars.
Brown was T-Cars Champion in 2007 with nine race wins, and raced in Formula Palmer Audi the following season alongside elder brother Robert. Daniel and Robert are the sons of successful historic saloons and sports car racer Sean Brown.
Forty-six-year-old Hyman combines his love of racing with the high-pressure role of chief executive of Serco, one of the world's leading service and outsourcing companies. His racing career began in 1999 in Formula Palmer Audi, where he met Paul Warren, the driver with whom he teamed for an FIA sports car campaign before their British GT debut together in 2009. Hyman's best result last season was a third-place finish at Knockhill.
British GT, the opening rounds of which are scheduled for Oulton Park at Easter, is sponsored by UK tyre manufacturer Avon Tyres and is further supported by Sunoco Racing Fuels, Anglo American Oil Company and The Independent.
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