Paddock Motorsport has revealed the second half of its 2023 Intelligent Money British GT Championship programme by confirming that Kavi Jundu and 130R Performance-supported athlete Tom Rawlings will drive its new McLaren Artura GT4.
Jundu and Rawlings will likely be a duo to watch across this year’s championship aboard the new-for-2023 Artura GT4, which promises to be a significant step up from the older 570S GT4 the team has campaigned for the last two seasons.
The GT4 entry will complement Paddock’s existing GT3 programme, which pairs American Mark Smith with team boss Martin Plowman in a 720S GT3, meaning Paddock Motorsport will fight across both classes of the championship this year.
While Jundu will be gearing up for his first full British GT campaign, he graduates from a successful maiden season of racing in the GT Cup last year. Despite having not raced at all prior to the start of 2022, Jundu was a race winner in the GTH class (for GT4 machinery) alongside Adam Hatfield in a Paddock-run McLaren. He also enjoyed a class-winning British GT debut in last year’s season finale at Donington Park. Stepping up to partner Moh Ritson in the #26 Paddock 570S GT4, Jundu showed impressive adaption to the level of the championship, helping the car to fourth overall at the flag and a Pro-Am victory.
Rawlings returns to Paddock Motorsport for a second spell this year, having stepped up to GT4 racing with the team during the 2021 GT Cup season. Having been a race winner in the Mini Challenge’s top-flight JCW class, Rawlings then finished second in the GT Cup’s GTH Championship during his first year of GT racing in 2021 before graduating to British GT in a Century Motorsport BMW M4 last season. Together the pair should be ones to watch.
Kavi Jundu: “This year is going to be something quite special, stepping up to British GT with Paddock Motorsport and a brand-new McLaren Artura… it’s going to be incredible. Last year was my first season of racing, and I learned an incredible amount. I’d done loads of high-performance track days, but learning about things like qualifying, race starts, pit stops all clicked toward the end of the year. Then to get a class win on my British GT debut was a dream.
British GT is a real step up. The grid is packed with so many great drivers, cars and teams… it’s just another level. I did have a brief test in an early version of the Artura GT4 last year and it felt much different to the old 570S GT4. It was more alive, the front-end is much more responsive and it should be a big step forward in all areas.
I think Tom and I will make a great partnership. We have similar driving styles and setup preferences, and with the Paddock team behind us we should have a car to go out there and challenge for some strong results this year.”
Tom Rawlings: “I’m really excited to get going, and it’s great to be back with the guys at Paddock Motorsport. This is where I started my GT racing career and I’m definitely looking to carry on the same sort of success we had together in the GT Cup where we finished second in the 2021 championship. I learned a lot from my first British GT season last year in the BMW, and feel I’m a better all-round driver coming into this year.
Getting to grips with the new McLaren Artura will be a great experience, too. It’s a brand-new car that is both lighter and more powerful than the old 570S GT4, and I loved driving that, so this promises to be even better!
I’m looking forward to working with Kavi. He had an impressive British GT debut last year, so I hope we can achieve a lot together in his first full season.”
The new McLaren Artura GT4 is built around McLaren’s new lightweight carbon fibre monocoque chassis and is powered by a twin-turbo 3-litre V6 engine. It is 100kg lighter than the outgoing 570S GT4, which Rawlings drove during his last stint with the team in the 2021 GT Cup season.
McLaren Automotive
The opening round of the Intelligent Money British GT Championship takes place at Oulton Park across the Easter Bank Holiday weekend, April 8-10. All races will be streamed live via the GT World YouTube channel (and Sky Sports F1 for selected events), while tickets to attend trackside can be obtained via the British GT website.
All photos by Jakob Ebrey Photography unless otherwise credited