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A1GP champion Carroll returns to British GT in Balfe Audi

A1GP champion Adam Carroll will return to the British GT championship this year in a Balfe Motorsport Audi R8 LMS Evo GT3 alongside team patron Shaun Balfe.

Adam Carroll

Adam Carroll

Jakob Ebrey

Carroll, whose last British GT appearance came in 2016 when he was third at Silverstone in a Ferrari entered by FF Corse and Fox Motorsport, raced the Audi alongside Balfe in last year's International GT Open series that uses Michelin tyres.

The car will run on Pirellis in British GT, a series Balfe last contested as a driver in 2019 when he and Rob Bell finished five points shy of the title despite missing the Oulton double-header due to teething problems with their new McLaren 720S GT3.

Autosport understands that Balfe - who had previously sold his 720S to Enduro Motorsport - has also put the team's GT4 McLaren 570S that won at Spa last year up for sale.

Carroll first came to prominence by winning the 2002 British Formula 3 national class and finished second to Nelson Piquet Jr in 2004.

He scored five GP2 wins between 2005 and 2007, and made two IndyCar appearances in 2010 after securing the final A1GP title in 2008-09.

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More recently, he raced in Formula E for Jaguar and won the Ferrari Challenge world final in 2019.

For the Northern Irishman, whose sole British GT win came at Oulton Park in 2016 with Barwell Motorsport, it will be a first full season in the championship after two part-seasons for FF Corse alongside Garry Eastwood in 2014-15.

“We're going to give everything we've got and I'm looking forward to getting stuck into the full season,” the NIO Formula E reserve driver said. "Hopefully we can win a few races and score podiums along the way, and we'll be in the hunt for the championship.”

Balfe said: “Adam and I get on well and make a really good partnership. We really gelled last year and I’m sure we can take that forward. British GT is a true pro-am series so we should be competitive.”

Balfe Motorsport Audi

Balfe Motorsport Audi

Photo by: Jakob Ebrey

Tregurtha returns to British GT

Meanwhile, last year's DTM Trophy runner-up Will Tregurtha will make his return to British GT to partner Mark Sansom aboard Assetto Motorsport's Bentley Continental GT3, which switches from Pro-Am to the Silver-Am class as a result.

Tregurtha, the 2017 GT4 champion in a HHC Motorsport Ginetta, has plied his trade in GT3 in recent years aboard Graham Tilley's Nissan NISMO GT-R in GT Cup and also contested a part season of ADAC GT Masters aboard a T3-Motorsport Audi R8 in 2019.

Having regularly worked as a coach with Assetto drivers in single-make Ginetta championships, the 21-year-old was selected to replace previously announced BRDC Rising Stars coordinator Andy Meyrick, who is already committed to the ELMS-supporting Le Mans Cup with United Autosports.

William Tregurtha

William Tregurtha

Photo by: ADAC Motorsport

“I always hoped to return to British GT one day but didn’t expect it to happen this season in a Bentley!” he said.

“But despite the late call up I feel 100% ready. I’ve raced at GT3’s top level in GT Masters, have the Pro-Am experience from GT Cup, and proved I have the individual speed by finishing second overall in a very competitive DTM Trophy season last year.

"I’ve also worked with Mark, so although the car is new to both of us and the team our existing relationship means we’re not starting from square one. Equally, the Bentley is quite similar in proportion and style to the Nissan GT-R I’ve driven extensively.”

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