BBC Top Gear presenter Harris gets McLaren drive in Spa 24 Hours

Harris will drive a McLaren 650S GT3 in the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup event on July 29/30, and in this weekend's Silverstone round for the in-house Garage 59 squad, which won last year's title.

The 42-year-old will share the Am Cup entry with McLaren GT director and chief test driver Chris Goodwin and team regular Alexander West, who has raced in the International GT Open series with Garage 59 for the past two seasons.

The deal takes Harris back to the Spa 24 Hours for a second time after he contested a full Endurance Cup schedule in a Team Parker Racing Bentley Continental GT3 last year.

"I am particularly excited about returning to Spa - it is a special place for any car fan," Harris said.

"To have the opportunity to race in the 24-hour race again, this time in a McLaren, should be a pretty special experience."

Sportscar stalwart Goodwin will be making his first competitive race outing since he contested the Spa enduro in 2013 in a VonRyan Racing McLaren MP4-12C as part of a line-up that included ex-Formula 1 driver Bruno Senna.

A fourth driver for the Garage 59 entry at Spa is likely to be announced at a later date.

Garage 59, which was founded to run McLarens for customers, entered cars in the BGTS last year to prove the credentials of the 650S.

McLaren has this year put its factory support behind the Strakka Racing squad, which has moved into the GT3 arena from the World Endurance Championship.