Breakell Racing will be embarking on an exciting next chapter in their GT racing journey this season, as they embark on a programme in professional GT4 racing for the first time in a newly-acquired Mercedes-AMG GT4.
The Clitheroe based team are set for a busy year, with the new GT4 venture joining their existing entries in one-make Ginetta and Radical racing. They got their 2022 race season underway last month, with a fantastic performance on their return to the Radical Challenge.
Breakell Racing will be competing in various national and international races across the year in their Mercedes, with an exciting driver line-up of experienced New Zealand duo Grant Dalton and Grant Woolford behind the wheel.
The state-of-the-art Mercedes-AMG GT4 is powered by a 4.0 litre V8 biturbo engine, producing over 500bhp and a top speed of over 150mph. A leading contender in GT4 competition since its introduction in 2018, the car has tasted success in championships across the globe.
Breakell Racing have raced with Dalton previously in the Radical Challenge in 2019, with the Auckland based driver also getting experience in prototypes and sportscars in his homeland. He joins Woolford in having previous experience in motorbike racing too, the latter having also recently raced a BMW in New Zealand.
The 2022 campaign will see the two Grant’s tackle selected rounds of the British Endurance Championship and enter the P9 Challenge at the Red Bull Ring in Austria. They will also compete in three races on the world-famous Nürburgring Nordschleife, starting with the qualifying race for the Nürburgring 24 Hours this week (06-08 May) and then two rounds of the Nürburgring Endurance Series (NLS).
The first two races on the Nürburgring will come in a Porsche Cayman run by friends of the team WS Racing, as both drivers gain the required experience on the Nordschleife to upgrade their licenses. Team principal James Breakell will share driving duties with them, utilising his eight years of experience racing at the Nürburgring to support them.
James Breakell:“I’m really excited to take this next step into professional GT4 racing. It’s been a dream of mine to grow the team to run cars in European endurance championships, and acquiring the Mercedes moves towards us achieving that goal.
“The car is absolutely awesome. We’ve had some time to go over it in the workshop and I can certainly say it’s a proper machine. We’re looking forward to getting to grips with the car across our selected races this year.
“We’re looking forward to working with Grant Dalton again, and this time accompanied by Grant Woodford. I’m really happy about the package we’ve put together, as it’s been a couple of years in the planning due to COVID and travel restrictions.
“To race at the Nürburgring again means a lot for my personally and the team, and it’s great to be working with WS Racing for another year. There’s a lot to look forward to with the Mercedes this season and we can’t wait to get started.”
Breakell Racing’s 2022 season began with a sensational performance in the opening rounds of the Radical Challenge at Donington Park (09-10 April). Returning to the championship after a couple of years away, they were running an SR3 for young talent Noah Degnbol.
The Danish racer, a multiple podium finisher in the 2021 Spanish Formula 4 single-seater series, was straight on the front-running pace on his Radical debut. Qualifying fourth overall and third in class, he converted that into a class podium finish in his maiden race.
Degnbol moved forwards in the second sprint race, with a brilliant drive seeing him challenge the race leader en-route to second overall. Better was to come the next day, as a storming lap in second qualifying saw the 17 year old take pole position for the feature race by over half a second.
While he would go on to lose ground in the race with an unfortunately timed safety car period, a great fightback netted him second in class to complete a podium hat-trick. Degnbol’s standout performances were recognised with the championship’s Driver of the Weekend award.
James Breakell: “We’re over the moon with how our return to the Radical Challenge went. It was a late deal to get Noah in the car, but we saw in pre-event testing that he had huge promise and he delivered a fantastic performance over the weekend.
“To take a pole position by half a second and be up there fighting for an overall win on his debut outing was very impressive and he richly deserved all of the trophies he collected over the three races. We’re excited to see what he can achieve in the next few rounds.”
Radical image from Ollie Read.