Mark Blundell will play no further part in United Autosport’s British GT campaign after announcing that he will be stepping down from his drive in the #24 McLaren MP3-12C GT3.
“It’s a great shame that I have to step-down from the British GT Championship race programme with United Autosports, but my focus has been on building my sports management business and I need to commit my time and attention to that in full, as will became apparent in the near future with a very exciting announcement,” said the former Le Mans winner. “Of course I shall still be present in an ambassador role for United Autosports to support the team and personal sponsors, all of whom I would like to say a big thank you to for allowing me to concentrate on the next stage of developing my business. When the time is right and I can assure the team of my full involvement, I hope to be back behind the wheel of a United Autosports race car in the future, but in the meantime, a big thank you to all the staff members and our sponsors for the season so far.”
Blundell’s ambassadorial role with the team means that he will still be a presence in the UA hospitality unit on race days, to meet and greet guests and sponsors, but he is apparently no longer able to commit sufficient time to the demands of the testing and racing schedule this year.
“It is such a shame that Mark has to step down from the team when we have just made it to the halfway stage of the championship,” said United MD Richard Dean. “He was unable to commit to the rest of season with us due to his increasing business commitments, a decision which we fully respect. We look forward to Mark assisting the team in other areas, and I’m sure fans will still enjoy seeing him around the British GT paddock and at other races with United Autosports.”
It hadn’t been a happy season for the 47 year old, with the #24’s record being a non-start at Oulton, a disqualification at Rockingham and a retirement at Silverstone.
Blundell was very vocal in his criticism of driving standards after his early exit at the last round, but it is not known if this played any part in his decision to step down.
The team will announce a replacement driver for the McLaren alongside Jody Firth soon, with a likely candidate being Roger Wills.
