New Lotus Team To Debut Emira GT4
The new Lotus Emira GT4 will make its European competition debut in this year’s GT4 European Series Powered by RAFA Racing Club thanks to new team, Mahiki Racing.
The British squad from Stoke-on-Trent, backed by the luxury lifestyle and nightclub brand Mahiki, will run two new Emira GT4s this season, with a car apiece in the Silver Cup and Pro-Am classes. Jordan Kerridge and Max Bird will crew the Silver Cup car, while Dexter Patterson and Steven Lake are confirmed to share the Pro-Am entry.
Silver Cup entries Kerridge and Bird are no strangers to working together, with Bird acting as driver coach to crypto-trading YouTuber Kerridge as he prepared for a racing debut last year in the UK Mini Challenge, finishing sixth in the Rookie Cup. Bird has previously been a multiple race winner in the Mini Challenge, finishing second in the 2021 championship, and last year he won the Porsche Carrera Cup GB Pro-Am title in his first season of GT racing.
Stephen Lake is the founder and director of Aim Technologies, a leading supplier of motorsport electronics, and holds significant race experience having competed in the Lotus Cup Europe, Radical Challenge, FunCup and Mini Challenge. Patterson has been a multiple champion in karting before progressing through single-seaters in Italian F4, British F3 and the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine. He has spent the last two years competing in the ultra-competitive British Touring Car Championship before switching to GT racing for this year.
The new Lotus Emira GT4 is built in partnership with RML. It features a 3.5-litre V6 at its heart and has already made an impact on the GT4 scene with the cars finishing one-two on their international racing debut during last November’s Macau Grand Prix GT Cup event.
Steven Lake, Mahiki Racing Co-Founder and CEO of Aim Technologies said: ‘We are excited to be debuting Mahiki Racing and to be joining the GT4 European Series Powered by RAFA Racing Club this year. Mahiki Racing has been exceptionally well received within the motorsport community, and our 2024 team is complete. We have already undertaken rigorous testing in the Lotus Emira GT4s. With our engineering expertise, along with decades of experience in motorsport, we are confident that we will have a strong entry when debuting in Europe with the Emira GT4. We’re looking forward to the season ahead”.
Gavan Kershaw, Director, Attributes and Product Integrity, Group Lotus, and a former British GT champion said: “Lotus is delighted Mahiki Racing has selected the Emira GT4 for its two entries in the GT4 European Series. Following the success of the car at Macau Grand Prix in November, where it finished first and second, everyone at Lotus is wishing Mahiki Racing the best of luck in the season ahead.”
Elite Motorsport To Field McLaren Arturas
Elite Motorsport will contest a second consecutive GT4 European Series campaign with a pair of McLaren Artura GT4 race cars.
The Norfolk-based squad made its debut with McLaren last year, ending the year by claiming outright victory in the Barcelona event last October.
Additionally, Elite scored a second overall placing in the Spanish finale, also clocking up three Silver Cup podiums, a pole-position and fastest race lap.
Eddie Ives, Team Manager at Elite MotorsportEddie Ives, Team Owner & Manager
“Firstly I would like to thank Scott Watkins at Entire Race Engineering for all of his input and support in making a second season of racing the McLaren Artura around mainland Europe happen again this year.
“It was always our intention to remain with the new McLaren for our second GT4 European Series season.
“Now that we have a year under our belts with the Artura and in the championship, we will be looking to challenge at the front of the very competitive, multi-manufacturer field every race weekend.
“I can’t wait to begin racing again in this fantastic championship as well as announcing our fast driver line-ups in due course.”
Mirage Racing Name First Aston Martin Crew
Mirage Racing will return to the GT4 European Series Powered by RAFA Racing Club for a fourth consecutive season this year, and has signed Stanislav Safronov and Aleksandr Vaintrub as the drivers of its first Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4.
The French team has been a regular in the championship since 2021 and is set to feature again with a two-car attack this season.
Mirage Racing has secured seasoned GT4 European Series drivers Safronov and Vaintrub to handle its first Aston Martin, with the pair gearing up for their third campaign together in the championship.
Safronov and Vaintrub made their championship debut as an Am class pairing back in 2022 and won races at the wheel of an NM Racing Team Mercedes-AMG before making the step up to the Pro-Am class last season. They will be keen to build on that experience and push for race wins this year. The pair will also contest the full FFSA French GT Championship with the team this year.
News on Mirage’s second driver pairing is expected soon.
