2022 Donington Decider race winner Darren Leung joins forces with newly minted BMW Factory Driver Dan Harper to campaign a full season in the 2023 Intelligent Money British GT Championship. Century Motorsport confirmed the pairing in the BMW M4 GT3 completing their three car line up for the year. Leung and Harper join Chris Salkeld, Michael Johnston, Carl Cavers and Lewis Plato in the team which will also campaign two brand new BMW M4 GT4 entries based on the latest road going M4.
Leung’s win on debut came alongside Alexander Simms, the BMW i Andretti Formula E ace who also races across the German marque’s Grand Touring campaigns. It represented Century Motorsport’s first win in the top class of the UK’s top GT racing series. The win capped off a season which saw him claim the Ginetta GT4 Supercup’s runner up spot.
Dan Harper meanwhile rose to prominence helping the BMW Junior Team to impressive results in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS and in the ADAC 24h Rennen at the Nurburgring. The 2019 Porsche Carrera Cup GB Champion was promoted to full factory status at the end of the last season.
Leung told BritishGT.com “At the start of my 2021 rookie season in Ginetta’s GT Academy I remember the GT3s approaching the Melbourne Hairpin at Donington blowing my mind. If someone told me I’d be racing one of those in my second year I would have laughed, and if they said I’d win on my debut I would have rung them an ambulance.
“Between Century, Dan and myself, our aim is to turn up to every round leaving no stone unturned. Set the odds in our favour, and commit to every send, every lap. We’re massive underdogs, but we’ve shown at Donington it’s worth giving it everything despite all the reasons not to. A lot of great drivers are competing in British GT this year, the grids are packed, and we will be right in the thick of it giving it everything, both on and off track.
“The results, we’re not in control of, but the odds, we are.”
The team first got together at December’s Gulf 12 Hours, running the GT3 machine which will carry their 2023 hopes and dreams.
“I’m delighted to have this opportunity to join the British GT Championship grid with Century Motorsport,” said Harper. “Over the last few years I’ve had lots of people asking me about when I’d be back racing over here, so I’m really looking forward to competing on all the great British circuits again.
“I had a great time working with Century and Darren in Abu Dhabi, so I’m looking forward to being back with them. Both myself and the team have a year of experience with the BMW M4 GT3 now, so we’re ready to hit the ground running in pre-season testing and hopefully be at the sharp end of the grid this season.”
In addition to the team’s GT3 running in Abu Dhabi, the Century Motorsport crew ran a pair of cars, one new GT4 and one of the older M4 GT4s in the Hankook 24 Hours of Dubai which started the 2023 motorsport season.
It’s expected that at least one of the two GT4 machines and the GT3 car will appear at the media day test in March before the full season begins at Easter.
