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Autosport
Autosport
Stefan Mackley

Harper joins Century for maiden British GT title assault

The Northern Irishman last competed in a UK championship in 2019, when he went on to become that year’s Porsche Carrera Cup champion with JTR, while also being the German marque’s official Junior driver.

The 22-year-old will now make his debut in British GT having spent the last few years racing with BMW in the Nurburgring Endurance Series and GT World Challenge.

“This will be the first time in British GT for myself and I’m really looking forward to it,” said Harper, who will form a Pro-Am partnership with Leung in a BMW M4 GT3.

“For me it will be the chance to get back on the UK tracks since Carrera Cup in 2019, so I’m very excited.

“It’s new for me to work with an Am driver rather than a Pro, and with my lack of experience it’s still a big step. But the team has put a lot of trust in me, and I’m glad and thankful for giving me the chance. They [Century] know what they’re doing, they’re a very strong team.”

Leung took victory on his British GT debut with Century at the Donington Park finale last year, sharing an M4 GT3 with Formula E race winner, and current Cadillac LMDh driver, Alexander Sims.

Harper drove alongside Leung for the first time earlier this year at the Gulf 12 Hours and believes the former Ginetta GT4 Supercup driver will continue to find more consistency and speed during the course of the season.

 

“He’s so motivated to learn and go quicker, the amount of depth and effort he’s putting in is impressive for an Am,” said Harper.

“Darren has really good speed straight out of the box so with more testing and more help he’ll only get better with more experience and time in the car. We hope to be contending for the championship at the end of the season.”

Century team boss Nathan Freke added: “It's so nice to be returning this year with the BMW M4 GT3 and it feels only right to be returning with Darren after the victory at Donington last year.

"Darren, although in the very early stages of his racing career, clearly has a great natural talent and is very thorough and analytical with his driving and prep.

“We competed in the Gulf 12 Hours over the winter, and we had the opportunity to work with BMW factory driver, Dan Harper. His maturity, speed and work ethic were a very pleasant surprise. It was an easy decision to continue the partnership into British GT.”

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