James Cottingham And Sam De Haan Sign With RAM For British GT

RAM Racing will field two Mercedes-AMG GT3s for the opening round of this year’s Intelligent Money British GT Championship at Brands Hatch after confirming a Silver-Am entry for Sam De Haan and James Cottingham.

Historic racing ace Cottingham will join RAM regular De Haan aboard the #69 AMG GT3 that De Haan is campaigning in the GT World Challenge Endurance Cup this season. That car will run alongside RAM’s full-season British GT Pro-Am entry of Ian Loggie and Yelmer Buurman.

Cottingham, 37, has huge experience of racing classic cars, having handled historic machinery such as Ferrari 250s, Jaguar E-types and Ford GT40s at some of the world’s most prestigious events – including the Le Mans Classic, Goodwood Revival and Silverstone Classic. The Hertfordshire-based racer will now translate his skills into the world of modern GT3 competition for what will be his British GT debut.

De Haan, 25, has been a British GT regular since 2018, finishing as the championship runner-up on two occasions (in both 2019 and 2020) before graduating to European competition in the GT World Challenge this season.

While theirs currently stands as a one-off entry, Cottingham and De Haan will use the two-hour season-opener in Kent to assess their options for further appearances across the season.

James Cottingham said: “I’ve been thinking about getting involved with British GT for a while, but the right opportunity never really came along because I’d been so busy with historic racing. But I was talking with Sam recently and he suggested I come and have a go in the RAM Mercedes as he thought we might make a solid driver pairing, and I loved the car from the first moment I drove it.

“I had my first run at Silverstone recently and the Mercedes felt great. It was wet in the afternoon, which limited my mileage somewhat, but it did at least give me a chance to get used to two of the luxuries of modern racing cars – ABS and traction control – which you certainly don’t get to enjoy in historic cars!

“I’ll be straight into it at Brands Hatch as there’s not time for another test beforehand, so it will be a weekend of learning and working with Sam and the team at RAM to see how close I can get to the pace during what will be a very limited timeframe before the race. But I’m really looking forward to it. It’s a bit of a toe-in-the water for both myself and Sam, so we’ll see how we go at Brands, and then have another conversation after the weekend.”

Sam De Haan said: “In truth, British GT wasn’t part of my original plan for this year, but I’ll never turn down the chance for an extra race outing! Plus, British GT is a great championship to be a part of. I’ve known James for a while now, and I know how good he is in historic cars, so I think he will adapt well to a modern GT3. Judging by his first run at Silverstone, he won’t take too long to get up to speed with the Mercedes. The British GT field looks very competitive this season, but we know we have a great car and a great team behind us. Brands Hatch will be a bit of fun for us, but that doesn’t mean we won’t be pushing for a strong result.”

RAM Racing team principal Dan Shufflebottom added: “I’m really happy to welcome James to the team, and to have Sam back as part of our British GT plans. I know the two will gel well as a pairing and both are quick and consistent drivers in their own right. James may face a learning curve due to his limited testing in GT3 cars, but I have no doubt that he has the ability to get on top of the car quickly. It’s great to be back up to two cars for Brands Hatch and, with Ian and Yelmer in the sister car, we’ll have two very competitive pairings aiming high from the start of the season.”

The Intelligent Money British GT Championship gets underway on May 22/23, with a two-hour race around the Brand Hatch Grand Prix Circuit.

Pics Copyright Drew Gibson and Jakob Ebrey

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