New gt challenge for Shaun Balfe in the 2023 British GT motor racing championship

For the first time since early in his motorsport career, Lincolnshire British GT racer Shaun Balfe will be competing with another team in the 2023 British GT Championship, writes Peter Scherer.

Having made his British GT3 back in 2001 with a Paragon/Eurotech run Porsche GT3, the majority of Shaun’s racing has been under the Balfe Motorsport banner.

During his time in the European GT Open, British GT, FIA GT, and European Le Mans Series Championships, he has had spells with Rollcentre and Eclipse Motorsport in a Mosler, plus a one-off Le Mans Series drive in an Oreca with Murphy Prototypes.

But the familiar red of the family-run team has been evident on the cars for the last ten years, firstly with a Ferrari, then McLaren’s, and more recently Audi, as well as running customer cars in GT3 and GT4.

The team may have been disbanded, but Shaun continues to fly the family business flag of T. Balfe Construction on his car in his new venture.

“I wasn’t planning to do the British GT this year, but then I got offers to drive for other teams,” he explained, despite having won the opening round of the 2022 Championship at Oulton Park.

He will now be on the grid with Barwell Motorsport in a Lamborghini Hurcan GT3, sharing with 2020 champion Sandy Mitchell, who was second last year and third in 2021.

Balfe tested the car at Donington Park for the first time last week and is stepping up his time in the car over the next week or so, before his seasonal debut in the car on Easter Monday at Oulton Park.

“It was a baseline Barwell set-up, which meant it was a very workable car from its starting point. Sandy did the systems and operations checks and then I had my first drive of the car.”

“Due to the weather and track conditions I went out on wet tyres, before changing to slicks in the second session,” he said.

It was the first time he had been in a Lamborghini, but he was soon feeling at home.

“I was pleased as it seemed to feel familiar much sooner than I expected. There is still a lot to learn, but I am coming back feeling positive,” he said.

Barwell has tasted success both at home and abroad with Lamborghini for several years. “There are some subtle differences in these cars and a lot of it is from the engineering side at Barwell. They have well-tuned engines which are very responsive and a strong gearbox that makes the car aggressive in a positive way,” Balfe explained.

“I’ve already enjoyed my time with the team and very much looking forward to racing with Sandy at Easter in the opening round,” he concluded.

If time permits Balfe also hopes to be out again in his Historic Lotus Elan and Cortina too, but his GT campaign takes precedence.