Greystone GT are delighted to announce a second entry into the GT4 European Series with Tim Whale and Adam Carroll behind the wheel of a McLaren 570S GT4 in the Pro-Am class.
The Silverstone-based team have added the duo’s full-time programme to the three-round campaign that will be undertaken by Richard Distl and Alain Valente in a similar car.
It marks the latest news in an expanded programme of racing for the squad, who also compete in the British GT Championship and GT Cup with a mix of GT3 and GT4 McLarens in 2022.
Tim contests his first full season of motorsport for 20 years; the Barcelona-based Briton having previously raced in the UK’s Formula Palmer Audi series in 2001 and ’02 and finished in the championship top 10 in both campaigns.
What was intended as a one-off test in a Greystone GT McLaren at Donington Park last Summer led to a comeback with the team in the Pure McLaren GT Series at Portimao and a commanding victory from pole position in the Cup class for GT4 cars.
Adam, by contrast, has spent the past 20 years winning high-level races all over the world in single-seaters, touring cars and sportscars.
Having won titles in Formula Ford and F3 in the UK as well as races in GP2, AutoGP and the European Le Mans Series, he added the A1GP ‘World Cup of Motorsport’ for Team Ireland in 2008-09 and dominated the 2019 Ferrari Challenge World Finals.
The Northern Irishman, from Portadown, joined Greystone GT to race in the UK’s GT Cup last year and now campaigns a GT4 car on the continent for the first time.
The GT4 European Series comprises six rounds in 2022; every event featuring two hour-long races with a dedicated qualifying session held for each. A mandatory mid-race pitstop encourages two drivers to share each car. There are classes for Pro-Am, Silver and Am pairings.
The GETTRX-supported McLaren will kick off its season at the challenging Imola circuit in northern Italy on April 1-3.
Tim Whale said: “I can’t wait to get started with the season. I hadn’t been in a racing car for 19 years when Adam convinced me to have a day with Greystone GT at Donington last summer, and even then, I swore it would just be a one-off. But that went well, so we did the Pure McLaren event in Portimao too. And when I won there, the need to race was well and truly back. The GT4 Europe Series suits me because it goes to some incredible tracks and countries, the level of teams and drivers will really force us to be at our best if we’re going to be competitive, and it provides great exposure for our partner GETTRX. I’m particularly looking forward to the Barcelona season finale because some of our key partners are based nearby and it will give them the chance to see how amazing motorsport is first-hand.”
Adam Carroll said: “I’m thrilled to be able to continue my relationship with Greystone GT and to move up to a European programme too, as we’ll be racing on tracks I know well and that I can use my experience of to help Tim. They’re an excellent team that’s continuing to grow in confidence and status and this will be a very good step for all of us to take. Tim and I met when I was racing in GP2 and we’ve kept in touch. We did a track day together a little while back, where I could really see his natural talent. That became a test, a race weekend and now a full season in the GT4 European Series! There’s a lot of potential in Tim so my role will be to do all I can to help him realise that while driving as quickly as I can to try and put us in the mix in what’s a very competitive series.”
Mark McLoughlin, Team Principal, said: “We are delighted to be able to add a full-time programme in the European GT4 Series, meaning we’ll have a multi-car line-up in half of the rounds we enter. It really helps us build on what we’re trying to establish with the team in the UK and Europe. I think we have an excellent line-up. After a very impressive win in Portimao, we were all keen to put this programme together for Tim. We weren’t expecting Adam to be available to stay with the team this year due to his other racing commitments, but we found out quite late in the day that he could become a part of this first venture into Europe, which we’re very happy about. He’s won on plenty of the tracks we’ll visit and that will be of great benefit to us.”
Livery design by Lorenzo Smorti. Graphics by Hype Creative.