Greystone GT are very pleased to announce a fifth and final entry into the new McLaren Trophy with South African duo Shaun Pendrigh and Stuart White.
The pair will contest the 570S Trophy class of the five-round, European series alongside the already announced RAFA Racing Club entry of Rafa Martinez and Jem Hepworth.
Their arrival at the Silverstone-based team takes the number of entries in the McLaren Trophy to five as the two 570S Trophy cars join three in the Artura Trophy class.
Cape Town-based Shaun was introduced to motorsport through numerous trackdays in South Africa and Europe and debuted in the Pure McLaren GT Series at Portimao in 2021; brilliantly winning the Cup class on his debut.
He has now paired-up with professional racer Stuart for a full season in the McLaren Trophy, which kicks off at Paul Ricard, France, in June.
Stuart, 21, was a star of the global karting scene before moving into circuit racing. A three-time South African champion, he finished second in the Junior OK World Championship in 2015 and third in ’16.
Stepping up to single-seaters he was runner-up in the French Formula 4 Junior Championship in 2017, South African Formula Ford champion in ’18 and a member of the Sauber F1 Junior Programme the following season.
He switched to GT racing in 2021 and last year finished third in the Silver Cup section of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, claiming a class win at Hockenheim plus podiums at the 24 Hours of Spa and at Barcelona.
The new-for-2023 McLaren Trophy features classes for the fastest versions of both the Artura and the 570S race cars. Each round will support the GT World Challenge Europe at one of the continent’s best endurance racing circuits.
Every event features a pair of 50-minute races with pro-am line-ups allowed in each car and the emphasis placed on bronze-graded drivers like Shaun to make the crucial difference.
Shaun Pendrigh said: “I can’t wait for the season to start. The only racing I’ve done so far has been in the Pure McLaren GT Series, so coming to the McLaren Trophy as a support category for GT World Challenge Europe, will be a different proposition entirely. Big crowds and key events like the Spa 24 Hours will be unlike anything I’ve been used to. I don’t have any big targets for the first year, but certainly we want to move forwards during the season. We’ve tested at Portimao and will do two days at Paul Ricard before the start of the season, so by the time the racing starts I’ll have driven on most of the tracks on the calendar. That’s going to be a big help.”
Stuart White said: “I’m excited for this challenge. I’ve never raced with another South African outside of our home country so this will be a new experience, and the early signs are encouraging as Shaun did a good job in the Portimao test recently and the Greystone GT team operation feels extremely slick and professional. The target for the season will be to make constant improvement. Shaun has very little race experience so getting him comfortable with the racing environment on what are a lot of new circuits for him will be absolutely key. Having Rafa and Jem alongside us in another 570S Trophy car gives us a good target to measure ourselves against all year and another crew to share information with to hopefully boost both of our cars further up the grid.”
Mark McLoughlin, Team Principal, said: “We’re extremely pleased to add Shaun and Stuart to the Greystone GT line-up for the McLaren Trophy. Having two cars in the 570S Trophy class means we now have the ability to share information between crews in an effort to help boost the performance of both cars more and to accelerate the development of both of our bronze drivers. Shaun may have limited race experience, but he’s a fast learner and has already been a winner in Pure McLaren while Stuart comes with big pedigree from karting, single-seaters and GT3 racing, so is the ideal professional co-driver for the #74 car.”
