Future looks bright for Bridlington's Ashley Marshall in new Balfe Motorsport XPEL branding

Balfe Motorsport has unveiled an all-new look for the #90 McLaren 570S GT4 at the Silverstone 500, the biggest race of the Intelligent Money British GT Championship season.

The McLaren will feature distinctive yellow XPEL branding to celebrate the ongoing partnership between driver Jack Brown - and his automotive business activities - with the Paint Protection Film company.

Brown, who joined the British GT ranks alongside teammate Marshall at Brands Hatch for the first round of the championship, runs the British-based PPF firm Lionshields alongside driver-mentor and business partner Callum Macleod.

“We are all very excited to be displaying our XPEL branding on the #90 McLaren GT4 at the biggest race in the British GT calendar the Silverstone 500,” stated XPEL UK Managing Director Robert Jackson. “We have worked with Jack, Callum and their business for some time now, as well as in different areas of motorsport, we are very proud to be working with them again as well as Balfe Motorsport.”

The season-opening round at Brands Hatch proved to be positive with Jack and Ashley quickly getting up to speed, recognising the demands of the British series, making great gains to record a fine fourth position in the GT4 Silver class.

Silverstone brings a very differing challenge, as the home of British Motorsport is a fast, sweeping circuit. The team, Jack and Ashley believe this should allow the XPEL McLaren to stretch its legs and show leading potential.

Balfe Motorsport continues to field the #5 McLaren 720S GT3 for Stewart and Lewis Proctor in the Silver-Am class. They too have shown great pace in finishing second in their class at Brands Hatch and will be aiming to carry forward the early season momentum in this, the second round of the championship.

Saturday is given over to practice and qualifying for the three-hour race which gets underway at 12:10 Sunday afternoon.

Marshall said: “I’m feeling really optimistic for the rest of the season after Brands Hatch. Of course, a better result would have been nicer to reward the hard work the team put in over the weekend but unfortunately, the Safety Car timing was beyond our control ended our chances of a podium.

"We’re all really happy with the job we did as a team from both mine and Jack’s pace to the team with their great pitstop.

“The Silverstone 500 is something I’ve been excited about since I first signed with Balfe Motorsport, as endurance racing has always been of huge interest for me as it’s a completely new challenge and by far the longest race I’ve ever competed in.

"I’m also really excited to see the yellow XPEL livery on the car, it replicates that of the Team Penske IndyCar, so for sure that’s going to look really cool on the grid

“We all feel really confident going into the weekend as we know Silverstone will suit the McLaren far more than Brands Hatch with its long straights. From what we’ve seen in testing, the race pace looks really strong for us.

"The longer race makes strategy even more important and I feel this is another major strength for us. Our pitstop really stood out from our rivals’ at Brands Hatch, being the fastest stop in Silver Cup, so I know the team will have the best plan possible for us.”