Triple Eight expands international GT programme

The Supercars powerhouse will continues its relationship with both Johor Motorsports Racing and Mercedes-AMG as it grows its GT presence.

The squad will run a total of four cars under the JMR banner across the two continents, two each in both Australia and Asia.

The entries will be underpinned by the Ibrahim brothers with Prince Jefri Ibrahim and Prince Abu Ibrahim to race a car each in both series.

Prince Jefri will team up with Supercars regular Broc Feeney for both the Australian and Asian seasons, while Prince Abu will share with Jamie Whincup in Australia and Mercedes factory driver Luca Stolz in Asia.

Interestingly Shane van Gisbergen, a former GT World Challenge Europe champion and Bathurst 12 Hour winner, isn't part of the team's line-up.

“2023 will see us running two cars in Australia and two in Asia, so it will be a big year, with big challenges, but we’re looking forward to it," said Prince Jefri.

"Last year I won the Pro-Am Championship and we also won the team championship for the first time, which was really amazing.

"This year has started well with a class podium at the Bathurst 12 Hour, and hopefully we can carry this momentum forward into the rest of the season.

"I’ve been training hard in the gym and getting as much seat-time as possible in the car, as I want to take my physical performance to the next level this year.”

Prince Abu Bakar added: “2022 was a great year and I learnt a lot, but now we are ready to step up to the next level.

"I’m excited by the challenge of racing both the Australian and Asian rounds of GT World Challenge and having the support of Jamie, Luca and Triple Eight will mean we have given ourselves the very best chance of success.”

Whincup, who will be involved in the programme as both a driver and managing director of T8, highlighted the importance of the GT side of the business.

“JMR has chosen Triple Eight Race Engineering to run their programme, and we’re taking it unbelievably seriously – every single resource we put into making a Supercar fast is exactly the same for the GT programme," said Whincup.

"We pride ourselves in preparing and racing the fastest cars in the world, and the JMR programme is absolutely no different.

"2022 was an awesome year for JMR. The trajectory they’re on in the next couple of years could see them on the grid of events like the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Within the team we improved massively; we came a long way over the past 12 months.

"There are no excuses now for 2023 – we’ve got all the tools required, and plenty of experience to get the job done.”

The GT World Challenge Australia season kicks off at the Bathurst 6 Hour on the second weekend of April. The Asian season starts at the Chang International Circuit on May 13-14.