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Coates signs up for new Porsche race series

NGK-sponsored North Yorkshire based racing car driver Max Coates and Graves Motorsport will embark on a debut season in the Porsche Visit Cayman Islands Sprint Challenge GB in 2023.

The family-run team from Colchester has been behind Max’s last two MINI CHALLENGE UK JCW seasons, both producing race winning results throughout. The two-car team for the 2023 season will include Max’s former team-mate Ethan Hammerton as the two re-join for Porsche’s newest single make race series. The pair will drive the Porsche’s 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport race car which features a 3.8-litre flat-six engine with 425hp.

The Porsche Sprint Challenge GB is going into its most exciting season yet, moving to a full-time support series to the British Touring Car Championship with races broadcast live on ITV4 and in front of crowds in excess of 40,000 people. Racing exclusively on the BTCC support card is a real plus for Max whose thirteen-year racing career has seen him race in more BTCC support category cars than anyone else in history.

A serial championship challenger since 2016, Max has been racing in front-wheel drive race cars in both the Renault UK Clio Cup and MINI CHALLENGE UK JCW. Max, however, is no stranger to the rear-wheel drive alternative after his formative years were spent racing in the Ginetta series and ultimately, a one-off guest appearance in Porsche Carrera Cup GB at Donington Park in 2014 and a one-off round in the British Touring Car Championship at his home circuit of Croft in 2015.

Max said: “Porsche is a premium brand synonymous with motorsport that I am delighted to be joining to race this season. The Graves Motorsport team and I have worked well over the past two seasons; however, I don’t underestimate the challenge that competing against well-established Porsche teams will bring this year. I am sure my experience will help to get both Ethan and I up to speed quickly.”

Team manager David Graves said: “I am absolutely delighted that Max has moved up into the Porsche Cayman GT4 with the team. I’m genuinely happy to be working with Max again for the third year now, in fact the whole Coates family actually, they share the Racing Family Ethics of the team and we all work very well together to get the best out of Max. With his vast experience and previous RWD history I have no doubt at all that Max will be at the sharp end from the start.”

Max thanked his sponsors which include ignition and sensor specialist NGK Spark Plugs (UK) Ltd.

Mark Hallam, Marketing Manager, NGK Spark Plugs (UK) Ltd, said: “We are delighted that Max is participating in this exciting race series which I’m sure will delight all his fans. We look forward to following his progress over the course of the season.”

The season launch date will be at Silverstone on March 27 before the racing action starts at Donington Park on April 22 and 23. Whilst races will be live broadcast on ITV4 throughout the season, Max will be hoping to see a massive crowd out in force at his home event at Croft on July 29 and 30.

For more information about NGK and its products and services, please visit the website at www.ngkntk.com/uk   

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Notes to Editors

About NGK SPARK PLUG:

Worldwide: NGK SPARK PLUG is one of the leading automotive and technical ceramics suppliers, with its corporate headquarters in Nagoya, Japan and sales organisations and production facilities all over the world. The automotive side of the company specialises in the fields of ignition and sensor technology, supplying Original Equipment customers across the globe. For the Aftermarket, its product portfolio comprises spark plugs, glow plugs, ignition coils and leads under the NGK Ignition Parts brand. Under the brand NTK Vehicle Electronics the company offers oxygen sensors (including NOx sensors), exhaust gas temperature sensors (EGTS), mass air flow (MAF) and manifold absolute/boost pressure (MAP) sensors as well as engine speed and position sensors. With around 16,400 employees, the company’s automotive and technical ceramics activities generate a total annual turnover of around 3.7 billion Euros worldwide. NGK SPARK PLUG’s EMEA sales represent 32% of this global turnover. NGK SPARK PLUG operates on all continents and has 60 group companies, 35 production plants, five Technical Centres and three Venture Labs.

 

Aftermarket EMEA: NGK SPARK PLUG has seen significant growth across the Aftermarket since expanding beyond motorcycle parts into the automotive sector in the 1970s. With an outstanding commitment to quality, technology and research & development the company has become the world’s number one in spark plugs and oxygen sensors, and a leading provider of glow plugs, ignition coils and leads as well as further sensor technology. Organisationally NGK SPARK PLUG’s regional headquarters in Ratingen, Germany serves the Aftermarket across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In the EMEA region the company has six regional companies and more than 1,000 employees, as well as two production plants in France and South Africa and a Technical Centre in Germany.

 

For more information please visit: www.ngkntk.com

 

For further information please contact:

Annika Lustig, Specialist PR & Communications, Aftermarket EMEA, NGK SPARK PLUG EUROPE GmbH
Harkortstr. 41, 40880 Ratingen, Germany, AG Duesseldorf HRB 43118
Tel: +49 (0)21 02 974 152     E-mail: a_lustig@ngkntk.de

 

UK & Ireland - For further information contact:

Andy Hurst

Hurst Media Services

Tel: +44 (0)1354 657253; Mobile: 0773 694 7803

Email: andyh.stonecross@binternet.com

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