MATTHEW 'MAGNET' Gore, the younger brother of Douglas 'Hollywood' Gore joins Team 48, the first multi-racial racing team to perform in the British Gran Turismo (GT) races.

Gore

The team's name is homage to history - the first significant wave of Caribbean migrants to the United Kingdom was in 1948.

Founded by Luther Blissett, Team48 will be supplying the drivers for the British GT campaign, which includes Luther himself and fellow ex-international Les Ferdinand.

Team 48 has also joined ranks with Team Modena from the United Kingdom and will be competing in the 2009 Avon Tyres British GT series.

Team Modena will field two Lamborghini Gallardos for the event and for Team 48 to drive.

teammates

Matthew Gore and other teammates will be headed by Calum Lockie, ex-England international footballer, Luther Blissett, Les Ferdinand, Kevin Haggarthy and Darelle Wilson. From that pool of drivers, they will come up with the four to do the GT races. Both teams have been in talks for several months now and have brokered a three-year deal. The first stage of the three-year plan will be the running of a car for Team 48 at the Le Mans 24-Hour race.

The 2009 British GT Championship will be held over eight races taking in all the UK's major circuits, as well as a visit to the renowned Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium in May. It will be a mix of one- and two-hour races, each with a compulsory driver change.

The competitive series sees GT3-specification sports cars from Ferrari, Porsche and other classic marquees providing quality race action. Opening races of the 2009 season are at Oulton Park, Cheshire, April 11 to 13.

- Brian Carless