The plans will see Sam and his teammates take on a total of 39 hours of racing over the five endurance events, starting with the three-hour battle at Monza, Italy. The six-hours, 1,000-kilometre race at Circuit Paul Ricard in France then follows, before heading to the season highlight CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa. The final two rounds will see another two three-hour races, visiting the Nürburgring before the season finale in Barcelona.

Sam will race alongside Charlie Fagg, who he also partners with for the International GT Open campaign this season. They are joined for the five endurance races by Dean MacDonald, who brings a wealth of experience and success racing with McLaren. Enjoying strong results initially in GT4 competition, Dean moved into GT3 machinery in 2020 and scored a podium on his debut with the 720S GT3. The 2022 season saw him claim the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup Pro-Am title, scoring four wins, three further podiums and four pole positions.

“It is great to add further endurance races to my season plans with Optimum Motorsport. Charlie and I are already confirmed for International GT Open, and it is great to welcome Dean to the line-up for our GT World Challenge effort. Both of them are proven race winners with the McLaren, Dean is the reigning Sprint Cup champion, and Optimum have been hugely successful across multiple championships with the 720S, so we are in a really strong position heading to Monza.”

“It’s great to be back on the GT World Challenge Europe grid again for this season with the new 720S GT3 EVO as well as Dean – who claimed the series’ Sprint Cup Pro-Am title in 2022. He’s a proven race winner and adding him to the line-up alongside Sam and Charlie, an already strong duo in itself, will hopefully see us go for gold once again this season.”

With the championship’s official test completed, the first round of the Fanatec GT world Challenge Europe powered by AWS takes place at Autodromo Nazionale Monza, 21-23 April.