Mahiki Racing set to make its debut with twin Lotus Emira GT4s

The British squad from Stoke-on-Trent – which is backed by the luxury lifestyle and nightclub brand Mahiki – will run two new Emira GT4s this season, with a car apiece in the Silver Cup and Pro-Am classes. Jordan Kerridge and Max Bird will crew the Silver Cup car, while Dexter Patterson and Steven Lake are confirmed to share the Pro-Am entry.

Silver Cup entries Kerridge and Bird are no strangers to working together, with Bird acting as driver coach to Kerridge during the early stages of his career. Kerridge – best known for his YouTube channel That Martini Guy, which offers information for crypto trading – only began racing last year in the UK Mini Challenge, finishing sixth in the Rookie Cup. Bird has previously been a multiple race winner in the Mini Challenge, finishing second in the 2021 championship, and last year he won the Porsche Carrera Cup GB Pro-Am title in his first season of GT racing.

Stephen Lake is the founder and director of Aim Technologies – a leading supplier of motorsport electronics – and holds significant race experience having competed in the Lotus Cup Europe, Radical Challenge, FunCup and Mini Challenge. Patterson has been a multiple champion in karting before progressing through single-seaters in Italian F4, British F3 and the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine. He has spent the last two years competing in the ultra-competitive British Touring Car Championship before switching to GT racing for this year.

The new Lotus Emira GT4 is built in partnership with renowned race car constructor RML. It features a 3.5-litre V6 at its heart and has already made an impact on the GT4 scene with the cars finishing one-two on their international racing debut during last November's Macau Grand Prix GT Cup event.

Steven Lake, Mahiki Racing Co-Founder and CEO of Aim Technologies said: ‘We are excited to be debuting Mahiki Racing and to be joining the GT4 European Series Powered by RAFA Racing Club this year. Mahiki Racing has been exceptionally well received within the motorsport community, and our 2024 team is complete. We have already undertaken rigorous testing in the Lotus Emira GT4s. With our engineering expertise, along with decades of experience in motorsport, we are confident that we will have a strong entry when debuting in Europe with the Emira GT4. We’re looking forward to the season ahead”.

Gavan Kershaw – Director, Attributes and Product Integrity, Group Lotus, and a former British GT champion – said: “Lotus is delighted Mahiki Racing has selected the Emira GT4 for its two entries in the GT4 European Series. Following the success of the car at Macau Grand Prix in November, where it finished first and second, everyone at Lotus is wishing Mahiki Racing the best of luck in the season ahead.”