The pair will stand in for Mike Price and Callum Macleod, who have yacht racing commitments in the PalmaVela Regatta at the Bay of Palma in Spain.
Price and Macleod will be one of 12 racing a 14.1 metre (46 foot) yacht at the event, which features more than 100 teams and about 1200 sailors.
The duo will also skip the second and third round of the season at Oulton Park in May before returning at Spa-Francorchamps in June.
Shahin and Optimum Motorsport aren’t entirely unfamiliar with each other.
Although the parties have never raced with one another, they were set to race in GT World Challenge Europe before the COVID-19 pandemic scuppered their 2020 plans.
Patterson, meanwhile, joined Optimum earlier this year in the Bathurst 12 Hour.
“It’s great to reunite with Yasser at Silverstone as part of Optimum’s GT3 line-up for British GT’s
season-opener,” said Patterson.
“Yasser and I have had strong results together in the past, and I really enjoyed being part of Optimum’s team at Bathurst earlier this year, so I’m looking forward to bringing everything together for the UK’s blue riband GT race.”
Shahin added: “It’s always extremely enjoyable to be on a GT grid, and what better place to be than an iconic circuit such as Silverstone? Vying for the coveted RAC Trophy makes it even more special.”
Shahin and Patterson will be one of two all-Australian line-ups in the British GT Championship.
The other is TCR champion Josh Buchan alongside Cameron Campbell in a Rodin Motorsport Ferrari 296.
The Silverstone 500 takes place on April 25-26.
Discussion about this post