Ollie Wilkinson returns to the Donington Park Grand Prix circuit for the second Intelligent Money British GT Championship round in a month next weekend, 19-20 September, to continue his first season in the series driving a McLaren 720S GT3 alongside Lewis Proctor.
McLaren Professional Driver, Wilkinson heads to the Leicestershire track hoping to make gains on his Silver Cup title defence, having won the class at his first attempt with Bradley Ellis last year.
Driving the Y.Co – The Yacht Company McLaren alongside Proctor in British GT this term, the Optimum Motorsport duo had a mixed weekend on their most recent visit to Donington in August. Battling back from an initially disappointing first race of the weekend, they charged through from the rear of the GT3 field to collect another second-place Silver Cup result – and fourth overall – in the second one-hour showdown.
Since then, the pair endured a challenging last outing around the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit, where a late-race drive-through penalty dropped the #96 car down to finish sixth in class. However, their consistent points-scoring finishes mean that only dropped them one place in the Silver Cup order to lie fifth with three rounds to go.
The return to Donington Park marks the fourth of a condensed six-round 2020 championship, and the first three-hour race of the year. With another 50% points on offer, 37.5 for a class win, it could be a valuable opportunity for Wilkinson and McLaren Academy driver Proctor to progress up the class title table.
“The Donington Park Grand Prix circuit is one of my favourites but not one of my luckiest! With our charge through to second in Silver Cup and finishing one slot away from another outright podium there last month, I hope we’ve turned a corner,” says Wilkinson.
“This is our first year with the McLaren 720S GT3 and we have Lewis on board for the first time too. We’re all learning all the time and the experience we gained on our last outing to Donington was invaluable, and should give us a strong baseline to build from next weekend.
“We had a tough run at Brands Hatch a couple of weeks ago and, although we’ve still managed to score points in every race so far this season, we’re not quite where we’d like to be. We’re working hard to improve ourselves as a united team and we know nailing our qualifying performance is probably where we can make the most gains. The longer, higher points-scoring races give us a shot at recovering a big haul of points and get back in the fight to defend my Silver Cup crown, so I look forward to seeing what we can do.”
Two one-hour practice sessions precede qualifying at 16:00hrs on Saturday, 19 September, followed by the three-hour race at 12:45hrs on Sunday, with live coverage available via British GT’s website and social media channels.
Photo credit: Xynamic Automotive Photography
