Ollie Wilkinson will take the biggest step of his young racing career so far by becoming a McLaren Professional Driver, after being recruited by the Customer Racing division of the world-famous British manufacturer.
Wilkinson, 23 from Yorkshire, has sent shockwaves through the international GT ranks across the last two years, having only started his motorsport career three years ago.
During two terms at the wheel of Optimum Motorsport GT3 machinery – including both Audi and Aston Martin customer cars – Wilkinson has proven himself to be a standout talent in sportscar racing.
This year he and team-mate Bradley Ellis won the British GT Championship’s Silver Cup title, and Wilkinson also starred in a parallel programme in the International GT Open, winning the series’ milestone 200th race in Austria in the summer to add to his list of successes in European GT3 competition.
Such achievements have marked Wilkinson out to McLaren Automotive – one of the most famous names in the sport. Wilkinson will race as an official McLaren Professional Driver from 2020, meaning he will benefit from full training and support from the Woking firm, as well as getting the chance to represent the brand at the wheel of a 720S GT3 on the global stage. Wilkinson’s international racing programme will be announced in due course.
The McLaren Professional Driver tier has been designed to give established talent and graduates of McLaren’s Driver Development Programme the support and stage to advance their careers under the illustrious marque’s banner.
Speaking about the chance to represent McLaren Automotive, Wilkinson said: “This is a dream come true. Every young driver goes in to motorsport with aspirations of becoming a professional, associated with a factory, so to have that is a massive achievement for me at such an early stage of my career. I have to say a massive thanks to McLaren for putting this level of trust in me to go and do a great job. It’s an honour to be considered good enough to represent McLaren in that way.
“It’s amazing for everything to happen so quickly, and to have achieved what I have so far. Becoming a McLaren Professional Driver caps off a truly unbelievable year – winning the British GT Silver Cup, taking multiple outright GT3 wins and becoming a BRDC Rising Star.
“The 720S GT3 is a great credit to McLaren Automotive. From my first few test sessions, the technical superiority of both McLaren and the car shines through. I’m looking forward to really getting on terms with the car in early season testing and I’m excited to release our 2020 plans early next year.”
Ian Morgan, Director of Motorsport at McLaren Automotive added: “We are extremely pleased to welcome Ollie Wilkinson to McLaren as a Professional Driver for the 2020 season. He has impressed with strong results on track in his relatively short motorsport career, and has proved to be an exciting talent who we have watched with interest throughout the 2019 season. Ollie joins the McLaren Customer Racing family as we embark on what is shaping up to be our busiest season yet, with exciting challenges to come. He brings raw pace and ability, which he showed with some standout results during the year, taking the British GT Silver Cup title, and we are looking forward to working closely to build on and further develop all aspects of his skill set – both on and off track.”
About Ollie Wilkinson
Despite only starting his racing career back in 2017 with a campaign in the Ginetta GT5 Challenge, Ollie Wilkinson has risen through the ranks of international GT racing swiftly to become a McLaren Professional Driver from 2020. Wilkinson’s debut Ginetta season brought a string of pole positions and podium finishes on his way to third in the championship. A move to GT3 racing followed with Optimum Motorsport, and Wilkinson’s first outright wins came in the GT Cup at Brands Hatch in 2018, while he also shone in his maiden season in the International GT Open. A second season of GT3 yielded this year’s British GT Silver Cup title, as well as outright victories in the GT Open’s 200th race, held in Austria, and British GT’s showpiece European round at Spa-Francorchamps. For 2020, Wilkinson will continue his forward momentum as part of the McLaren Professional Driver Programme.
About the McLaren Professional Driver Programme
The McLaren Professional Driver tier has been designed for drivers showing promise and ability who are more senior than those eligible for the Driver Development Programme, or for those graduating from that initiative. The programme will help drivers gain beneficial experience and knowledge from the team at McLaren Customer Racing, whilst working and racing with customer teams campaigning the 570S GT4 and 720S GT3 in global competition. Wilkinson joins the programme as it enters its second year.
Source. Ollie Wilkinson Racing/Photo. McLaren
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