McLaren GT “Young Driver” Wylie returns to happy hunting ground at Brands Hatch
Ross Wylie is setting his sights high for the next round of the British GT Championship on Sunday (2 Aug). The 23-year-old McLaren GT “Young Driver” returns to the famous Brands Hatch Grand Prix venue aiming to post his first top-six finish of the year. Both Thornhill’s Wylie and Northern Ireland co-driver Andrew Watson are racing for McLaren GT, Von Ryan Racing and in the powerful GT3 category for the very first time.
Due to their driver grading by championship organisers, their McLaren must carry a weight ballast of 70kg. Despite this handicap, Andrew and Ross have commendably recorded three top-10 placings in their McLaren 650S GT3 – including a best place seventh at Silverstone in May.
Brands Hatch has historically been an enjoyable and generally successful experience. On his Brands debut in 2013, Ross achieved ninth place in a Volkswagen Racing Cup event, coming through from the last row of the grid, and then started from the GT4 category pole-position and won his class in last year’s corresponding BGT race.
Ross Wylie (GB): Age 23. Born & Lives Thornhill nr Dumfries, Scotland:
“I’m really looking forward to Brands and targeting a top-six finish. It’s the sixth race of the season and so we’re just over the midway point of the season. Andrew and I have suffered a lot of bad luck along the way but we’ve nevertheless posted three top-10 placings. It’s been a tough learning curve in GT3 but that’s the challenge that I thrive on and I’m hungry to succeed. Brands Hatch GP is one of the most challenging circuits in the UK but one that I absolutely love. It’s one of those circuits you have to be fully committed and there is no room for error. Not many current circuits still have that ‘old school’ feel like Brands which definitely adds to the excitement.
“I made by debut at Brands in 2013, racing a Slidesports Volkswagen Scirocco. In the opening race, I was challenging for the lead before my VW suffered brake failure resulting in contact with the barriers which meant a back of the grid start for the second race although I came through to finish ninth. Last year, the Brands weekend couldn’t have gone any better with a lights to flag victory from pole-position in my GT4 class winning season. With a good grid position I can see us achieving a top-six at Brands.”
