A flying start to 2021..
Scots endurance racers have won recognition for their successes
SCOTS motorsport stars are gearing up for the 2021 season, with high-profile drivers being honoured for their past efforts.
Rising endurance racer Finlay Hutchison starts his campaign today in the Hankook 24H Dubai.
Having impressed last year, the 20-year-old, from Dundee, has been rewarded with another drive for Audi Sport squad Attempto Racing in an R8 LMS GT3 EVO.
He and team-mates Christopher Mies, Markus Winkelhock, Alex Aka and Philipp Sager will compete in the headline GT3-Pro class.
Hutchison said: “I can’t wait to be back at the Dubai 24 Hours, and I’m delighted to be racing there with the Attempto guys as we built up a great relationship last season.
“This will be my fifth year in the Dubai race but I think it’s certainly the first where we’ve got a real chance of fighting for the overall podium and maybe even the win.”
The Scot has enjoyed success at the Dubai 24 Hours in the past – starting off with a TCR class win at just 16 years old back in 2017 at the wheel of an Audi RS 3 LMS.
Stepping up to GT3 for the 2018 race, he finished second in the A6-AM Class in his maiden outing driving a V8 Racing Chevrolet Corvette.
Last January, Hutchison was second in the GT3-AM class with Toksport WRT Mercedes-AMG.
He added: “We’ve had a good run in Dubai over the last few years, so I really do want to keep that momentum going.”
Meanwhile, British GT champion Sandy Mitchell has started 2021 by winning the series’ coveted Allan Simonsen Award.
Traditionally, the award is won by a driver with the same speed and spirit as epitomised by the late Dane, who tragically lost his life at the Le Mans 24-Hours in 2013.
The Forfar 20-year-old said: “This is a wonderful and poignant award to win. Allan’s reputation is hugely well respected and acknowledged by everyone in sportscar racing around the world.
“To win the Allan Simonsen Award and be recognised by the judges at British GT for the performances I delivered last season is humbling. It’s a fantastic way to start the new year.”
Mitchell, who has recently been made a Lamborghini factory driver, will start the defence of his British GT title in the traditional Easter weekend double-header at Oulton Park on April 3 to 5.
Dumfriesshire’s Ross Wylie is also celebrating after being selected as a Full Member of the prestigious British Racing Drivers’ Club.
Wylie joined the club in 2013 as a BRDC Rising Star and was then selected as a BRDC SuperStar in 2015. Those who have met the exacting Full Member entry criteria have achieved success at the highest levels of the sport or made a significant contribution to enable others to do so.
The 29-year-old claimed Dunlop Britcar Endurance Championship class honours for a third time in the last four years in 2020, losing out on a second overall championship title by a mere five points despite having missed four of the 10 races. Wylie said: “I’m delighted to have been chosen for Full Membership, which is a huge privilege.
“It’s all systems go currently in trying to pull together a programme for 2021 but this news is a real boost.”
More positive news has come from the organisers of the British Touring Car Championship, which features Scotland’s Rory Butcher and Aiden Moffat among its competitors.
They say they have a full entry list for this season – which includes a weekend at Knockhill in August.