Wilkinson wanting to avenge the memory of Silverstone at Barcelona GT Open

Hot off the heels of the final round of the 2019 British GT Championship season from Donington Park last weekend sees the Optimum Motorsport team back on the road again for this weekends penultimate round of the 2019 International GT Open Series from the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona, Spain.

This circuit is apparently the location of Ollie Wilkinson's debut into the European series just two years ago and 2019 has seen a dramatic improvement in maturity, confidence, competance and general driving ability of the 23 year old from Leeds having achieved his first full Pro race win in the series at the Red Bull Ring, securing the overall GT3 Silver Cup class in the British GT Championship as well as being elevated to a BRDC Rising Star driver just a few weeks ago - all in his first season with the all new AMR Vantage GT3.


Whilst his season within the British GT Championship unfortunately ended for him and co-driver Bradley Ellis with a late DNF, he and GT Open co-driver Darren Turner will both be determined to erase the memory of the last round of the GT Open Series from Silverstone just two weeks ago when spins in both races destroyed any chance of a decent points haul for the #96 car.

Whilst TV evidence supports that Wilkinson was not responsible for either spin it goes to prove how sometimes results are wholly reliant upon the performance of others competing around them.


“Silverstone was a tough weekend but that’s firmly behind us and we’re hungry to make up for lost points. Our recent test in Barcelona – our first running there in the Aston – was encouraging and we learnt a few things to take forward into the race. But a clean and clear qualifying session will be key for us. We’ve had issues in the last two, including a broken subframe, which has stopped us from maximising the opportunity. That said, I’m really pleased with how my form is progressing, I was just a couple of tenths off Darren’s pace in Q2 at Silverstone" Wilkinson said.

Whilst they are not in the title race in the Pro category, four decent race results from both Barcelona and at the final round at Monza in early October would really boost their final finishing position in the Championship as Wilkinson continues to chase the AMR Drivers Academy ultimate prize.


Despite the current season coming to an end the news is still coming out thick and fast so make sure that you keep an ear open to any fresh news concerning this team!!

Photo credits - GT Open / Optimum