The overall winners of this weekend’s British GT Championship race will be presented with the Donington Park Racing Association Club’s most prestigious award: the Tom Wheatcroft Memorial Trophy.
The trophy, first awarded in 2010 and named after the circuit’s late president, traditionally alternates between two and four-wheel series. This weekend’s overall race winners thus follow previous recipients from the British Touring Car Championship and European Le Mans Series, as well as World and British Superbike Championships.
The DPRAC was originally formed in 1973 by supporters of Wheatcroft whose vision to revive Britain’s first road racing circuit initially faced strong opposition from the local community and authorities.
After hosting Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union’s famous ‘Silver Arrows’ as part of Donington’s 1937 and ‘38 grands prix, the circuit was requisitioned by the War Office and converted into a vehicle depot before finally being abandoned in 1956. Wheatcroft’s purchase in 1971 and subsequent work in tandem with the DPRAC eventually saw motorsport return six years later.
The trophy that bears his name now resides on-site as part of the Donington Grand Prix Collection and is viewable by visitors year-round. The names of this year’s winning drivers will also be added to its base, which already includes British GT’s only previous recipients: Jon Minshaw and Phil Keen.
Previous Winners:
2010 Kevin Wheatcroft
2011 Marco Melandri - World Superbikes
2012 Olivier Pla, Bertand Baguette & Dimitrie Enjalbert - European Le Mans Series
2013 Alex Lowes - British Superbike Championship
2014 Jason Plato - British Touring Car Championship
2015 James Ellison - British Superbike Championship
2016 Matt Jackson - British Touring Car Championship
2017 Danny Buchan - British Superbike Championship
2018 John Minshaw & Phil Keen - British GT Championship
2019 Todd Ellis & Charlie Richardson
2021 Ben & Tom Birchell
2022 Luke Browning
2023 Joe Talbot - National Superstock 1000
2024 David Shaw - Historic F1
2025 Scott Redding - British Superbike Championship