> Ferrari Challenge UK champ joins former GT4 title winner
Simon Green Motorsport will contest the Intelligent Money British GT Championship full-time this year with Silver-Am duo Lucky Khera and Ross Wylie.
The team – which has previously competed in GT Cup, Britcar, Porsche Carrera Cup GB and Ferrari Challenge UK – and its driver pairing made a one-off appearance in the GTC class at Silverstone last season but has now upgraded to a Lamborghini Huracan GT3.
Khera is the reigning Ferrari Challenge UK champion but has previously partnered Wyle in GT Cup. Indeed, the pair will contest the same championship’s opening rounds before making their senior British GT class debut together at Brands Hatch on May 22/23.
“Switching full-time to a series with endurance at its heart feels like a natural next step in my motorsport career, and there’s nowhere better for that in the UK than British GT,” said Khera. “I really enjoyed my time in Ferrari Challenge and was successful enough to suggest I’ll be on the pace with the other Ams this year. The Lamborghini also seems like the right choice given how many wins it’s notched up with Pro-Am crews since 2016.
“We’re getting as much racing and testing mileage under our belts as we can before Brands Hatch.”
That race will be Wylie’s first British GT3 outing since 2016, and the 29-year-old Scot – who claimed the GT4 title two years earlier – can’t wait to return.
“Last year’s one-off at Silverstone gave Lucky a taste of what he could expect in British GT, and from that moment on it was evident he wanted to be involved one way or another this season!” he said. “That GTC outing was the perfect introduction given his previous Ferrari experience, but the plan has always been to try and make the step up to GT3 where we can test ourselves against the established order.
“Ultimately, of course we’d like to challenge for overall results, but the new Silver-Am class is our primary focus in year one. It gives us something to aim at whilst finding our feet in a very competitive series.”
Team boss Simon Green is also relishing the opportunity to race in British GT full-time.
“This is a big move for us but one we’ve been building towards for some time,” he said. “I always hoped SGM would have the opportunity to compete in British GT so it will be a very proud moment when we arrive at Brands Hatch and see our name above the garage. Equally, though, we don’t intend to just make up the numbers. The likes of WPI Motorsport have proven that small but well-run teams can achieve success in a short space of time.
“We learnt a lot at Silverstone last year but also realised that if we were going to do this full-time it should be with a GT3 car, and the Lambo fits the bill perfectly. Lucky’s definitely ready for it and Ross’ experience from previous campaigns will be invaluable.”
Spectators can attend the opening round of this season’s Intelligent Money British GT Championship at Brands Hatch on May 22/23 by reserving tickets in advance. Several covid protocols and restrictions – including a closed paddock – will remain in place until at least June 21 when the UK government is due to end all lockdown measures.