Dumfries and Galloway Man revved up for latest BGT race on world famous Belgian “stage”
Ross Wylie intends to put his limited but winning experience of the daunting Spa-Francorchamps track to good affect on Saturday (11 July). The 23-year-old McLaren GT “Young Driver” competes in the latest round of the British GT Championship in Belgium – one of the fastest and most challenging tracks in the world. Wylie, from Thornhill near Dumfries, and Von Ryan Racing co-driver Andrew Watson, line-up for the two-hour race on the back of the duo achieving their best result of the season, their McLaren 650S GT3 finishing seventh at Silverstone in May.
Ross races for only the second time around the undulating, ultra-fast 4.352-mile Spa track. But the Scotsman won on his debut on a track that features 20-corners and is situated in the Ardennes forest. The venue, which is used for the Belgian Formula One Grand Prix, has its own micro-climate that often means very changeable weather conditions that can effect various parts of the circuit and not all of it. Ross, who recently attended the Goodwood Festival of Speed and the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, is due to line-up for the two-hour race, the only overseas event on the BGT calendar, at 11.15am (BST) on Saturday.
Ross Wylie ,(GB) Age 23. Born & Lives Thornhill nr Dumfries, Scotland:
“The Spa race cannot come around quickly enough. The last race at Silverstone was a step forward but I still feel we have a point to prove and I’m hungry for success. It’s a two-hour race while Andrew and I, plus the Von Ryan Racing team, are all fired up for a solid finish. I raced at Spa for the first time in the corresponding BGT race meeting last season. It was in the GT4 category and I won so hopefully my track knowledge should help both Andrew and I. It is such an incredible circuit to drive, even as a spectator it takes your breath away. The satisfaction of getting Eau Rouge and Blanchimont corners right compares like no other on the British GT Calendar.
“Away from the track I enjoyed attending Goodwood for my first Festival of Speed event. Andrew and I spoke about the GT Young Driver programme on the McLaren stand. Last weekend I was at Silverstone with other members of the BRDC’s ‘SuperStar’ initiative for the Formula One weekend.”
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