Ian Gough and Tom Wrigley will join Century Motorsport for the 2024 British GT Championship, sharing a BMW M4 as the Warwickshire squad embarks upon its defence of the GT4 teams' title.
The established driver pairing switch from the rival RACE LAB McLaren outfit with which they secured a pair of overall GT4 wins in 2023, en route to third in the standings and runner-up spot in GT4 Pro-Am.
Century, meanwhile, enjoyed a remarkable 2023, highlighted by its GT3 drivers' title success with Darren Leung and Dan Harper. It also earned the GT4 teams' championship and the GT4 Pro-Am drivers' crown courtesy of Michael Johnston and Chris Salkeld, who beat the incoming Gough and Wrigley to top spot.
“After narrowly missing out on the overall and Pro-Am titles in 2023, Ian and I are delighted to be returning to the British GT Championship,” said Wrigley, who has previous experience of the M4 platform through his Tom Wrigley Performance business.
“Ian was, in my view, the fastest Am on the grid last year. With a season of experience under his belt we’re feeling really prepared to take the fight to the front more consistently.”
As was the case last term, Gough and Wrigley's car will feature prominent branding from The Lions Barber Collective. The men's mental health awareness charity will once again have space in the paddock to provide free haircuts, as well as delivering a vital message.
Suicide is the biggest killer of men under 45 and, as part of an ongoing commitment to mental health, SRO is funding training for all teams. They will develop the skills to listen with empathy and without judgement, to ask the right questions, and to signpost someone when help is needed.
SRO encourages two people from each team to undertake the training – which lasts four hours and can be completed virtually – before the season begins.
“We’re so excited to be back in 2024, representing The Lions Barber Collective and The Race to Save Lives campaign,” said Gough. “We came so close to winning both GT4 titles last year and that is our goal for the season ahead.
“I already feel at home with the team,” he added. “I used to race with Nathan Freke and Century 20 years ago in the British Kart championship and we’ve always stayed in touch. I have no doubt that Century is the best team on the grid, plus Tom has so much expertise with the BMW. I know we’ll be able to extract the maximum from each other every time we hit the track.”
The Gough-Wrigley crew is the second to be confirmed by Century for the upcoming British GT season. A GT3 entry was announced last week, with Carl Cavers and Lewis Plato moving from the team’s GT4 line-up to compete in the Silver-Am class.