2023 British GT champion Darren Leung will make his second race-by-race outing of the season at #DoningtonDecider this weekend.
The FIA WEC class winner is teaming up with Blackthorn and series debutant Nick Yelloly for his first appearance in an Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo.
Leung won the Silverstone 500 earlier this year, albeit with his own Paradine Competition team and BMW that he also campaigns in GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS. However, swapping between cars is nothing new for Leung who races a rear-engine McLaren in FIA WEC.
The maximum Compensation Time accrued for that victory back in late April will be applied during Sunday’s mandatory pitstop. The car is also exempt from scoring points at the championship finale where Blackthorn’s other Vantage shared by Giacomo Petrobelli and Jonny Adam is one of four GT3 title contenders.
Donington has been a happy hunting ground for Leung who scored his maiden British GT3 win there on his class debut and second-ever start before claiming the drivers’ title 12 months later by overturning a record 13-point deficit alongside Dan Harper.
"My family and I love British GT so I'm always keen to race when time allows," he said. "Nick and I have also known each other a while, we're both from Yorkshire and have spoken about racing together in the past, so Donington feels like a good fit. There's no pressure and minimal expectations - we're there to enjoy ourselves.
"I've learned a lot this year from swapping between the BMW and McLaren, and this weekend is another opportunity to increase my experience with another manufacturer. I'm also in Barcelona the week after with Paradine, and the logistics would have been unnecessarily complicated if we'd raced together at Donington."
Yelloly, meanwhile, switched manufacturers over the winter. The Le Mans, Spa and Nürburgring 24 Hours winner is now a works Acura driver Stateside in IMSA, but also works as Aston Martin’s F1 Sim Development Driver closer to home.
The #DoningtonDecider is live on SRO’s GT World YouTube channel and Sky Sports F1 at 13:15 BST this Sunday.