The winners of this weekend’s British GT Championship season finale 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. Next 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. The names of this year’s winning drivers will also be added to its base.
Benjamin Franassovici, Championship Manager: “This has come as a wonderful surprise ahead of our season finale and I would like to thank the DPRAC’s committee for recognising British GT in such a way. Tom Wheatcroft is synonymous with Donington Park and UK motorsport generally so to have the DPRAC’s most prestigious trophy presented to this weekend’s race winners will truly cap off British GT’s season in style.”
British GT’s round at Silverstone also features a standalone accolade: the RAC Trophy, which was first presented by the BRDC in 1932.
The 2018 season finale takes place on September 22/23. Reserve your #DoningtonDecider tickets here or watch the race live on British GT’s Facebook page and website at 13:35 this Sunday.