Former DTM racer Esmee Hawkey will make her Intelligent Money British GT Championship debut with Toro Verde this year.
2020’s Porsche Carrera Cup GB Pro-Am champion joins Joe Wheeler aboard the team’s #80 Ginetta G56 GT4 – one of two such entries overseen by series debutants Toro Verde.
Hawkey has spent the past two seasons racing a Lamborghini in Germany’s premier domestic championship and was also a W Series regular in 2019 – the year before she won her Porsche title.
However, she is also no stranger to Ginettas after spending two years racing Juniors in 2014 and ’15. Her Toro Verde deal is part of a new and wider ranging brand ambassador role with the Yorkshire manufacturer.
Hawkey becomes the 72nd and final full-season driver to be confirmed ahead of British GT’s opening round at Oulton Park next weekend (April 8 & 10).
“I’m really excited to represent Ginetta as their female brand ambassador for 2023,” she said. “Racing alongside Joe Wheeler in the #80 Ginetta G56 GT4 car, this will be my debut season in the Intelligent Money British GT Championship. Having raced internationally for the past two seasons I’m really looking forward to coming back and racing on home soil.
“I tested the car for the first time this week at Oulton Park with Toro Verde and feel we have a strong car and I’m extremely excited to get back racing and fighting for podiums. I’d like to thank everyone who has been involved to help make this deal come to fruition at such late notice.”
Confirmation of her partnership with Wheeler brings the total number of Silver Cup entries to 10. A capacity 36 cars split equally between GT3 and GT4 are set to contest the season opener on Easter Bank Holiday weekend.