Century Motorsport will run a second BMW M4 GT3 at both of Donington Park’s Intelligent Money British GT Championship rounds this year for series returnee Simon Watts and BTCC race winner Jake Hill.
The team’s full-season crew of Darren Leung and Dan Harper lead the early drivers’ standings thanks to their Silverstone 500 victory last time out, while Leung used the same car to also win Donington’s 2022 finale.
Now they and Century’s full-season GT4 entries are joined by two more drivers with previous British GT experience. Watts raced Team Rocket RJN’s McLaren 720S GT3 last year while Hill contested the GT4 category in 2015 with AMDtuning.com’s Porsche 911.
The latter has since become one of the top drivers in BTCC where he finished third overall last season at the wheel of a BMW 330e M Sport. He sits fifth in the current standings after six races.
Watts and Hill are also regular partners on the UK’s competitive historic racing scene. However, next weekend’s British GT round at Donington will be the 29-year-old’s first competitive outing in a GT3 car despite testing several over the past decade.
“I first tested a Mercedes SLS at Portimao back in 2012, and have had a couple of runs in other cars since, including the McLaren at the end of 2021, and absolutely love the sensation of these cars,” said Hill. “I have raced with Simon in historics for a few years now, and know how much he has developed, so am hugely excited to be pairing up with him, and very grateful to him for this opportunity.
“It’s great to be racing with Century, especially to be doing so with the BMW family that I am already very proud to be a part of in BTCC.
“It’s going to be very, very different – and there’s an incredible level of teams and drivers in this year’s British GT Championship, but I am really looking forward to it, and will give it my all as always.”
Watts, who finished third in 2022’s Silver-Am class standings, added: “I’ve loved driving together with Jake in the Peter Auto Series and Masters Historic over the past few seasons – it’s a really easy-going relationship, and I’m sure we will have a lot of fun, especially with Nathan [Freke] and the crew at such a brilliant circuit.
“It’s fiercely competitive and I know it will be really tough, but driving with Jake I’m sure he will get to grips with the car quickly, and we will progress together. I’m really looking forward to it!”
The first of Donington’s two-hour races takes place next Sunday (May 28) before Watts and Hill return for the championship’s season finale on October 21-22.