The British GT Championship season finale at Donington Park will see the Championships decided in the GT3 and GT4 classes and sub-classes but will also see a further trophy awarded
The overall winners of the race will receive the Tom Wheatcroft Trophy, awarded by the Donington Park Racing Association Club, a quite extraordinary locally based body of residents and enthusiasts that have provided support, in a wide variety of ways, to racing at the Donington Park circuit.
The Donington Park Racing Association Club was formed in 1973 to support Tom Wheatcroft’s campaign to bring back motor racing to Britain’s first road racing circuit, Donington Park, which had been host to the famous 1937 and 1938 Grand Prix events. During the war Donington was used by the War Office as a vehicle depot and was finally abandoned in 1956. Following his purchase of the circuit, Tom faced strong opposition from the local community and authorities.
The Club’s primary activities back then were a world away from the ‘Not In My Back yard’ – Nimby-ism that pollutes many such proposals around the world. Members wrote letters, put together petitions, attended meetings and generally made life easier as the circuit’s management navigated the choppy waters towards racing beginning again. In addition they started to raise funds, for a variety of projects to support racing – an astounding array of safety and medical equipment, including circuit rescue vehicles, has been donated by the club over the past four and a half decades, and the fundraising, principally through subscription payments, continues to this day. The club also has a fine tradition of donating trophies for a variety of achievements at Donington.
The Tom Wheatcroft Memorial Trophy is presented by the DPRAC in memory of Donington Park founder, Tom Wheatcroft.
It was decided that the trophy would be presented alternately to bikes and cars but was first presented in 2010 to Tom’s son, Kevin Wheatcroft, for his determination on re-establishing Donington Park to it’s former glory after the disastrous attempt by others to develop the site to fulfil a misguided adventure to bring the F1 Grand Prix to the track.
The first four-wheel recipients of the trophy were OAK Racing’s Olivier Pla, Bertand Baguette & Dimitri Enjalbert, winners in the ELMS at Donington in 2012 but since then the ‘car years’ have seen the trophy awarded to BTCC race winners. This year though the club has decided the trophy will be awarded to the winners in British GT, and there are some big names involved that might find their names engraved!
The trophy itself is kept as one of the exhibits of The Donington Grand Prix Collection and is viewable by visitors year round whilst the winners themselves each receive a silver plaque.
Previous Winners
2010 Kevin Wheatcroft
2011 Marco Melandri – World Superbikes
2012 Olivier Pla, Bertand Baguette & Dimitri Enjalbert – European Le Mans Series
2013 Alex Lowes – British Superbike Championship
2014 Jason Plato – British Touring Car Championship
2015 James Ellison – British Superbike Championship
2016 Matt Jackson British Touring Car Championship
2017 Danny Buchan British Superbike Championship
You can support DPRAC by becoming a member, it’s just £10 per annum to do so (£17 for a joint membership) and the range of benefits is truly impressive including ticket concessions and access to a trackside suite!
Visit www.dprac.co.uk for details
