Kent’s Jake Hill will make his Intelligent Money British GT Championship GT3 debut this year as he joins up with Century Motorsport to pilot the BMW M4 GT3 car for both rounds being held at Donington Park this year.
The news sees Jake join forces with Simon Watts behind the wheel as the pair team up with the longest competing team in British GT history – Century Motorsport.
The team have experienced numerous successes over the years, having won both the Team and Driver Championships in British GT4 in 2018, before repeating the feat again in 2021. They were also winners of the British GT showpiece event of 2023, the Silverstone 500.
The Intelligent Money British GT Championship has remained one of the UK’s premier national categories for 30 years – currently overseen by the world’s biggest GT racing promoter, SRO Motorsports Group.
The championship features a 36-strong full-season entry list across nine manufacturers making this year one of the most exciting seasons to date.
Having enjoyed consistent success in recent years across his exploits in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship as well as his historic racing competition, the British GT drive allows Jake to test himself against many of the world’s finest GT racing drivers.
Speaking about the new challenge, Jake cannot wait to get to grips with the BMW M4 GT3 car and is grateful to all those who have supported in making the opportunity possible:
“I am extremely excited to be making my British GT GT3 debut with Simon Watts. We have been teamed together across recent years racing historics and this has always been something we have been keen to do.”
“I am very grateful to Simon for making this possible, alongside all the team at Century Motorsport. To be making my debut in GT3, behind the wheel of the amazing BMW M4 GT3 car couldn’t be more perfect.
“There’s an incredible level of both teams and drivers in this year’s Intelligent Money British GT Championship so I am looking forward to seeing how we fare. I also owe a lot of gratitude to the team at Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport for enabling me to enjoy this programme alongside my BTCC commitments.”
Watts echoed Hill’s sentiments, and shared his excitement at the prospect of driving the M4 GT3 at one of his favourite circuits:
“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 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!”
Commenting on the announcement, Mark Blundell, CEO of MB Partners added:
“I’m delighted for Jake and we are very appreciative to all those involved in making this opportunity possible. Across recent years, he has shown his incredibly high level of performance no matter what he has got behind the wheel of. We’re all really looking forward to see how he fares with the BMW M4 GT3 car and with the team at Century Motorsport alongside his teammate, Simon Watts, we believe he is well placed to show his talent.”
Century Motorsport Team Principal, Nathan Freke, is excited to see what Hill and Watts can bring to the team dynamic.
“The 2023 BMW M4 GT3 is a superb car, and as Dan and Darren (Leung) showed at Silverstone last time out it’s a very competitive proposition. I’ve known Jake since I was racing in the Ginetta G50 series and he was in Ginetta Juniors way back in 2009, and he has gone on to become one of the real stars of the BTCC, especially since he joined WSR BMW last year.”
“He has shown how adaptable he is in all kinds of cars, including of course racing with Simon very successfully in various Historic series, and Simon himself had some really strong races last season with RJN, so I’m really excited to have them onboard, and I’m sure they will work really well with Dan and Darren and the team.