Craig Wilkins receives Sunoco Driver of the Weekend Award

Issued: 13 May 2009

Craig Wilkins receives Sunoco Driver of the Weekend Award after taking his first British GT win in at Spa-Francorchamps.

Craig Wilkins was a surprised and delighted winner of the Sunoco Driver of the Weekend Award at Spa-Francorchamps last weekend after taking a fine victory in the second British GT race, which was run in difficult, foggy conditions on Sunday morning, the race having to be started behind the Safety Car. Lead driver, Aaron Scott, took the opening stint in their ABG Motorsport Viper and then handed over the car to Craig in 3rd place. Early race leader, Allan Simonsen’s Rosso Verde Ferrari had pulled out a substantial lead, leaving Scott to battle with race one winner, Martin Short, for 2nd place.

After the pit stops, Wilkins made short work of Gregor Fisken, who had taken over from Short, and was then 11 seconds behind Simonsen’s co-driver, Hector Lester, after 13 laps of the wonderful Belgian circuit, with only 9 laps remaining. As the conditions gradually improved, Wilkins closed remorselessly on the Ferrari, setting the fastest lap of the race on lap 20, before forcing his way past Lester on the run down the hill from La Source to Eau Rouge. It was a classic Spa overtaking move and Craig then pulled away to win comfortably by three and a half seconds. Afterwards he was delighted and paid tribute to his co-driver: “It's very special to get our first win at last. We have worked very hard for two seasons to get here. All credit to Aaron: he's a true professional; he knows how to drive a car at a pace and bring it back with good tyres and brakes. I got into a lovely car."

In race one on Saturday, Scott and Wilkins had taken a solid 3rd place, again just ahead of the Simonsen/Lester Ferrari. This gave a taste of what was to come the following day, but more importantly, the weekend’s results mean that the pair has moved into the lead, not just of the GT3 championship, but also overall.

The next round in the British GT Championship will be held back in the UK at Rockingham on May 29th/30th.