A chance meeting has opened the door to the British GT championship for Turriff racing driver Gordie Mutch.
The 21-year-old has been announced as one of the members for the Mahiki Racing team which will field two new Emira GT4s in the British GT this season.
The team’s involvement means the Lotus name will be associated with the British GT grid for the first time since the Silverstone 500 in 2017.
For Mutch, his selection for the team is a dream come true.
He said: “It is easily the biggest announcement of my career.
“I’ve been trying to get to British GT for years now.
“It’s one of the most competitive GT championships in the world and the big barrier to getting into it is the budget.
“A chance meeting with Steve Lake when he was testing the Lotus gave me the chance.
“I was being nosey having a look at the Emira GT4 as it was the first time I’d seen the car in the flesh and got chatting to him when he offered me a test day and it snowballed from there.
“Last year was a really dire season for us.
“I was barely racing which was painful so to bounce back and be racing again is great.
“But to bounce back and be racing in the British GT is a bit of a dream come true.
“This is where I have wanted to race for the past five years.”
Mutch part of a four-man team for the championship
Mutch will be part of a four-man team consisting of Ian Duggan, Lake and Nathan Harrison.
Duggan is the only member of the Mahiki squad with past British GT experience and Mutch is thrilled he will be able to call on his partner’s experience.
He said: “I’ve worked with Ian before and I know him very well.
“A lot of the time in British GT driver pairings won’t know each other too much which can be a bit tricky.
“You don’t know what each other is like, how they work, their personalities.
“With Ian we gel very well together and that is going to help us hit the ground running.
“We already know what to expect out of each other.
“It’s been great to see the Mahiki team come together over the winter, and we’re very excited to hit the track with the new Lotus Emira and show what we are all about.
“Having raced with Ian in the same team before, we know each other well, and I feel we have the chance to perform well together.
“Our sights are set firmly on the Pro-Am championship.”
Oulton Park will host the British GT season opener on March 30 and April 1.
- Gordie Mutch’s chosen charity is Step Ahead Aberdeen, the charity for Stroke survivors. Emily, Gordie’s mum, attends their classes at RGU weekly.
🚨 ANNOUNCEMENT🚨
I am absolutely thrilled to announce this year’s programme, British GT with Mahiki Racing in the Lotus GT4 Emira, which I will be racing alongside my old GT5 teammate @ianduggan in the Silver-Am Category.
A dream come true!😍 pic.twitter.com/KVYAGFdAr1
— Gordie Mutch Racing (@_gordie_mutch_) January 25, 2024
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