2002 series champion Jonny Cocker is to return to the Avon Tyres British GT Championship for next month’s Snetterton meeting.
Cocker, who won the championship driving a GT2 Porsche partnered with Tim Sugden for a majority of the season, will share the currently points’ leading Ecurie Ecosse BMW Z4 GT3 with Marco Attard in lieu of Alexander Sims who will be fulfilling his role as a BMW Motorsports works driver at the ADAC Zurich Nurburgring 24 Hours that weekend.
Oliver Bryant, a regular with the Barwell Motorsport run team since they entered British GT in 2012, is also unavailable that weekend. However, with Cocker part of the European Le Mans Series GTC class entry Team Russia by Barwell team run out of the same stable he will arrive at the Norfolk track already familiar with the GT3 machine.
Attard enthuses; “[I’m] really looking forward to working with Jonny at Snetterton and I am sure he will make a great contribution to the team with all his experience!”
The weekend’s (June 21-22) pair of 60 minute races will mark Cocker’s first British GT outing since 2007 when he co-drove a Barwell Aston Martin DBRS9 with Paul Drayson. In 2006 he helped Leo Machtski to the GT3 class title in the final season where GT2 machinery comprised the premier class in the championship.
“I’m seriously excited for my return to the British GT Championship and obviously a big thanks goes out to Marco for inviting me to drive in Alexander’s absence,” said Cocker. “The main objective of the weekend will be to assist in keeping Marco at the top of the driver standings. After a very successful test with Marco and Alexander we’re confident that we will have the pace to do just that!”
Attard and Sims currently hold the championship lead after winning the second of the two hour long races of the season opening weekend at Oulton Park and finishing second at the two hour event at Rockingham earlier this month.
This weekend will bring a bumper entry to the longest race of the British GT season, with three hours of racing around the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit awaiting the teams. Last year Attard, driving with Bryant, ended the Silverstone weekend with victory.
