Just when everyone thought the British GT grid could not have any more shock announcements, Multimatic have revealed that Sir Chris Hoy will compete at Donington Park and Spa-Francorchamps in a Ford Mustang GT4.
On top of this, the six-time Olympic champion will partner two of Multimatic’s FIA WEC drivers; Billy Johnson and Andy Priaulx. As a result, this will be Hoy’s first British GT appearances since contesting the GT3 class in 2014.
The Multimatic number 19 Mustang driver line-up has already been changed this season and is set to feature a range of drivers throughout the year. Billy Johnson will be the first driver to share the car with Hoy on 22/23 June at Donington.
Johnson was originally named on 2019’s full-season entry list but this will be his British GT début. However, this will not be his first outing in the Mustang having raced the current-generation GT4 stateside. Johnson’s history with Ford and the previous-generation Mustang, which goes back to 2009, will prove vital in bringing the car up to pace quickly.
At the following round, the championship heads to Belgium for its overseas race at Spa. This is where the three-time World Touring Car Champion Andy Priaulx will step in to partner Hoy.
The opportunity for Priaulx to race alongside Hoy also grants him the chance to support his son’s title challenge. Sebastian Priaulx races Multimatic’s other Mustang alongside Scott Maxwell.
Andy wrote on his Instagram, “Racing as team-mates with Seb is going to be a great chance for me to support him in his title challenge – working together with him and the team to help build his performance”.
When Hoy retired from professional cycling in 2013, he made the switch from two wheels to four. It is already clear that he is very excited for his British GT outings saying, “This is a fantastic opportunity to race the Ford Mustang GT4,”. “I’ve seen the success they made of the Ford GT programme so I’m excited to get behind the wheel of one of their cars.”
Multimatic is yet to name its Silverstone 500 line-up for the 8/9 June before Hoy joins for the Donington and Spa rounds. Who would have thought that when the cars roll into Belgium, the 19 Mustang will be driven by a pairing that have a combined 14 world titles across their respective sporting disciplines?
