Tomas Scheckter to return to racing for Britcar outing
Former Jaguar Formula 1 test driver and IndyCar race winner Tomas Scheckter will end a two-year absence from competition in next month's Britcar 1000 at Silverstone
The 33-year-old will drive a Nissan 370Z in the blue-riband round of the British Endurance Championship at Silverstone on September 22 as part of his judging and mentoring role with the South African Nissan GT Academy competition.
He will share the RJN Motorsport-run car in the production sports class with South African academy winner Ashley Oldfield and the triumphant driver from the Middle East academy, Salman Al Khater of Qatar.
Scheckter, who had a successful test in the Nissan at Silverstone earlier this month, said: "I've really got into the academy idea and seen some of the talent that it has produced.
"This opportunity came up and I thought it would be a good chance to get the adrenalin going."
A full-time return to the track has been ruled out by Scheckter, who undertook a series of IndyCar one-offs in 2011.
He said he was too busy working on the organic farm in Hampshire owned by his father Jody, the 1979 world champion.
"I've barely thought about racing since 2011," he said, "but I wouldn't mind coming back and doing a few races in a GT3 car if it was at the right level."
Scheckter added that he is expecting 29-year-old Oldfield to impress at Silverstone.
"A lot of quick guys with a lot of talent came through our academy," he said, "but Ashley has got a brain behind the talent."
Oldfield and Al Khater will be the final academy drivers to land the prize of a one-off drive in an endurance race such as the Britcar 1000 or the Dubai 24 Hours.
Subsequent winners will go straight into a full season of competition in a series running to GT3 rules.
Nissan global motorsport director Darren Cox said: "We are confident after the past four years that all our academy winners are good enough to go straight into a full season in a GT3 car somewhere."
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| Series | GT |
| Author | Gary Watkins |
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