Academy Motorsport returns to British GT Championship with two car team

Academy Motorsport will return to the British GT Championship once again in 2023, complete with two Ford Mustang GT4 race cars. Carrying on from the final round of 2022, during which both cars were on the grid at Donington Park, the team is looking forward to a strong entry for its 2023 campaign.

Piloting one of the Multimatic Motorsport-supported Ford Mustangs will be Academy stalwart, Matt Cowley, alongside new team-mate Erik Evans. Cowley has proven his ability year after year, and has secured a number of GT4 victories during the last few seasons. He has certainly cemented himself as a formidable form amongst the GT4 ranks.

Commenting on his return to Academy Motorsport, Cowley said: “I’m really pleased and excited to be back in the Multimatic – Ford Performance Mustang GT4 for this year’s British GT Championship and my fifth season with Academy Motorsport. It’s great having two cars out there, having the opportunity to drive with newcomer Erik Evans, and keep the charities Caudwell Children, Nordorff Robbins and Shaw Mind Mental Health in people’s minds.”

Evans joined the team for the 2022 season finale at Donington Park, and after impressing immediately, the team was pleased to see him return for a full campaign this season. Looking ahead to his first full season in the British GT Championship, Evans said: “I am super pumped about coming to the UK and racing for Academy Motorsport with Matt Cowley, and battling against some of the best drivers in the UK in the Intelligent Money British GT Championship.

“As an American driver, debuting at the Donington Park race this past October was a fantastic experience. Racing with the two different classes, managing traffic, driver changes, and feeling the passion and support of the UK motorsport fans was awesome. I had several boxes that I wanted to check off to make a solid run at Donington, but now I can take some of those restrictions off, and with Matt, get on with focusing on the business at hand.

“Driving the Multimatic Ford Mustang GT4 with Academy Motorsport and having the full engineering support of Multimatic on-site was incredible, especially as we look forward to this year. Matt [Nicoll-Jones] and the entire Academy Motorsport team have been awesome, and especially when navigating the logistics and communication across five time zones.”

In the second machine, Academy Motorsport welcomes back Will Moore for a full season assault, together with Matt Nicoll-Jones. After missing all bar one round of 2022, due to recovering a PCL reconstruction, Moore is ready and raring to go. He and Nicoll-Jones have partnered one another in the British GT Championship on numerous occasions, forming a strong collaboration.

Commenting on his long-awaited return, Moore said: “It was a last-minute deal to get Matt and I back in the car and I can’t wait! I’ve just recovered from a PCL reconstruction, which is why I didn’t race last year and to be honest I thought I’d probably retire. So it’s great to have this opportunity with my old team-mate. I’m really excited to get racing.”

Looking ahead to the 2023 season, Nicoll-Jones added: “I’m thrilled to have two cars confirmed for this season; it’s been a long time coming and a great deal of hard work has gone into this.

“It’s also great to welcome Matt Cowley back to the team once again. He has been with us since 2019 and has gone from strength to strength each year.

“Erik is a superb addition to the team. He proved himself during his British GT Championship debut last season at Donington Park, and we can’t wait to see what he does this year. Together, Matt and Erik create a strong driver pairing.

“Welcoming Will back to the team for a full season is brilliant. He is very much part of the furniture here at Academy Motorsport, and after thinking he would have to retire last year, we’re pleased to see him back where he belongs. I’m also looking forward to getting back behind the wheel myself. It’s certainly going to be a very exciting year ahead.”

The British GT Championship begins at Oulton Park during the Easter weekend (8th & 10th April).