Nick Gilkes

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Nicholas Gilkes
Gilkes pictured after his first GB3 win at Donington Park in 2022
NationalityCanada Canadian
United Kingdom British
via dual nationality
Born (2005-05-16) 16 May 2005 (age 18)
Richmond Hill, Canada
Related toMegan Gilkes (sister)
Eurocup-3 career
Debut season2023
Current teamDrivex
Car number64
Starts16 (16 entries)
Wins0
Podiums0
Poles0
Fastest laps0
Best finish11th in 2023
Previous series
2022
2021
2021		GB3 Championship
Ontario F1600 Championship
Canadian F1600 Championship
Championship titles
2021
2021		Ontario F1600 Championship
Canadian F1600 Championship

Nicholas Gilkes (born 16 May 2005) is a British-Canadian racing driver currently competing in Eurocup-3 with Drivex.[1] He is the 2021 Ontario F1600 and Canadian F1600 champion respectively and a race winner in the GB3 Championship.

Career[edit]

Karting[edit]

Having started racing in Barbados, Gilkes moved into serious competition once he and his family moved back to Canada. There he took the Goodwood Kartways Novice Club title in 2016 and became Pfaff Kartsport Cup winner two years later. Gilkes' tenure in the United States' karting scene turned out to bear fruit, with second place at the US Grand Nationals.[2] In 2020, his final year of karting, Gilkes also won the Canadian KartStars Championship.[3]

Formula Ford[edit]

Gilkes made his single-seater debut in 2021, competing in the Ontario and Canadian F1600 Championships for Britain West Motorsport.[4] The Canadian experienced two dominant campaigns and took both titles, therefore becoming the youngest ever Ontario F1600 champion.[5]

Before the end of the year Gilkes made his first racing appearance in Britain. Driving for Kevin Mills Racing he would compete in the Walter Hayes Trophy, where he finished 20th, and the Formula Ford Festival, where he collided with his sister in the semi-final heat.

GB3 Championship[edit]

Following a test at Silverstone, Gilkes was announced to be signing for Hillspeed to compete in the GB3 Championship in 2022.[6] Having qualified 17th in both qualifying sessions at the first round at Oulton Park, Gilkes finished 16th and 18th in races 1 and 2. Due to the reverse grid format the Canadian was able to start from third place in the final race of the weekend.[7] He would end up missing out on the podium after being overtaken by David Morales in the closing stages of the race.[8] At the following round at the Silverstone Circuit, the Canadian would score his first podium in the series, profiting from a quick getaway at the start to overtake two competitors and closely battling Cian Shields for the victory in the final laps.[9][10] Round three at Donington Park would start out in disappointing fashion however, as a suspension issue in qualifying meant that Gilkes was forced to start from last place in all three races.[11] A collision with David Morales in Race 1 compounded matters, as it led to the Canadian's first retirement of the season. He would come back fighting in the third race, overtaking ten cars to finish twelfth. A then-best qualifying performance of 13th at Snetterton Circuit, which he described as "a fairly decent result",[12] would be cancelled out by a car failure which prevented Gilkes from starting Race 1.

After the summer break Gilkes would qualify twelfth at Spa-Francorchamps and, for the first time that season, finished twelfth or better in each race despite a lack of experience at the circuit compared to his rivals, with a fifth place in the reversed-grid race capping off his weekend.[13] During the following event at Silverstone, the Canadian became embroiled in a fight for the podium, however he would spin out on a damp part of the track after an overtake attempt on Zak Taylor.[14] An anonymous weekend followed, as Gilkes finished outside of the top 15 in the main races. Gilkes concluded his season in perfect fashion however, winning the final race of the campaign at Donington Park, having managed to lead from start to finish.[15][16] He ended up 14th in the standings with 165.5 points.

Eurocup-3[edit]

Gilkes during the 2023 Eurocup-3 race at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps

Gilkes would team up with Drivex for the 2023 season, driving in the newly formed Eurocup-3 series alongside Formula Nordic champion William Karlsson.[17]

Personal life[edit]

Nick is the younger brother of Megan Gilkes, who is currently competing in F1 Academy. Furthermore, he is also a staff member for the Original Formula 1 Discord [18]

Racing record[edit]

Racing career summary[edit]

Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2021 Ontario F1600 Championship Britain West Motorsport 18 7 8 7 17 435 1st
Canadian F1600 Championship 9 8 3 7 9 ? 1st
Formula Ford Festival Kevin Mills Racing 2 0 0 0 0 N/A NC
Formula Ford 1600 - Walter Hayes Trophy 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 20th
2022 GB3 Championship Hillspeed 23 1 0 0 2 165.5 14th
2023 Eurocup-3 Drivex 16 0 0 0 0 37 11th
2024 Eurocup-3 Drivex 1 0 0 0 0 1* 11th*

* Season still in progress.

Complete Ontario F1600 Championship results[edit]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 DC Points
2021 Britain West Motorsport CMP1
1
2 		CMP1
2
3 		CMP1
3
2 		CMP2
1
1 		CMP2
2
2 		CMP2
3
7 		CAL
1
2 		CAL
2
2 		CAL
3
2 		CMP3
1
1 		CMP3
2
3 		CMP3
3
2 		CMP4
1
1 		CMP4
2
1 		CMP4
3
3 		CMP5
1
1 		CMP5
2
1 		CMP5
3
1 		1st 435

Complete GB3 Championship results[edit]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 DC Points
2022 Hillspeed OUL
1
16 		OUL
2
18 		OUL
3
4 		SIL1
1
17 		SIL1
2
17 		SIL1
3
22 		DON1
1
Ret 		DON1
2
18 		DON1
3
1210 		SNE
1
DNS 		SNE
2
12 		SNE
3
19 		SPA
1
12 		SPA
2
11 		SPA
3
52 		SIL2
1
14 		SIL2
2
12 		SIL2
3
16 		BRH
1
19 		BRH
2
17 		BRH
3
6 		DON2
1
13 		DON2
2
15 		DON2
3
1 		14th 165.5

Complete Eurocup-3 results[edit]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 DC Points
2023 Drivex SPA
1
7 		SPA
2
9 		ARA
1
Ret 		ARA
2
6 		MNZ
1
10 		MNZ
2
14 		ZAN
1
Ret 		ZAN
2
13 		JER
1
11 		JER
2
10 		EST
1
5 		EST
2
8 		CRT
1
Ret 		CRT
2
11 		CAT
1
11 		CAT
2
8 		11th 37
2024 Drivex SPA
1
10 		SPA
2
C 		RBR
1
 RBR
2
 POR
1
 POR
2
 LEC
1
 LEC
2
 ZAN
1
 ZAN
2
 ARA
1
 ARA
2
 JER
1
 JER
2
 CAT
1
 CAT
2
 1* 11th*

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Nick Gilkes to contest Eurocup-3 campaign with Drivex". nickgilkes.com. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  2. ^ "GB3 - British-Canadian Nick Gilkes joins Hillspeed for 2022 GB3 Championship". GB3 Championship. 6 January 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  3. ^ Schindel, Cody. "Victory for Boscia in Briggs Junior Final; Gilkes Holds on to Win KartStars Title – CKN | CanadianKartingNews.com | Because Karting is a way of Life!". Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  4. ^ Motorsports, Britain West. "Nick Gilkes Joins Britain West Motorsport for the 2021 Season". Britain West Motorsports. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  5. ^ Motorsports, Britain West. "Nick Gilkes and Connor Clubine Seal Championship Victories for Britain West". Britain West Motorsports. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  6. ^ "Rising motor racing star Nick Gilkes signs with Markham Vale-based Hillspeed for 2022". www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk. 7 January 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  7. ^ "Podium Double For Marzorati In GB4 At Oulton Park". Hillspeed. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  8. ^ "Grundtvig powers to race three victory at Oulton Park". www.gb-3.net. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  9. ^ "Maiden GB3 Podium For Nick Gilkes And More GB4 Silverware For Max Marzorati At Silverstone GP". Hillspeed. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  10. ^ Callander, Michael (8 May 2022). "Shields takes first car racing win in GB3 at Silverstone". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  11. ^ "THINGS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED AT DONINGTON PARK". www.gb-3.net. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  12. ^ Nick Gilkes GB3 Snetterton Post Qualifying 2022, retrieved 26 July 2022
  13. ^ "Most Consistent GB3 Weekend Yet For Nick Gilkes Capped With Top Five At Spa". Hillspeed. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  14. ^ "FLACK FLIES TO VICTORY IN SILVERSTONE THRILLER". www.gb-3.net. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  15. ^ "DONINGTON RACE THREE STARTS AT 15.20 – GILKES ON POLE". www.gb-3.net. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  16. ^ "GILKES HANGS ON TO TAKE MAIDEN GB3 WIN AT DONINGTON". www.gb-3.net. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  17. ^ Wood, Ida (27 February 2023). "GB3 winner Nick Gilkes joins Drivex in Eurocup-3". Formula Scout. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  18. ^ "Whatsapping with Nick Gilkes: 'I'll have to adjust fairly quickly'". F1 Feeder Series. 11 January 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2022.

External links[edit]

Sporting positions
Preceded by
Mac Clark
 Ontario F1600 Championship
Champion
2021 		Succeeded by
Jake Cowden
Preceded by
TBC
 Canadian F1600 Championship
Champion
2021 		Succeeded by
TBC
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