Michael Lyons is celebrating a richly deserved accolade today after being awarded full membership of the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) – the most exclusive club in global motor racing.
Having attained great success on the international stage in recent seasons in the ranks of endurance racing, the Felsted 22-year-old has been acknowledged as meeting the exacting criteria laid down by the Silverstone-based BRDC to be welcomed as a full member.
Following a formative career in single-seaters, Michael starred in his first season of sportscar racing by finishing third overall in the 2011 Avon Tyres British GT Championship. Making the leap to the FIA GT3 European Championship the following year, he ended the season as Vice-Champion and is now in the running to win the GTS class title in the 2013 International GT Open with just two races to go.
“I’m very happy to be a full member of the BRDC”, said the Essex racer, “It’s a fantastic boost at a crucial time of my season and I’m incredibly proud to be representing the club in this capacity. Being named a ‘Rising Star’ a few years ago was incredible, but to now become a full member of the BRDC is something else entirely.
“All of the great British drivers, those who have raced at the pinnacle of the sport, are part of the BRDC. When I got the letter through saying I’d been made a full member, it describes it like the national motorsport equivalent of having a ‘cap’ in football. It’s a fantastic honour and really nice to know what you’ve been doing on track has been noticed by some very influential people.”
Michael’s 2013 motor racing season in the highly competitive International GT Open will reach its conclusion this coming weekend, 9th/10th November, at the Circuit de Catalunya in Spain where he and team-mate Matteo Beretta are determined to try and secure the GTS Class crown.
Although going into the Barcelona event fifth in the class standings after a luckless weekend last time out at Monza in Italy, the AF Corse team-mates are only 11 points shy of the GTS leaders. With a possible 20 points available to any one pairing across the final two rounds, the championship is very much up for grabs.
“There’s no pressure on us at all going into Barcelona”, said Michael, “We’ll just go out there, do our best and see where we stand at the end of the weekend. We won’t have any time penalty on our car, as we didn’t score at Monza, but the other main players will have so we’re squaring up for a good weekend and some good results. Hopefully we can end the season on a real high.”
