British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Rising Star Oli Basey-Fisher will graduate into the prestigious Avon Tyres British GT Championship this year it is confirmed today, Monday, 10th March, after agreeing a deal with Academy Motorsport to partner former GT4 Class Champion Matt Nicoll-Jones.Having claimed the Protyre Motorsport Ginetta GT5 Challenge title with Nicoll-Jones’ Academy squad last year, remaining with the multiple championship winning team was a natural choice for 18-year-old Oli who has his sights set on a professional career in endurance racing.Retaining his close association with Leeds manufacturer Ginetta, in whose ranks he has competed since stepping-up from karting to cars in 2012, Great Finborough-based Oli will share a Ginetta GT4 with Nicoll-Jones in pursuit of the British GT class crown. The duo will be backed by Century Logistics and DCB (Kent) Ltd.“British GT4 is the perfect stepping stone I was looking for this year”, commented Oli, “It’s a great opportunity for me to gain experience in GT racing while also keeping my career progressing in the direction I would like it to go."To be able to partner Matt [Nicoll-Jones] this year is simply fantastic. He mentored me to the Ginetta GT5 Championship title last year and so to now race alongside him, considering his wealth of experience, will surely benefit me greatly.”Moving into car racing in 2012 after winning the Ginetta Junior Scholarship, Oli stunned the paddock by climbing the podium on his very first race weekend at Brands Hatch before enjoying additional podium success in the end-of-year Winter Series.Graduating into the Ginetta GT5 Challenge for his second year in cars, joining Academy for the first time, the Suffolk youngster delivered a tremendous campaign and emerged from a nail-biting final weekend of the season with the championship title. Along the way, he secured four race victories and made 10 further visits to the podium.Academy team principal Nicoll-Jones, who was hugely impressed with Basey-Fisher’s application and speed in 2013, is confident he and his new driving partner will be able to put together a consistent challenge for the GT4 title in British GT this year.“It’s great to be coming back to the British GT Championship, the idea of driving with Oli for this season was very tempting having spent 2013 mentoring him to the Ginetta GT5 Challenge win”, he commented, “I know how committed and capable he is as a driver and believe that the combination of the two of us will be very competitive in GT4.“Fortunately, I have a great partner in DCB (Kent) who shares this vision. The level of competition this year in the GT4 class was a key driving force behind my decision to pursue the championship assault – we want to prove our team. Both our car and drivers are capable of beating the strongest opposition and I believe we can do so in 2014.”Following the pre-season Avon Tyres British GT Championship Media Day on Tuesday, 8th April, at Donington Park in Leicestershire, the 2014 campaign will commence on Easter Weekend at Oulton Park in Cheshire with two, one-hour races scheduled to take place on Easter Monday, 21st April.