Nick Gilkes

Nicholas Gilkes
Nicholas Gilkes
	Gilkes pictured after his first GB3 win at Donington Park in 2022
Nationality	Canadian; British; via dual nationality
Born	16 May 2005 (age 19); Richmond Hill, Canada
Related to	Megan Gilkes (sister)
Eurocup-3 career
Debut season	2023
Current team	Drivex
Car number	64
Starts	22 (22 entries)
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Poles	0
Fastest laps	0
Best finish	11th 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

Karting

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

Gilkes made his single-seater debut in 2021, competing in the Ontario-based Toyo Tires F1600 Championship Series 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

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

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] He finished 11th in the standings, scoring a best race result of fifth at Estoril.

Personal life

Nick is the younger brother of Megan Gilkes, who was previously competing in F1 Academy.

Racing record

Racing career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
2021	Toyo Tires F1600 Championship Series	Britain West Motorsport	18	7	8	7	17	435	1st
	Canadian F1600 Championship	Britain West Motorsport	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	Kevin Mills Racing	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	12	0	0	0	0	1	23rd

* Season still in progress.

Complete Toyo Tires F1600 Championship Series results

(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

(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

(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	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 9	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 16	RBR 2 20	POR 1 12	POR 2 16	POR 3 13	LEC 1 Ret	LEC 2 15	ZAN 1 16	ZAN 2 19	ARA 1 16	ARA 2 19	JER 1	JER 2	CAT 1	CAT 2	23rd	1

References

^ "Nick Gilkes to contest Eurocup-3 campaign with Drivex". nickgilkes.com. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
^ "GB3 - British-Canadian Nick Gilkes joins Hillspeed for 2022 GB3 Championship". GB3 Championship. 6 January 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
^ 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.
^ Motorsports, Britain West. "Nick Gilkes Joins Britain West Motorsport for the 2021 Season". Britain West Motorsports. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
^ Motorsports, Britain West. "Nick Gilkes and Connor Clubine Seal Championship Victories for Britain West". Britain West Motorsports. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
^ "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.
^ "Podium Double For Marzorati In GB4 At Oulton Park". Hillspeed. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
^ "Grundtvig powers to race three victory at Oulton Park". www.gb-3.net. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
^ "Maiden GB3 Podium For Nick Gilkes And More GB4 Silverware For Max Marzorati At Silverstone GP". Hillspeed. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
^ Callander, Michael (8 May 2022). "Shields takes first car racing win in GB3 at Silverstone". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
^ "THINGS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED AT DONINGTON PARK". www.gb-3.net. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
^ Nick Gilkes GB3 Snetterton Post Qualifying 2022, retrieved 26 July 2022
^ "Most Consistent GB3 Weekend Yet For Nick Gilkes Capped With Top Five At Spa". Hillspeed. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
^ "FLACK FLIES TO VICTORY IN SILVERSTONE THRILLER". www.gb-3.net. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
^ "DONINGTON RACE THREE STARTS AT 15.20 – GILKES ON POLE". www.gb-3.net. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
^ "GILKES HANGS ON TO TAKE MAIDEN GB3 WIN AT DONINGTON". www.gb-3.net. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
^ Wood, Ida (27 February 2023). "GB3 winner Nick Gilkes joins Drivex in Eurocup-3". Formula Scout. Retrieved 5 April 2023.

External links

Nick Gilkes career summary at DriverDB.com

Sporting positions
Preceded by Mac Clark	Toyo Tires F1600 Championship Series Champion 2021	Succeeded by Jake Cowden
Preceded by TBC	Canadian F1600 Championship Champion 2021	Succeeded by TBC