Home Business Awards & Achievements North East Racer McKenna Chasing Le Mans Dream After Win Streak

North East Racer McKenna Chasing Le Mans Dream After Win Streak

North East racing driver Scott McKenna is enjoying a purple patch in his career, and has his eyes set on a top-level sportscars seat as he looks towards a visit to the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hours.

The 17-year-old youngster from North Yorkshire currently competes in the British GT-supporting Ginetta GT5 Challenge, a one-make sportscar series that has proven fiercely competitive over the years, and most recently added his third win of the season at Donington Park.

McKenna fought off the attentions of title rival Geri Nicosia in a tense final lap showdown to confirm his third victory on the spin, after a brace of wins at Silverstone earlier in the month.

McKenna battled older tyres compared to his rivals all weekend in Leicester, adding a pair of solid fifth place finishes to his tally to ensure he moved into the championship lead with just three meetings remaining.


Racing for Xentek Motorsport, who moved into the lead of the Teams’ Championship, McKenna is confident of continuing his strong form into the next round at Zandvoort in Holland on 6/7 July, ahead of his push to move into GT racing next season.

Cheered on by Father Andy, Mother Alison and brother Ben, Scott says:
“It’s going well for us now and we’re consistent, so I don’t need to be taking any risks. I just need to be clever.

“Race one at Donington was such a good battle in these cars. The last three laps; it was just Geri [Nicosia] and myself overtaking each other – it was just proper racing. I got a better exit out of the Old Hairpin, then was on the left and had to out-brake him which was risky, but it worked. Then it was defend, defend, defend like my life depended on it!

“On Sunday I was hanging on as we went for older tyres all weekend, and we’re limited to the amount of new sets we can use all season. We’re trying to work it out so we can now use brand new tyres for the rest of the season. It bit us back [at Donington], as the tyres level off after heat cycles, and I had to graft to get those fifth place results.

“It’s more points at the end of the day and it was massive for us. We’re in a good position now for Zandvoort and Snetterton. Hopefully the next few rounds will be strong for us. I’m looking to finish strongly, then look to a future in GTs, hopefully towards racing at Le Mans.”