Megan Gilkes

Megan Gilkes
Gilkes in 2022
NationalityCanada Canadian
Born2000 (age 23–24)
Richmond Hill, Ontario
Related toNick Gilkes (brother)
W Series
Years active2019
Starts5
Wins0
Poles0
Fastest laps0
Best finishNC in 2019
Previous series
2017–18F1200 Canada

Megan Gilkes (born in Richmond Hill, Ontario) is a Canadian former racing driver who last competed in F1 Academy. She previously competed in the now defunct W Series in 2019.[1]

Biography

[edit]

A third-generation racer, Gilkes began karting aged nine in her then-home of Barbados. Following a break from racing after a crash in qualifying at the World Finals where she broke her wrist, she won the Ottawa Challenge Karting Cup in her home country of Canada, and finished runner up in the 2016 Eastern Canadian Karting Championship as an ambassador for Dare to be Different.[2][3] In 2017, Gilkes stepped up to single-seaters in the Canadian F1200 championship. Despite not contesting all of the rounds in either season she competed in, she finished third and second overall in consecutive years.[4][5] Also in 2017, Gilkes finished runner up in the Sports Car Club of America Southeast Majors championship, having led it for 10 of the 12 rounds.

Gilkes competing in the 2019 W Series Brands Hatch round.

In 2019, Gilkes applied for the W Series, a European-based Formula Regional championship solely for women. She was selected into the category as one of 18 full-time drivers, but struggled for results as the least experienced driver in the field. Despite winning the won the non-championship reverse grid race at TT Circuit Assen, she failed to score any points in the regular series races and finished last in the standings.[6] Gilkes returned to Canada in 2020, competing in the Ontario Formula 1600 Championship, where she had two pole positions, two fastest race laps and 13 podium finishes, and was runner up overall in the series to Mac Clark.[7]

Gilkes competing in an F1 Academy race at the Red Bull Ring in 2023.

Gilkes returned to the UK in 2022 through the GB4 Championship, placing sixth in the standings with two wins at Snetterton and Donington Park.[8] The Canadian was accepted into another female-only series, F1 Academy, for 2023, but only managed thirteenth out of fifteen in the championship with two top-five finishes.[9] At the end of the season, Gilkes announced her retirement at 22 years of age to take up an engineering position at the Aston Martin F1 Team.[10]

Personal life

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Gilkes' younger brother Nick who is currently competing in Eurocup-3 for Drivex.[11]

Alongside her racing, she studied Aeronautical Engineering at the Imperial College in London.[12] She currently works for the Aston Martin F1 Team as a trackside support engineer.[13][14]

Racing record

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Career summary

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Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2017 Canadian Formula 1200 Championship Vallis Motorsports 15 2 ? ? 10 1148 3rd
SCCA National Championship Runoffs - Formula Vee Millers Oils 1 0 0 0 0 0 23rd
2018 Canadian Formula 1200 Championship Vallis Motorsports 9 1 0 0 7 738 2nd
Formula Vee Challenge Cup Series 9 3 1 0 3 130 4th
F2000 Championship Series N/A 2 0 0 0 0 22 25th
SCCA Majors Championship Nationwide - Formula Vee 2 0 ? ? 0 29 43rd
Campeonato Paulista de Formula Vee 2 0 0 0 0 14 15th
2019 W Series Hitech GP 5 0 0 0 0 0 20th
F3 Americas Championship Momentum Motorsports 4 0 0 0 0 2 17th
F2000 Championship Series Vallis Motor Sport 2 0 0 0 0 28 23rd
2020 F1600 Ontario Brian Graham Racing 15 0 1 2 11 275 2nd
BRSCC Formula Ford Festival Kevin Mills Racing 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 20th
2021 National Formula Ford Championship - Pro Kevin Mills Racing 17 0 0 0 0 106 10th
2022 GB4 Championship Hillspeed 24 2 1 3 3 375 6th
2023 F1 Academy Rodin Carlin 21 0 0 0 0 31 13th

SCCA National Championship Runoffs

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Year Track Car Engine Class Finish Start Status
2017 Indianapolis Motor Speedway BRD AFV-01 Volkswagen Formula Vee 23 24 Running

Complete W Series results

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

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 DC Points
2019 Hitech GP HOC
Ret 		ZOL
14 		MIS
17 		NRM
PO 		ASN
14 		BRH
18 		20th 0

Complete F1600 Ontario results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) (Races with * indicate most race laps led)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Rank Points
2020 Brian Graham Racing MSP1
1
2* 		MSP1
2
2 		MSP1
3
2 		MSP2
1
16* 		MSP2
2
DNS 		MSP2
3
DNS 		SMP
1
2 		SMP
2
3 		SMP
3
3 		MSP3
1
2 		MSP3
2
2 		MSP3
3
4 		MSP4
1
2 		MSP4
2
2 		MSP4
3
2 		2nd 275

Complete GB4 Championship results

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

Year Entrant 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 SNE1
1
7 		SNE1
2
Ret 		SNE1
3
11 		OUL
1
4 		OUL
2
5 		OUL
3
11 		SIL1
1
6 		SIL1
2
4 		SIL1
3
44 		DON1
1
7 		DON1
2
1 		DON1
3
84 		SNE2
1
5 		SNE2
2
4 		SNE2
3
7 		SIL2
1
3 		SIL2
2
5 		SIL2
3
47 		BRA
1
6 		BRA
2
7 		BRA
3
9 		DON2
1
5 		DON2
2
Ret 		DON2
3
9 		6th 375

Complete F1 Academy results

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(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 DC Points
2023 Rodin Carlin RBR
1
5 		RBR
2
12 		RBR
3
10 		CRT
1
8 		CRT
2
13 		CRT
3
13† 		CAT
1
11 		CAT
2
11 		CAT
3
8 		ZAN
1
11 		ZAN
2
7 		ZAN
3
Ret 		MON
1
5 		MON
2
Ret 		MON
3
Ret 		LEC
1
11 		LEC
2
13 		LEC
3
9 		USA
1
12 		USA
2
13 		USA
3
11 		13th 31

References

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  1. ^ "Megan Gilkes – W Series". W Series. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  2. ^ "Episode 797: Megan Gilkes". Cars Yeah. 4 May 2018.
  3. ^ "She's Young, Fast and Racing in Europe – In Conversation with Megan Gilkes". Motorsport Prospects. 20 May 2019.
  4. ^ "MEET THE TEENAGER WHO'S AIMING FOR FORMULA 1". Drivetribe. 10 February 2019.
  5. ^ "Drivers :: Momentum Motorsports". Momentum Motorsports. 1 August 2019.
  6. ^ "Megan Gilkes: W Series win has "boosted my confidence no end"". Formula Scout. 21 July 2019.
  7. ^ "W Series Driver, Megan Gilkes, Joins Toyo Tires F1600 Championship". Canadian Automobile Sport Clubs – Ontario. 20 July 2020.
  8. ^ "Gilkes glides to win in GB4's first reversed grid race". Formula Scout. 3 April 2022.
  9. ^ "Megan Gilkes completes Rodin Carlin's 2023 F1 Academy line-up". Formula One Management. 8 March 2023.
  10. ^ "Megan Gilkes announces retirement from Pro competitions after COTA season finale". Racers - Behind the Helmet. 19 October 2023.
  11. ^ "GB3 - British-Canadian Nick Gilkes joins Hillspeed for 2022 GB3 Championship". GB3 Championship. 2022-01-06. Retrieved 2022-04-08.
  12. ^ "Richmond Hill woman, Megan Gilkes, one of only 18 in the world selected to contest all-female W Racing Series". Norris McDonald's Racing Review. 13 April 2019.
  13. ^ Wood, Ida (2022-08-24). "Louis Harvey lands prize GB4 test as Gilkes gets Aston Martin F1 work". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
  14. ^ Whitfield, Steve (2023-03-08). "Megan Gilkes joins Rodin Carlin to race in F1 Academy". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
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