TF Sport’s aim is to get its pair of Aston Martins home inside the top five positions in Round 2 of the Pirelli British GT Championship on the banked Rockingham Motor Speedway (30 April-1 May).
The official Aston Martin Racing Partner Team opened its 2016 British GT campaign in the strongest way at Brands Hatch two weeks ago, Jonny Adam and Derek Johnston laying down the gauntlet by taking a convincing victory while Jon Barnes and Mark Farmer rounded out the top six at the conclusion of the truncated and incident-packed two-hour contest.
The results far exceeded TF Sport’s objectives for the opening weekend of the 2016 season, as the team is openly prioritising consistency over race wins, in the knowledge that points win prizes in the British GT Championship.
At Rockingham, the #17 Aston Martin V12 Vantage of Adam and Johnston will be shackled by a success penalty, therefore it may be up to Jon Barnes and Mark Farmer to lead the TF Sport charge and help the team score big.
TF Sport Director, Tom Ferrier, said: “The aim is the same – to get both cars in the top five positions – for the second round of the British GT Championship at Rockingham. If we keep doing that, it should all work out and lead to a strong championship result at the end of the year. It will be hard for Jonny (Adam) and Derek (Johnston) to repeat their Brands Hatch win with their pit stop penalty and Jon (Barnes) and Mark (Farmer) should lead the charge if the race runs smoothly without incident. Equally, anything can happen in British GT!
“The pre-season test day we had at Rockingham revealed that all four of our drivers possess decent pace. It isn’t an ‘Aston Martin circuit’, being so tight and twisty, and it’s impossible to tell which tyres and fuel loads teams were running in testing, but we’re competitive as a package. One thing that will be prominent is tyre wear. Rockingham is hugely abrasive and you’ll have one shot in qualifying before the tyres degrade.”
Qualifying for Round 2 of the 2016 Pirelli British GT Championship at Rockingham Motor Speedway takes place from 15.35 on Saturday (30 April), with the two-hour race at 13.00 the following day (Sunday 1 May).