This weekend, Trackspeed Racing return to the fray with a two-hour race on the Brands Hatch GP circuit. Occupying the top spots of both the drivers and teams leader-boards of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship, the Surrey-based outfit will be aiming to keep the pendulum swinging in their direction. With just three meetings of the Championship remaining, the 150% points available this weekend could prove crucial for Trackspeed’s title hopes.
Whilst the three 997 Porsches have enjoyed regular visits to the podium in 2013, for team manager Keith Cheetham, securing points-paying finishes at the 2.6 mile circuit in Kent is the most important thing. Although the three-car team hold a healthy 64 point lead in the team Championship, there’s still time left for the chasing pack to make up ground, and prevent Trackspeed from retaining their 2012 title. “If we can aim and finish in the top ten with all cars I will be a happy man.” He explains. “For me, we as a team have been pushing too hard and as a result, had too many DNFs – so my motto for the weekend is very much “to win, first we must finish”. We have a great car for Brands Hatch; David Ashburn and Jon Minshaw went really well here two weeks ago in Britcar and Gregor Fisken has the pace to catch them up by the end of session one.
“A thank you to Stephen Jelley, who did a great job stepping in for our ace Richard Westbrook and I’m sure his good work will continue at Brands Hatch, as he’s a guy that feels very much at home in a Porsche. There are no big hopes or podium aims, we are going for is solid points and we will see what happens come the end of the year.”
With just a half-point lead at the top of the British GT drivers championship, Nick Tandy and Ashburn will have Cheetham’s mantra ringing in their ears this weekend, as the pair carry a 15 second success penalty into this round. For Porsche work’s driver Tandy, the former site of the British Grand Prix, rates as one of the best circuits on the globe. “Brands Hatch GP is my favourite circuit on the calendar, the fast GP section combined with the faster approach to Clearways and Paddock Hill is only matched in my opinion by the Nurburgring Nordschleife.” He enthuses. “David has been practising here already in the Britcar event and we are both up for adding to our championship lead, even though we will have to deal with the pit stop penalty from our success at the last round.”
Following a disappointing brace of races last time out at Snetterton, Fisken and Jelley will be looking to score points for the ‘Tartan Terror’ Porsche. Caught in a ‘nowhere to go’ incident on the opening race lap at the Norfolk track, Fisken’s car was sent into early retirement. Despite the Trackspeed mechanics putting in a sterling performance to have the 997 RSR back on the grid for race two a few hours later, a broken damper and exhaust scuppered any hopes the pair had of taking valuable points from the weekend. However, with points worth 150% due to the length of the race, Fisken could find himself back in the mix and moving further up the top-ten, if results go his way.
“Two race weekends and taken out in both, so by the law of averages our luck has got to change for the better.” Fisken said this week. “As I have won here before in the British GT Championship, and I have full confidence in Stephen to do his usual top job as my co-driver, here’s hoping for something to make up for the last two races!”.
Likewise, the third Trackspeed Porsche of Jon Minshaw and Phil Keen will be aiming to put an unsavoury visit to Snetterton behind them and rekindle some early season form. The Demon Tweaks livered 997 had crossed the finish line of the opening race in Norfolk in first place, but officials decided that during the opening lap skirmishes, the No.33 car had passed under yellow flags, and demoted them to seventh. Then in the second event, an innocuous contact with the Oman Air Porsche, punctured a radiator, sending Minshaw and Keen into retirement.
The action at Brands Hatch kicks off this Saturday, with a brace of one-hour practice sessions and 30 minutes of qualifying, to decide the order for the start of the two-hour race around the Grand Prix layout on Sunday.
Source : British GT