One of Ireland’s leading professional sportscar drivers, Matt Griffin, is kicking off 2012 with two Middle Eastern endurance races which promise to deliver the perfect start to his racing season.
Driving for AF Corse, the championship-winning Italian GT team, the Northamptonshire-based GT3 specialist will be competing in a Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 in the 24H Dubai from 12-14th January and the Gulf 12 Hours at Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi on 20th January.
Following on from an extremely busy and productive 2011 in the FIA GT3 Championship, Blancpain Endurance Series and British GT Championship, the Irishman has barely had time to draw breath over the winter period before starting his attack on the 2012 season. He will be drawing upon the many and varied experiences of last year, the highlights of which were an excellent third place in the Pro-Am class at the Spa 24 Hours and a strong result at the Vallelunga 6 Hours in November (2nd in class), to seek out his first victory of the new year.
A stalwart of the AF Corse team, Matt’s speed and reliability, together with a blend of experience, enthusiasm and a heavy technical involvement in the development of the Ferrari GT3 car, make him a popular team mate. He will be competing at the ultra-modern 5.39km Dubai Autodrome track with his Spa team mates, Jack Gerber of South Africa, Niki Cadei and Marco Cioci of Italy. The track is a favourite of drivers as it offers a combination of high-speed straights and technical corners which, combined with the size of the entry-list, makes it a challenging prospect for all competitors.
Although a relatively new event, the 24 Hours of Dubai has grown considerably in stature over the past few years. The timing of the Abu Dhabi race, one week later, has been designed to attract a strong international line up. Matt will be moving on with the AF Corse team to compete with Piergiuseppe Perazzini and Marco Cioci in the 12-hour race.
Griffin can’t contain his enthusiasm for the two forthcoming endurance events: “I’ve done Dubai twice before but without much success, unfortunately, and I’m keen to change that. In 2008 I was in a Team RPM Porsche and we had clutch failure during the night which put us out of the running, and then last year I was due to drive with Rob Kaufmann, Michael Waltrip and Rui Aguas but we had a engine issue in warm up so had to retire before the race. Needless to say, I am hoping for a better run this year!
“I’m really looking forward to Abu Dhabi,” he continued, “as the Yas Marina circuit looks fantastic. I think we will go there with a very realistic chance to win, and AF Corse is just as hungry for these endurance victories as I and all my team mates are. Racing a Ferrari, January in the sunshine…a win would top that off perfectly!”
Source : Matt Griffin