After recording its highest finish to date in the recent HTTT Paul Ricard round of the 2012 Blancpain Endurance Series, Gulf Racing UK is now turning its attention to the Spa 24 Hours towards the end of this month. To strengthen the driver line up for the twice-round-the-clock Belgian classic, the team is pleased to announce that Jamie Campbell-Walter and Andy Meyrick will be joining the regular line up of team owners, Mike Wainwright and Roald Goethe, double Le Mans Series GT champion Rob Bell and former Aston Martin Racing factory driver, Stuart Hall.
In the No.9 McLaren MP4-12C GT3, another former Aston Martin Racing driver and current historic Group C champion Andy Meyrick, 26, will be forming an all-British line up with Wainwright and Bell. The Cheshire-based driver has never driven in the Belgian 24-hour event, but has good race and test experience to draw upon of the 7 km Grand Prix track nestled in the Ardennes Forest of south-eastern Belgium.
“I really can’t wait for Spa, and am very excited about joining Gulf Racing UK for the event,” said Meyrick. “I may not have driven in the Spa 24 Hours but I’ve done a couple at Le Mans and, like any 24-hour race, it’s going to be unique challenge that’s as much about how you deal with it personally as what happens on track. It’s all about not getting drawn into anything else, focussing on your own car and team mates, and hopefully being there at the end. It’s going to be good to drive with Rob and Mike and we all got on well when we tested recently at Spa. Actually, Mike and I couldn’t ask for a better team mate in a GT car than Rob!”
Teaming up with Roald Goethe and Stuart Hall in the No.69 Gulf Oil International-liveried will be former British GT and FIA GT Champion Jamie Campbell-Walter. The London-based Scot made his debut with Roald and the team at Silverstone in June and all six drivers tested the McLaren MP4-12C GT3s at the Spa-Francorchamps track on 7th June.
The 39-year-old recognises that the Blancpain Endurance Series competition will be fierce but that it’s important for he and his team mates to run their ‘own’ race and not worry too much in the early stages about the opposition. “As you go into a 24-hour race, the main thing we’re all working towards is reliability and both the team and McLaren seem to be much improved on this since the beginning of the season. From a driver’s point of view, like in any 24-hour race, we have to not make mistakes, take minimal risks, and work towards getting a fast, comfortable car and then hopefully we’ll achieve a result. It’s great that Roald and Stuart had a solid run in dry weather at Paul Ricard as it gave them some good seat time in preparation for Spa. Having said that, the wet weather experience at Monza and Silverstone may well be useful in Belgium too!”
The team’s next race will be round four of the Blancpain Endurance Series, the Spa 24 Hours at Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium from 26th to 29th July. Gulf Racing UK will be running in the Pro class for this event as they have elected to race with three drivers per car instead of the mandated four for the Pro-Am category.
Source : Gulf Racing UK