British driving duo Adam Wilcox and Phil Burton will campaign an Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 in the 2013 Avon Tyres British GT Championship finale at Donington Park next weekend, opening up a potential opportunity for the pair to compete in Britain’s top GT series next season with the British marque.
The news is a sea change for Burton and Wilcox, the pair have been fierce Ferrari fans since arriving in the series over ten years ago. Infact, the pair haven’t ever raced anything but a Ferrari in British GT. Having progressed through the various incarnations of GT Ferrari since 2004, the fearsome F360, the matte black Ferrari 430 Scuderia, and a one-time outing in the Mtech Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 at Silverstone this year.
For Aston Martin it’s a huge success, last season it had two V12 Vantage GT3s on the grid at the end of the season (Beechdean-AMR, Cyber Racing), twelve months later it will have four; Beechdean-AMR, PGF Kinfaun-AMR, Barwell Motorsport and now Predator CCTV-AMR.
It’s been an interesting year for Wilcox. After a tricky 2012 season in the unreliable Ferrari 430 Scuderia with longtime co-driver Burton, Wilcox was left without a good opportunity for a top-line drive and took a backseat, assisting the Blendini / PE Group team get up to speed with British GT as their Team Manager. This role was never going to suit the 37 year-old from Lichfield, as it was obvious he felt he should be on track, not on the pit wall.
“I’m really looking forward to the race weekend,” said Wilcox on Friday. “We tested the Aston a few weeks ago to see if Phil liked it and would want to do the Donington race in a different marque of car. It was clear straight away that the Aston is a fantastic car, very well balanced and relatively easy to drive, we both got straight into it. Aston Martin Racing were absolutely superb in getting the car setup to our requirements and we’re really up for Donington.
Burton, 60, began in British GT in 2004 with a one-off race with Ian Flux, this was the same year that Wilcox, fresh from three years in Japanese GT, secured the British GTC title. The pair linked up and have become the model for the Pro-Am format that is British GT’s sporting ethos.
The Liverpudlian, who retired at the end of last season, got the racing bug again earlier in the year and is modest about his expectations for the Donington race having effectively sat out the 2013 season.
“Having been away from racing this year, contending with a raging V12 6-litre Aston Martin will not be easy on race day, but we hope to be competitive and will definitely be out there to drive for a good finish.
“I’m really looking forward to returning to British GT for the final round at Donington. The Aston Martin GT3 is obviously very different to the Predator Ferrari Scuderia GT3 that we have driven in recent years; we’ve tested the Aston a few times and it immediately felt quick. The Aston Martin Racing team were brilliant, helping us set the car up perfectly for the fast flowing Donington circuit which allowed Adam and I to get to grips with the handling of the Vantage.”
The Avon Tyres British GT Championship arrives at Leicestershire’s Donington Park GP circuit for the final round of the 2013 season next weekend. Two 60-minute free practice sessions start the weekend (09:35 and 11:40 BST) before qualifying begins at 15:45 BST later on Saturday afternoon. A ten-minute warm-up first thing on Sunday will give drivers an opportunity to shake down their cars before the main race, a two-hour winner-takes-all thriller starting at 13:15.