The Scuderia Vittoria-led Horsepower Racing team had a highly positive exploratory outing in the Avon Tyres British GT Championship, while also giving the first ever McLaren MP4-12C Can-Am Edition its worldwide competitive debut in the supporting Dutch Supercar Challenge at Circuit Park Zandvoort (7-8 September).
The 4.3km former F1 Grand Prix venue, embedded in the sand dunes of The Netherlands’ North Sea coast, played host to latest instalment of the 2013 British GT season last weekend.
Horsepower Racing – a regular race winner in the Britcar MSA British Endurance Championship – was the sole GTC entrant in the British GT field and duly took its Ferrari 458 Challenge to a brace of class victories.
The chief aim for the London-based team was to assess its options for the 2014 season and a highly encouraging and enjoyable British GT debut for the Paul Bailey-Andy Schulz driver pairing really sparked the imagination.
In addition, the Scuderia Vittoria-led outfit entered its brand new McLaren MP4-12C Can-Am Edition in the supporting Dutch Supercar Challenge.
Designed to pay homage to the success of Bruce McLaren and Denny Hulme in the Can-Am Series during the 1960s, the GT3-derived MP4-12C Can-Am boasts an uprated 3.8-litre V8 that produces an extra 30bhp and aerodynamic tweaks that increase downforce by 30 per cent.
With chassis #001 in its possession, Horsepower Racing had the honour of giving the car its maiden competitive run. Storming drives by both Bailey and Schulz, combined with swift work from the Scuderia Vittoria pit-crew, resulted in highly pleasing fifth and third place finishes.
“The idea for the whole weekend was to determine which championships we will compete in during 2014 and the two at the top of the list were the British GT Championship and the Dutch Supercar Challenge,” said an enthused Bailey. “We didn’t want to jump in at the deep end and running in the GTC class was the perfect compromise – we quickly realised how phenomenal the British GT Championship is, especially in terms of its organisation.
“We really liked the Dutch Supercar Challenge too. It was the first time a McLaren MP4-12C Can-Am has ever been raced and to achieve third place was incredible; we would have finished second with another couple of laps.”
Schulz, added: “Everything turned out really well. As long as we finished the two British GT races, we won. That was obviously quite straightforward and it was nice to not be under any pressure to perform. I think both Paul (Bailey) and I came away with very positive views of the championship.
“The weekend was also an opportunity to shake down the McLaren and, while it’s quite a complex car, we completed the running with a reasonable setup. We went with a very relaxed attitude, although we still tried to be competitive. Therefore, it was really satisfying to conclude the weekend on the third step of the podium. It’s a real testament to the team’s efforts, as the guys worked faultless throughout!”
Scuderia Vittoria Team Manager, Tom Ferrier, concluded: “To come away from Zandvoort with three trophies is sensational. It was really a taster weekend for Paul (Bailey) and Andy (Schulz) and they were impressed by the championships. I hope it has inspired Paul to do a bit more next year.
“It wasn’t easy for them to do back-to-back sessions and switch between the Ferrari and the McLaren, which have contrasting characteristics. The pair of them drove superbly and the team performed perfectly too. It was lovely to be back in the British GT paddock among old friends and I hope Scuderia Vittoria will return soon.”
Horsepower Racing will be back in action in the Britcar 1000k of Silverstone (21-22 September), where it hopes to take its potent Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 to another race victory.
For more information on Scuderia Vittoria’s racing activities, please ‘like’ the team’s Facebook page or follow @ScudVittoria on Twitter.