The Scuderia Vittoria-led Horsepower Racing team is out to preserve its Britcar MSA British Endurance Championship (BEC) lead when the 2013 season resumes on the legendary Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit (27-28 July).
The momentum is on the team’s side after its drivers, Paul Bailey and Andy Schulz, took their potent Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 to two consecutive race wins at Silverstone and Rockingham.
However, the London-based Horsepower Racing outfit will face a far greater challenge on home soil at Brands Hatch. A bumper grid of GT cars, piloted by a high calibre field of drivers are set to take to the world-renowned circuit for what will surely be the most competitive race of the 2013 Britcar season to date.
The Bailey-Schulz driver combination will take on a healthy invitational entry that includes leading contenders from the British Touring Car and GT championships. And while the team-mates are quietly confident, they have vowed to take a more considered approach so as not to jeopardise their hard-earned championship lead.
“With a full grid of cars, including some serious competition in the invitational class, we’re facing our toughest race by a big measure,” said Bailey. “I’m really looking forward to it because we should go really well, although it’ll be a fine balancing act between aggression and taking a more tactical approach.
“Our primary objective will be to take the maximum points away from the weekend and it isn’t going to have an impact on our championship position if someone from the invitational class beats us. We have to focus on beating our main title rivals. The second aim will be to win the race – we don’t want to overstretch and throw the car off the track!”
Shulz added: “This is going to be a fun and interesting weekend. I’m in no doubt that we’ll be competitive and it’ll be nice to have a fuller grid of cars. All we have to do is focus on being quick, maintaining our pace and getting the strategy right to maximise the points.
“Brands Hatch is one of my favourite circuits! It’s brilliant, especially once you get into a rhythm, but it’s also a challenge. I would like to push for the win so we have the edge in the standings and be in good shape for the rest of the season, but we may have to think carefully about what we realistically need to achieve.”
Scuderia Vittoria Team Manager, Tom Ferrier, said: “It should be a very competitive weekend at Brands Hatch and, while it’ll be difficult not to be lured into winning the race outright, we have to be sensible and just strive for as many points as we can get.
“We learn more about the Aston Martin every time we go out. We haven’t made any radical changes since the last round, but we should see another improvement. The race itself will be hard work, as there will be more traffic to deal with and mixed weather conditions could potentially throw another variable into the mix. Whatever happens, it’ll be an enthralling race!”
Britcar MSA British Endurance Championship qualifying will take place from 12.25 on Saturday (27 July), with the three-hour endurance race rounding off the weekend from 15.25 on Sunday (28 July).
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