Newbridge Motorsport will return to Corby’s high-banked Rockingham Motor Speedway for Round 2 of the newly-inaugurated Endurance Racing Series (ERS) with Frenchman Guillaume Gruchet and his Porsche 997 GT3 Cup (11 July).
Gruchet shook off any lingering cobwebs from the winter break in the opening round of the ERS at Rockingham, setting impressive times prior to suffering a puncture during qualifying, and then emerging from high intensity battles with higher-powered machines piloted by professional drivers with a class win and a third place overall.
The experienced gentleman driver has been training meticulously over the past several months in preparation for the longer endurance races that make up his 2015 season.
With his usual ‘Iron Man’ determination, the Frenchman is contesting all five rounds of the ERS single-handedly and will be seeking to better his previous results at Rockingham, second position overall being the chief objective.
“I really enjoyed the first race and was glad to be able to go through the challenge of driving don my own for three hours and come home with a third place finish overall,” said Gruchet. “Having contested the Britcar season on my own last season, doing an hour or two behind the wheel each time, I began to feel the fatigue towards the end of the three-hour race last time out, but I pushed on and was happy with the results. There is a great field of cars in the ERS this season and hopefully that will continue to grow over the coming races.
“I really like the banking at Rockingham and how it dips down into the infield section, which is very technical. I personally have two main aims for this weekend, and they are to improve on my finishing position from last time, while also setting faster laps times. It’s a case of taking everything one step at a time and if I can finish in second position overall, that would be fantastic.”
Newbridge Motorsport Team Principal, Richard Tovey, said: “Guillaume (Gruchet) has some business commitments during the week, which means we will be heading straight into qualifying and the race on Saturday (11 July), but the car is all prepared and ready to go. As is typical, we have gone over the Porsche thoroughly to make sure it is in top shape between races. I have to give a huge amount of credit to Guillaume for contesting the race on his own last time out, as it’s a tough ask. We are going to be giving him plenty of isotonic drinks during the race to keep his energy levels up while making sure he is well hydrated. If we can maintain the performance shown last time out and also improve, that would be perfect.”
Newbridge Motorsport is excited about the prospect of welcoming new drivers to the fold as the team takes its next step on the road to Le Mans, with LMP3 seats still available and the possibility of fielding a two-car assault on the 2016 European Le Mans Series (ELMS).
Parties interested in Newbridge Motorsport’s European Le Mans Series (ELMS) campaign should contact Richard Tovey:
Phone – +44 (0) 1296 682652
Mobile – +44 (0) 7795 421611
Email – richard@newbridgemotorsport.com