The SV-led Horsepower Racing team is pulling out all the stops to win the overall 2013 Britcar MSA British Endurance Championship title in the final points-scoring race of the season on the Donington Park National circuit (2 November).
The team overcame a string of trials and tribulations to take maximum points from the headlining Britcar Silverstone 1000km endurance race in September.
An engine failure curtailed its free practice running, but drivers Paul Bailey, Andy Schulz and SV Team Manager Tom Ferrier all put on a determined display to take top honours in Class 1 and an additional point for the fastest lap.
As a result, HPR reduced its deficit to chief title rival Team Parker Racing in the overall standings to just two points, with one final points-scoring race remaining at Donington Park this Saturday (2 November).
Leaving nothing to chance, the SV-led team has spent today (Tuesday 29 October) shaking down its striking Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 racer at a chilly Snetterton circuit in Norfolk, before heading to Donington Park on the Derbyshire/Leicestershire border on Thursday (31 October) for more testing.
Of course, the blackness of night and November’s typically unpredictable weather will combine to make Saturday’s two-hour endurance race an attack on the senses for the Bailey-Schulz driver pairing.
However, both feel more than prepared for the challenges they will face and remain bullish about their chances of sealing the race victory and the 2013 Britcar MSA British Endurance Championship title in the East Midlands.
“There’s plenty of pressure to perform this weekend so we’re making sure we have all the bases covered by getting in a couple of days of testing beforehand,” said Bailey. “It has been absolutely freezing at Snetterton and the low temperatures and grip levels forced us to run soft compound tyres all round. The cold will be an issue at Donington Park this weekend – keeping the tyres in the optimal temperature range will be crucial – although racing in the dark from lights-to-flag will be a whole new challenge. I’m used to starting in twilight conditions and driving into the dark!”
Schulz added: “This being the season finale, the pressure is definitely on. We’ve come a long way with the Aston Martin V12 Vantage this year, although we’re yet to run it in the dark. It’s going to be pitch black, but we know where the circuit goes and will have a day of testing on Thursday to re-familiarise ourselves with the track layout. It’s absolutely essential that we win the race and we even may need the point for the fastest lap too to overhaul Team Parker Racing in the final standings. It’s certainly exciting taking the title battle down to the wire like this!”
Ferrier, meanwhile, will return to his SV Team Manager duties this weekend and said: “This weekend is the culmination of a great deal of hard work and winning the championship would be a superb reward. I have a lot of faith in Paul, Andy and the team and, while we’re well aware that anything can happen in motorsport, I’m confident we can win at Donington Park. In fact, it’s essential we take the victory and set the fastest lap to give us the best shot of leaping back to the top of the standings. Being a night race, it poses very unique challenges and the cold temperatures may cause some issues, but I think we’re well prepared. What I can guarantee is that it’ll be a nail-biting weekend for everybody involved with Horsepower Racing!”
Britcar MSA British Endurance Championship qualifying will take place in both light and dark conditions at 11.55 and 16.50, with the two-hour endurance race getting underway at 17.30 on Saturday (2 November).
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