Following an incident-packed outing at Snetterton, TF Sport will be looking to flex its “mussels” in the Avon Tyres British GT Championship’s flyaway at Belgium’s legendary and evocative Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (11-12 July).
Set in the verdant Ardennes forest in the Belgian province of Liege, Spa-Francorchamps remains one of world motorsport’s sternest challenges.
Characterised by an intoxicating combination of white-knuckle turns, including Eau Rouge – the steep left-right-left sequence with a blind summit – the double-apexed Pouhon and the flat-out Blanchimont, the track is a favourite for drivers and fans alike, and the region’s erratic climate only increases the peril.
Two DNFs in three races on the Silverstone Grand Prix and Snetterton circuits have decelerated Paul Bailey and Andy Schulz’s progress, although a productive day of testing has gone some way to negating the lost mileage with the GT3-spec Horsepower Racing Aston Martin V12 Vantage.
With no prior experience of the technically challenging Spa circuit and a lot of variables to consider, TF Sport and its drivers are managing expectations for the thriving British GT Championship’s Continental road trip, but has designs on top ten finishes in the headlining GT3 division.
The Tom Ferrier-led TF Sport squad was a perpetual podium finisher in the GT4 class until a baffling engine glitch thwarted its victory charge at Norfolk’s Snetterton circuit three weeks ago (21-22 June).
Against all the odds and on a less than favourable track for the Aston Martin V8 Vantage, Andrew Jarman and Devon Modell marched towards the pointy end of the leaderboard and looked set to tighten their grip on the top of the GT4 standings by taking yet another race win, when the engine shut down and cost them chunks of time, as well as the championship lead.
Contrary to its form, TF Sport has been unable to test and experiment with setups to the same degree as its chief rivals, although testing at Snetterton yielded great results for the Redhill-based outfit’s GT4 arm.
Maidstone’s Modell concentrated on fettling the car’s chassis during a full, uninterrupted day of running on the 2.99mile Norfolk circuit and believes, with the help of Aston Martin Racing, TF Sport has moved on in leaps and bounds.
“The team and I tested at Snetterton for a few days after the last event and was able to learn a lot about the car, making a few changes that made it feel a lot more comfortable to drive. We have to wait until we’re at Spa-Francorchamps to see if the changes are positive, though.
“Having never raced at Spa before, I did some simulator work on Monday to learn the layout so it’s not completely unfamiliar. It was a great learning experience, but no matter how real it may feel, it is not real. It’s a bit disorientating, you don’t feel the undulations, the car snap out underneath you or how the car will react in changing conditions, but the circuit itself looks great. There are lots of quick, challenging corners and I’m excited about racing there.
Modell continued: “The aim for the weekend is finish with two podiums. We narrowly missed out on them at Snetterton, so we need to get back up there and hopefully reclaim the championship lead.”
Jarman said: “Spa is probably my favourite track and I had a good amount of success there last year, winning one race and finishing on the podium in the other two in mixed conditions that should be replicated this weekend. I think we’ve found some improvements on the car and hopefully solved that reliability issues that cost us two race wins, as Devon (Modell) continued on a development route that we started down in Sunday warm-up at Snetterton. The car should be strong on Spa’s long straights and fast, sweeping corners and, because it takes a little while to learn the circuit’s characteristics and the optimal line in both wet and dry conditions, I should have the jump on some of my competitors.”
TF Sport Director, Tom Ferrier, said: “Other than Snetterton, Devon (Modell) and Andrew (Jarman) have stood on the podium in every race and are second in the championship, which is fantastic. However, we’re here to win and will be looking to reclaim the top of the championship at Spa. Devon benefited from simulator work this week and is looking strong, while Andrew raced there last year in the Aston Martin GT4 Challenge and is rightly confident heading into the weekend.
“In GT3, I would like to see Paul (Bailey) and Andy (Schulz) finish both races with no damage and build confidence, as that is undoubtedly the most important factor following two DNFs at Silverstone and Snetterton. If they were to finish inside the top ten that would be a bonus having come close at Oulton Park and Rockingham, but in motor racing you never know what’s going to happen.”
For more on TF Sport, visit the official www.tfsport.co.uk website, ‘like’ the team’sFacebook page of follow @OfficialTFSport on Twitter.