TF Sport will be hoping to snatch the GT4 title from its rivals in the final round of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship at the historic and evocative Donington Park circuit this weekend (13-14 September).
The final round of the enthralling 2014 British GT season will be staged on the Derbyshire/Leicestershire border, where TF Sport will be hoping to claim the GT4 title ahead of its Beechdean AMR rivals.
The Redhill, Surrey-based outfit left Brands Hatch bitterly disappointed last month after a poorly managed Safety Car intervention cost it a GT4 class win and damaged its chances of taking top honours in the title race, but it is yet to throw in the towel and will take the fight to its Aston Martin rivals until the chequered flag falls on Sunday afternoon.
Having amassed five podiums this season, two of which include class victories at Oulton Park and Belgium’s world-renowned Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Devon Modell and Andrew Jarman stand 29.5 points adrift of the Beechdean pairing of Ross Wylie and Jake Giddings, and, with 37.5 points on offer for a win, the title is still within reach.
The team tested its GT4-spec Aston Martin V8 Vantage at Donington Park a few weeks ago and feels confident that it can take class honours, aware that the future of the championship lies within the Beechdean team’s hands.
“We have to win the race,” said Modell. “That is the sole aim and all that matters, and it will certainly be an interesting race, as a result. The Ginetta and Lotus cars will be very good through the corners, but it’s a circuit where we can utilise the Aston Martin’s speed and pull off a lot of overtakes, but I’m hoping we won’t need to do that and simply drive off into the distance.
“Having tested at the circuit a few weeks ago, I believe that the Aston is the best package, as it has the speed and looks after its tyres very well, which falls into our hands towards the latter half of the race. At every race this season, we’ve shown that we have a great race setup and have been able to climb to the front very quickly, but we will be hoping to qualify on this front to give us a helping hand. Overall, I’m looking forward to this weekend and can’t wait to get out there.”
Teammate Jarman added: “The pressure is off us, as we know we’ve got to go out there and win the final race of the season, which I believe we have a good chance of doing. But regardless of what happens elsewhere, it is out of our hands. The events at Brands Hatch it has made it tough for us to win the championship.
“I raced at Donington Park last year in the Aston Martin GT4 Challenge and went on to win the race despite starting from the very back of the grid due to gearbox problems. Devon and I showed great pace at the test there several weeks ago, which bodes well for us, and it’s a circuit that I like, so I’m looking to finishing the year on a high.”
TF Sport Team Principal, Tom Ferrier, said: “Its been a great year for TF Sport and to still be in the hunt for the GT4 championship is great, the drivers and the everyone involved in the team have done a brilliant job. Had the Safety Car played out differently at Brands Hatch then I think it would be very close this weekend, but as it is we have to win and that is all we can do, the rest is in the hands of Beechdean. We tested at Donington Park a few weeks ago and the guys felt very positive after it, so I would like to think we are in good shape – let’s see where we are Sunday afternoon.”
Qualifying for the Avon Tyres British GT Championship’s season two-hour season finale is scheduled to get underway at 15.50 on Saturday (13 September), followed by the headlining race at 12.55 on Sunday (14 September).
For more on TF Sport, visit the official www.tfsport.co.uk website, ‘like’ the team’s Facebook page of follow @OfficialTFSport on Twitter.