AT HOME TRACK SILVERSTONE GPSilverstone Grand Prix Circuit hosts the latest three rounds of Ginetta GT5 Challenge action next weekend, 11th/12th June, where Oxford’s Matt Chapman is ready to try and build on the superb maiden car racing victory he achieved last Saturday at Oulton Park in Cheshire.
Relishing being back in action at his ‘home’ track, the 16-year-old Total Control Racing driver will arrive at the home of British motorsport second in the championship standings in his first season in the GT5 Challenge with a total of five podiums from the first eight races.
It’s been an excellent year up to now for Matt, with ever-improving pace across the first three race meetings, and he is one of just three drivers to have climbed onto the top step of the podium. Going into the Silverstone weekend he is justifiably aiming for more silverware.
“I’m really looking forward to being back in the car at Silverstone”, commented the TCR driver, “I’ve only tested on the GP circuit once but I’m definitely looking forward to racing there for the first time and quietly confident we should be able to have a strong weekend.
“It’s been a fantastic season so far for us and I’m still buzzing from the win at Oulton, the car was great – as it has been all year – and we showed we’ve got the pace to challenge at the front. The aim for Silverstone has to be to fight for the podium again, I’m sure we can.”
While this season is the Oxfordshire racer’s first in the GT5 Challenge, it is also his rookie campaign on slick tyres having spent his first two seasons in car racing on treaded rubber in the Ginetta Junior Championship where he cut his teeth.
With that in mind, Matt’s rapid progression in 2016 – despite a limited pre-season testing programme – has seen him emerge as the main challenger to vastly experienced Ginetta racer Ollie Chadwick in the fight for the GT5 crown.
As well as marking the halfway point of the campaign, the Silverstone race meeting is also the first of two eagerly awaited back-to-back events with the next rounds taking place at Croft Circuit in North Yorkshire on 18th/19th June – a crucial part of the season.
Silverstone qualifying for the Ginetta GT5 Challenge will take place at 11.10 on Saturday, 11th June, with the first race of the weekend getting underway at around 17.40. On Sunday, 12th June, round 10 will begin at 10.35 and round 11 will start at 16.05.
2016 Ginetta GT5 Challenge Driver Standings (after Rd8):2nd Matt Chapman, 206pts
