FOR PENULTIMATE WEEKEND OF GT5 SEASON
Matt Chapman, one of the standout performers thus far during his maiden season in the Ginetta GT5 Challenge, says he cannot wait for the penultimate event of the campaign to get underway later this week at legendary Formula One venue Spa-Francorchamps.
Marking the 16-year-old’s first ever visit to the world-famous Belgian track, the sixth race meeting of the season – which takes place on Friday, 8th July, and Saturday, 9th July – will provide, by far, his greatest challenge yet as the GT5 contingent take to Spa’s wonderfully unique 4.3-mile circuit.
Having spent the bulk of his debut season in the GT5 Challenge inside the championship top two, last time out at Croft in North Yorkshire the Total Control Racing driver slipped to fourth in the standings after a frustrating, and incident-packed, weekend delivered a brace of seventh place finishes.
Prior to the Croft weekend, Matt had chalked-up a total of six podiums with the season highlight being a magnificent first win in cars during round eight at Oulton Park in late May – a superb drive from sixth on the grid translating into a five second victory.
Although budget restrictions did limit the Oxfordshire youngster’s pre-season testing, from the outset he has been the chief challenger to vastly experienced category front-runner Ollie Chadwick and Matt is hoping to be in a position to make a podium return a few days from now at Spa.
“I really can’t wait to get to Spa – it’s one of the best tracks in the world”, said Matt, “The team has got plenty of experience there, so I’m sure we’ll have a good set-up to start with, and the aim is to be as competitive as possible.
“It’s obviously a new track for me, and it’s a big departure from any of the circuits I’ve visited before, but I’m really looking forward to the challenge and pretty excited about the prospect of racing there for the first time. Hopefully the weather will be kind to us so we can get as much mileage under our belt as possible and prepare as strongly as we can.”
So far this year, the TCR driver has impressed during his maiden campaign on slick tyres – having cut his teeth in Ginetta Junior on treaded ‘track day’ rubber – and he started the season strongly in the championship-opening triple header after a problematic qualifying debut.
Gaining a remarkable 26 places in round one at Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit, Matt showed his class and tenacity by carving his way through the order into ninth place form 35th on the grid. This set him up to conclude the weekend with a maiden podium in round three.
With two more podiums during the next event at ultra-fast Thruxton, his first win came in the third race meeting of the year at Oulton Park International Circuit, where he also took another podium, and he then boosted his year’s tally to six rostrum results on home ground at Silverstone.
“It’s been a very strong first season in GT5 for us so far, I’ve been happy with our pace and results and the guys at TCR have done a fantastic job”, reflected Matt, “Croft was a big disappointment, it wasn’t the weekend we’d planned, but I’m sure we can get our championship back on track at Spa.”
Qualifying at Spa will take place at 10.00 (UK time) on Friday, 8th July, with round 14 following at 14.20 (UK time) and round 15 getting underway at 16.40 (UK time). Round 16 will take place on Saturday, 9th July, at 10.55 (UK time).
2016 Ginetta GT5 Challenge Driver Standings (after Rd13):4th Matt Chapman, 293pts
