The world-famous circuit of Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium is the destination for the Motorbase Performance squad as round six of the British GT Championship gets underway this coming Friday and Saturday (July 8/9).
The only overseas visit on the British GT calendar; Spa is the highlight of the 9 round season for the teams and drivers and is widely considered one of the best racing tracks in the world. Set against the stunning backdrop of the Ardennes Mountains, the 4.35mile, 20 turn circuit offers drivers a unique challenge with its unpredictable and fast changing weather conditions adding an extra dimension with the ever present threat of rain.
With a packed grid of GT3 and GT4 machines cars expected to gather in Belgium, competition will be tough but the fast and flowing circuit should suit the Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 well. The Motorbase squad returns to the spectacular track in buoyant mood after completing a successful test session here yesterday (Tuesday). Both Ross Wylie and Phil Dryburgh are determined to bounce back with a strong performance in the two hour contest following a frustrating run last time out at Rockingham and Team Boss David Bartrum is confident that the duo are capable of achieving a top six finish on the challenging circuit.
“Spa is a fantastic circuit and it always delivers exciting racing;” said Bartrum. “We had a productive test on track yesterday. The Aston showed good pace and it was nice to have all of our GT drivers here together. It was a useful day for Ross and Phil to spend some time with the other drivers, particularly Jonny Adam. As much as Jonny is our competitor in the British GT, he’s also a team member and it was good to have him here to sign the car off ahead of the weekend.
“We’re expecting a really competitive race, especially with such a busy grid but our aim is to go out and be as competitive as possible and to break into the top six.”
Friday’s (8 July) action starts at 09:35 local time with the first of two free practice sessions before the afternoon’s qualifying session at 15:35 with the main two hour race scheduled for 12.35 on Saturday (9 July).
Live streaming of the race is available here with additional live timing here
Driver quotes: Ross Wylie: “Spa is the highlight for any driver in any Championship in my opinion; it’s the jewel in the crown as far as any race circuit goes. Nothing quite compares to the feeling as you go through Eau Rouge, the compression is somewhat like taking off in an aircraft. It also holds good memories for me as I won on my first ever race here in the GT4 back in 2014. I'm hoping we can build on our result from Silverstone which was a good weekend for us.”
Phil Dryburgh:“This is the race that everyone looks forward to the most. Spa is such a special circuit to race on, there’s really nowhere else quite like it. You have to have your wits about you and we’re expecting a busy race with so many cars on the grid. Rockingham was a disappointment after our great Silverstone weekend so the aim is to pick up again from there and I think if we could break into the top five or six then that would be a good result for us this weekend.”
