TF Sport in Dutch SuperCar Action

Tom Ferrier’s TF Sport team has experienced a weekend of ups and downs during its return to the Dutch Supercar Challenge at TT Circuit Assen in The Netherlands (2-3 August).

The 2.83mile circuit was one neither Paul Bailey nor Andy Sculz had any previous experience of and meant the entire weekend would be a learning curve for the Aston Martin Racing Partner team.

Friday practice saw each driver given a short 20-minute run to get a feel for the long straights, fast corners and rapid changes of direction on what is traditionally a motorbike-centric track.

Unfortunately for Bailey, his practice session was hindered by a red flag, and the Rutland-based driver was only able to put in five laps in his Horsepower Racing-liveried Aston Martin V12 Vantage.

Come qualifying, the pair were able to set the sixth fastest time to start on the third row for the first race of the weekend, which turned out to be a mixed bag for the Redhill, Surrey based team.

After knocking 2.5s off their lap times from qualifying, the pair looked on course to finish narrowly outside of the podium positions in fourth.

Regrettably, confusion surrounding the correct pit lane timing lines saw the team given a drive-through penalty and dropped it back to sixth.  

For the final race of the weekend, Bailey and Schulz were hopeful of putting the pace from Saturday’s race together with their newly-acquired track knowledge and end the weekend on a high.

Unfortunately, an overly enthusiastic Radical driver unexpectedly made contact with the rear of the TF Sport-prepared Aston Martin with Bailey behind the wheel, causing terminal damage to the car’s suspension..

Despite all the drama, the team chose to remain positive and upbeat about its inaugural visit to TT Circuit Assen and Bailey said: “I made the decision to race there as I haven’t been to the track before. Even though it is renowned as a motorbike circuit, I thought this was a fantastic opportunity to give it a go. The team was really supportive and I had great time, trying hard to get podium. Unfortunately in the second race, the contact with the Radical occurred; I had checked my mirrors and was on the apex of the corner when he hit me from behind. We thought we could continue, but soon realised it wasn’t possible and, not wanting to risk losing a wheel on track and causing an accident, called it a day. Regardless, it was an enjoyable weekend and I am looking forward to having a good, clean scrap in my next race.”

TF Sport Director, Tom Ferrier, said: “Firstly, the weekend was great, with 30,000 spectators creating a really good atmosphere. It was nice to race in front of that many fans, but it was always going to be a very hard weekend with so little testing. To come away with a sixth in race one, which should have been a fourth, had it not been for a bit of confusion over the pit timing lines, was great. The second race was more difficult, as contact from another car dropped us back and then more contact eventually put us out of the race. The driving from some competitors was a little enthusiastic, to say the least. Once again, the team and the Aston Martin V12 Vantage were on great form and we are all really excited to go to Brands Hatch Grand Prix, where both drivers are strong.”

TF Sport