Stanaway joins TF Sport at ELMS finale
Monday, September 21, 2015
Factory Aston Martin Racing (AMR) driver and GP2 race winner, Richie Stanaway, will be welcomed to the TF Sport stable when the team escalates its GT racing programme with an entry in the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) at Circuito do Estoril (17-18 October).
TF Sport – an official AMR Partner Team – has thrived in many of the most competitive GT racing categories the UK and Europe have to offer since it was founded in 2014.
The Tom Ferrier-led outfit from Redhill in Surrey has been primarily focused on full-time assaults on the Avon Tyres British GT Championship and GT Cup, but has made a splash during sporadic outings in other high profile championships, such as the Blancpain Endurance Series, International GT Open and Dutch Supercar Challenge.
A victorious end to the 2015 British GT season has buoyed the team as it looks forward to extending its reach further and welcoming yet another talented and high-calibre driver to the fold.
As in the most recent round of the International GT Open at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Turkish racer, Salih Yoluc, will be partnered with Euan Hankey, although Stanaway will join the teammates for the highly anticipated ELMS finale in Estoril, where they will vie for top honours in the super-competitive GTC class.
Stanaway, aged 23 from New Zealand, is an Aston Martin Racing factory driver in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and a competitor in the Formula 1-supporting GP2 Series, and TF Sport Director, Ferrier, believes it’s testament to his team’s professionalism and growing stature that it is able to attract such a talent.
"We are pleased to welcome Richie (Stanaway) to the team," said Ferrier. "He is obviously a very fast and experienced driver and I think with him added to the line-up alongside Euan (Hankey) and Salih (Yoluc) we could have a very good chance of a result. We are thrilled to be joining the European Le Mans Series grid!"
Stanaway added: “I feel the Aston Martin V12 Vantage should be pretty potent at Circuito do Estoril, as it’s quite a technical track that requires good handling. I race a GTE-spec V8 Vantage in the FIA World Endurance Championship and there are only subtle differences between that and the the GTC car I’ll be driving in Portugal. I conducted a GP3 test at Estoril earlier this year so I have had time to bed in to the circuit, but I’m yet to compete in a European Le Mans Series (ELMS) race and I’m quite looking forward to seeing what it’s all about.”
Source material - TF Sport
Photo credits - Aston Martin Racing / GT Open
