TF Sport looking to extend lead at Snettertons double header

TF Sport still retains a slender lead in the Pirelli British GT Championship and it feels podium finishes are necessary at this critical juncture, entering the penultimate round of the season on the Snetterton ‘300’ circuit (6-7 August).

The official Aston Martin Racing Partner Team has possessed winning form both at home and abroad since the latter stages of 2015 and it has led both the British GT Drivers’ and Teams’ standings all season long with Derek Johnston and Jonny Adam.

However, TF Sport hit a few bumps in the road at Silverstone and Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps where Mark Farmer and Jon Barnes opened their race wins account, so an incident-free weekend and a return to the winners’ rostrum for both cars is needed to secure the initiative going into the grand finale at Donington Park in September.

TF Sport took a brace of podiums away from the British GT Championship’s visit to Snetterton in 2015 and a recent in-season test proved particularly effective for acquiring a potent setup and restoring Johnston’s self-belief following his and Adam’s Silverstone and Spa setbacks.

However, Johnston has previous form at Snetterton and his biggest claim to fame is defeating Red Bull Racing Formula 1 star, Daniel Ricciardo, in the contest to become the inaugural winner of the Rolex 24 at Daytona Driver Challenge in 2009.

In addition to wrapping up the Radical Series at Snetterton, Johnston turned in a higher average score than 97 other contestants in four British championships to capture the top prize – a funded seat in a Daytona Prototype in the 2010 Rolex 24 at Daytona.

“The recent test at Snetterton was fantastic,” said Johnston. “My quickest lap time was some 3.3s faster than my best from last year in the same car, which is phenomenal. My first flying lap was the same pace as in 2015 and I just found more and more speed with advice and tuition from Jonny (Adam). I’ve had a lot of success at Snetterton in the past – most notably in the Rolex 24 at Daytona Challenge – and I’ve always been confident. It was always going to come down to a showdown at Donington, but we’re going to win there anyway and we just have to reach the podium and preserve our advantage in the standings this weekend.”

Ten teams are still mathematically in the title hunt with two rounds and three races remaining. In the Drivers’ standings, Johnston and Adam hold a slender 8.5-point lead and the #11 TF Sport entry of Farmer and Barnes is 26.5 points back in fifth, while TF Sport has a 6.5-point buffer over Barwell Motorsport in the fight for the Teams’ championship.

TF Sport Director, Tom Ferrier, said: “I think we need to be on the podium at the very least, as we need to go to Donington Park still leading the Teams’ and Drivers’ Championships to give us the best chance of wrapping up the titles at the end of the year. A couple of double podiums would be absolutely ideal, but it’s never that easy and, while Mark (Farmer) and Jon (Barnes) could be right in among it with another strong weekend, they carry a ten-second success penalty from their win at Spa.

“We need a larger lead than we have now and we’re generally confident because we know we’ve been capable of winning every race in 2016, we achieved pole position and a double podium at Snetterton in 2015 and we go into this weekend off the back of a very positive test with Derek (Johnston), Jonny (Adam) and Jon. Let’s see how it pans out!”

Source material - TF Sport