A venue discretely nestled within the midst of the West Sussex countryside was our destination earlier this week to talk about all things motor racing with a team that has already seen countless National and European successes since its creation little over five years ago.

If it hadn't have been for the presence of three gleaming white transporter lorries out in the front yard, it would have been very easy for us to simply drive straight past the new light industrial units that now form the new headquarters for Tom Ferrier's TF Sport motor racing empire.


Having acquired these new premises at the end of last year, Ferrier soon added over our coffee that he was still looking forward to getting his entire stock and race cars and equipment into his new home for the first time as two race cars and two sets of equipment were still out and about on their world travels - one (due back imminently) was the AMR Vantage V12 GT3 entered into the Asian Le Mans Series for the first time with the Red River team and of course the other being the V8 Vantage GTE World Endurance Championship entry raced by the team the only five days before at Sebring.


Within the immaculate workshop facility stood both the last and the latest line of racing machinery to come out of the Aston Martin Racing's Prodrive facility with two examples of the brand new 2019 V8 turbo charged Vantage GT3 in varying states of preparedness for the racing season ahead as well as two (both somewhat works in progress) examples of its predecessor - the multiple Championship winning V12 Vantage GT3 with which TF Sport have made their name.

Nearest to the up and over door, and the very latest car to enter the TF family with the first 2019 V8 Vantage GT4 to be shipped out of the Prodrive factory to the team ready for the opening round of the British GT Championship at Oulton Park in about a months time. With two ordered pre-season, Ferrier was hopeful that their second GT4 would arrive within the next two weeks.


Still relatively bleary eyed from their near two week racing adventure in Florida with both the preceding test and then the 1000miles of Sebring race itself a week later, Ferrier first joked about just how high the calorific overload of trackside dining in the States can be before going on talk about how the race actually went for them. Acknowledging a continued lack of pace within their V8 Vantage GTE due to an unaltered BoP (a problem also being shared by the AMR factory supported #98 car) he went on to explain just how well he thought their race strategy was going until Jonny Adam became a magnet for multiple other race cars to make contact with their race car before ultimately their rear defuser broke and effectively ended any chance of a favourable finish as the rains began to fall and the race ended behind the Safety Car.

With the Championship now moving back towards Europe for both Spa and the season finale at Le Mans in June, Ferrier was still 'hopeful' that the performance imbalance between the AMR and certainly the Porsche's would be addressed by the governing bodies in time to make the the GTE Am Championship again a viable possibility for their long term customer Salih Yoluc as the available points still made that a possibility.


Taking the conversation towards next years WEC, he confirmed that nothing had yet been confirmed with any potential customer for the 2019/20 season and with the entry window for next season (that now starts in September) still some months away it would be unlikely for anything to be confirmed for some time to come.

With all the new race cars presently in the workshop all being prepared for the teams final pre British GT season test at Silverstone at the start of April, Ferrier confirmed the degree of expansion of running a double workload than previous years would have with on the team. Operating with less than half a dozen employees over the winter and away from the racetrack, last year saw them run with about 14 mechanic and engineers at the racetrack but for 2019 that number would rise to about 24 personnel to cover their four cars. The additional numbers would be made up from hired, seasonal labour and expertise from AMR and other racing partners.


The decision to acquire a third Vantage GT3 chassis for the Oman Racing by TF Sport's Blancpain GT Series season was a logistical one that would allow the team to drop off and collect the relevant race cars 'on the way through' when the British GT and Blancpain GT Series featured back to back race weekends but also meaning that a car wouldn't have to be serviced/maintained/repaired in a race track garage without proper facilities and time being available.

Other information on the teams Blancpain GT Series plans can be found HERE.

Due to the workload currently being faced at the Prodrive factory in building and turning out large multiples of their new Vantage GT3 and GT4 race cars in time for the 2019 season, the teams pre season testing for British GT has not necessarily been at where Ferrier would have liked but the provision by the factory of their development GT4 car has at least allowed his four new young guns to become acquainted with the car. He still expects all four drivers to be testing at Silverstone from within the single GT4 presently available to him before his second car arrives just in time for the start of the season.

It was certainly interesting to hear of his views about the unrestricted pre and mid season testing within the British GT teams, how much these tests were costing their paying drivers and the relevance of having an effectively unproductive (cost versus time on track) Media Day so early to the start of the season. The reasons for the team missing this years Championship's Media Day was a simple one of testing at the venue of the first race over the venue of a mid season race. He also commented on the sensibility of having the first race of the season on the narrowest circuit of the year with half a grid full of inexperienced GT racers when the weather was in theory at its worst!


Asking about how he would fare with the required level of driver coaching and development within his team for his younger drivers, he did confirm that all had been accepted into the latest AMR Academy process with the factory with experienced driving personnel such as Charlie Eastwood and Andrew Watson also being on hand during the season to help all those within the paddock and registered with that programme. The team will also have the knowledge and experience of both Jonny Adam and Nicki Thiim to tap into as Adam pairs up with Graham Davidson for the first time and the Dane again supports Mark Farmer aboard his own new Vantage GT3.

Not being the first team manager to tell us this before but there is could still be a possibility of the GT4 driver pairings already stated by the team changing again before the start of the season he seeks a balance between the characteristics of the four drivers and their sponsors that would give each an equal opportunity within the Championship as well as aesthetic liveries upon their cars.


In terms of liveries for the British GT, all he would say was that blue would continue to be the base colour of choice for the team as well as the continued placement of hexagonal shapes around the body of the GT3's. The GT4's would run another base colour along with with their drivers own and championship's sponsorship logos.

For the two V12 Vantages also in the workshop, it was still very much a 'work in progress' for both of them as the white and red #17 car of Derek Johnston was still in the progress of being rebuilt for possibly something a little different a little later in the year whilst the blue, former Mark Farmer car (written off in his start line accident at Spa last year) would be turned into a rolling pit stop training device for the team - once they find a little time to make the necessary adjustments!


For the team, the new workshop gives them many increased facilities over the primitive ones of their former base - more workshop space (up to 7 race cars), a separate 'clean' room for those more complicated repairs, a meeting room, large ledges to collect and display their trophies and finally (and most importantly to Tom) - heating!!!

Finally, what Ferrier really wants to replicate in 2019 are the reasons why three letters were sent to the team and now take pride of place upon the wall of the meeting room, each from the BRDC, David Richards of Prodrive and Dr Andy Palmer of Aston Martin Lagonda - all of whom personally wrote to him congratulating him and his team on their performances, professionalism, taking the brand forward in the racing area as well as by winning notable Championships. That kind of recognition always goes a long way in any working environment.


2019 is now just a few weeks away and we can't wait!

Other photo credits - Andrew Lofthouse

Unfortunately for us all, TF Sport will not be attending the British GT Championship Media Day at Donington Park today as they will be 'just up the road' doing what they feel they need to be doing up there!

Speaking with Team Principle Tom Ferrier at Snetterton the other week, the delay in receiving their full allocation of the new generation of Aston Martin Racing cars means that they are otherwise behind with their pre-season testing schedule and would prefer to use an available testing date at the Oulton Park circuit (home of the opening round of the Championship) to get their drivers and engineers more up to speed with their new machinery as the Championship's Media Day would otherwise offer them.


Lots of changes of course for TF Sport team within the British GT Championship for 2019 - all except for the return of Gentleman driver Mark Farmer and his 'crazy side kick', AMR factory driver Nicki Thiim. Like previous years, the team returns to the Championship with two GT3 entries for both Farmer and Thiim as well as for new team members Graham Davidson and reigning British GT GT3 Champion co driver Jonny Adam.

Joining these four drivers however will be four young guns, all new to the team and all looking to develop their GT racing careers aboard two new examples of the AMR V8 Vantage GT4 that the tea will be entering into the Championship this year.  Whilst TF Sport already have both Vantage GT3 platforms they still only have one Vantage GT4 car (which arrived last week) with the second not due to arrive in time for todays test (be that at either at Donington or Oulton Park).


Ever since Aston Martin Racing opened their order books for their new Vantage race car in both GT3 and GT4 form last year, they have been inundated with orders to an extent of having over 25 confirmed orders for the GT3 and over 40 confirmed orders for the GT4 from teams due to compete in championships all over the world.

The Prodrive factory is presently continuing with their herculean effort in having all race cars available to those who need them in time for the start of their respective 2019 seasons and being a team that can turn around a brand new Vantage GTE from scratch in only a few days - succeed they will!


Fortunately for us, we met up with the team as they tested at Snetterton the other week where we found Adam/Davidson were getting in some significant mileage together with the GT3 car that they will actually compete in and where Farmers new GT3 car was delivered to the team ready in time for him to test for the first time at Paul Ricard. Young guns Tom Canning/Rory Collingbourne and Patrick Kibble/Josh Price respectively were also getting in their first significant runs with the car (albeit the development car) having only had a few laps in the car each at the AMR appraisal day at Oulton Park late last year.



Missing the event entirely will be Nick Thiim who is presently in Florida preparing himself for the World Endurance Championship's Sebring Test day later this week ahead of the 1000Km's of Sebring in the factory Vantage GTE a week later.

Whilst it will be our loss I not seeing these guys at Donington today , the work being undertaken by the team elsewhere will hopefully leave them all in a better position in the preparation stakes once the green flag falls at the opening round at Oulton Park in April. Testing at Donington can wait for a later date.


At the time of writing this piece, the team have yet to confirm any livery details for any of its four new cars so that is something at least to look forward to at Oulton Park in April.

It looks like this unseasonable weather has brought race cars out in force today as all scramble to get in sufficient track times before their respective seasons start in just a couple of months time.

At Snetterton (where we decided to base ourselves for this mornings track sessions) we had an example of Aston Martin Racings latest V8 Vantage GT3 and GT4 to enjoy from the TF Sport team. The white GT3 car was the one of their own, the one that they had competed at the Gulf 12Hrs with having only just received it back from Oman after its extensive PR tour for their driver Ahmad Al Harthy. The GT4 was however the dark blue test and development car from the Prodrive factory as the team still awaited delivery of their two Vantage GT4's.


Indeed, this test and others taking place at Silverstone, suffered the same 'victim of their own success' fate as other AMR GT4 runners either had to either miss the track availability or make do with another type of chassis as the first UK customer GT4 has still yet to leave the factory.  We understood from team boss Tom Ferrier, that he expected delivery of the teams second GT3 (Mark Farmers car) during this week although he offered no firm dates for the GT4's.


Whilst we picked up from social media that all the AMR factory drivers were busy with team building activities at the factory complex in Banbury ahead of the resumption of World Endurance Championship duties next month at Sebring, TF Sport GT3 testing duties were left to fellow team WEC driver Charlie Eastwood to perform today although we understand that Jonny Adam will take over from tomorrow when he is joined by new race partner Graham Davidson. In the available GT4 car, three out of the teams four new GT4 runners were present with Patrick Kibble and Josh Price having what can only be described as their first significant track running abroad their chosen platform that they will compete in the British GT Championship in for the first time in April.


Tom Canning was also present but wasn't seen in the car but of course he already has significant track time aboard the AMR GT4 having competed in it at the Gulf 12hrs late last year. With the team being at the Norfolk circuit for the next three days, we expect the driver cycle to alternate accordingly. Only  Rory Collingbourne was left 'unaccounted' for today!

With early testing being what it is, there was nothing much to report other than nervous looking young faces taking taking control of Aston Martin Racing's latest GT4 creation in cyclic fashion - the same could be said for others at the circuit testing other platforms for other race series today.


As we have said, it later transpired that both Beechdean and Optimum were at Silverstone today with Andrew Howard aboard and alone in his Vantage GT3 whilst Connor O'Brien had to make do with a Ginetta GT4 with no other 2019 specification Vantage GT4 being available and after a previous attempt for him to run the Vantage GT4 earlier this month at Snetterton fell through at the last moment.


Still early days yet with plenty of test mileage yet to come for all British GT contenders in whatever platform/team they are running with. Once TF Sport complete this three dat test then they will be off aboard for more testing for another series!!

It appears that there is presently no end to the good news that is coming out of the Aston Martin Racing stable with Tom Ferrier's TF Sport today announcing a fresh quartet of young Silver ranked drivers wanting to take the step up into GT racing in the British GT Championship.

With a brand new turbo charged car, a top flight team and access into the AMR Young Driver Academy all on offer seems too good an opportunity for drivers Tom Canning, Rory Collingbourne, Patrick Kibble and Josh Price as they all step up to racing two Vantage GT4 cars that the Surrey based team will now present to the grid at Oulton Park in April.


All except Canning step over to the SRO sanctioned championship from the BTCC TOCA package with Collingbourne having his last race experience in the Porsche Carrera Cup, Price with BMR's Subaru Academy team and Kibble in the Ginetta Juniors Championship.

“We need to hit the ground running on our return to GT4 competition this year,” said TF Sport Director Tom Ferrier. “We have a clear objective and that is to win races and be in the position to challenge for the title with both cars. We’re delighted to have these four young drivers on board with TF Sport for the 2019 season.”