The Oman Racing Team will once again be at the centre of all the action and drama as Donington Park prepares to host the 2015 Avon Tyres British GT Championship title deciding season finale this coming weekend (September 12-13).
For the fourth season in succession David Bartrum’s Motorbase-run squad heads into the final round as contenders for the overall championship, albeit with an outside shot at the title. Liam Griffin and Rory Butcher head into the 2 hour race in third place overall, just twenty points off the leaders with 37.5 points on offer at the final round. Meanwhile the Oman Racing Team still holds a strong chance of retaining the Team’s Championship title sitting just 11 points behind current leaders Barwell.
“Yet again we’re in with a shot of the Championship;” said Team Principal David Bartrum. “We won it in 2012, had a slight chance in 2013 but got taken out. We were there again until the last 20 minutes last year but ended up taking the Team’s title and here we are again in 2015 right back in the thick of it once more!
“It’s always been with different driver pairings but our record in British GT speaks for itself;” Bartrum continued. “It’s just a shame that Snetterton wasn’t the great weekend we needed it to be, it ended up being just ok and that hurt us a little in the standings for the final round.”
Ahmad Al Harthy arrives at the Leicestershire circuit topping the Silver Cup standings, as he has done all season, and with Aston Martin works driver Alex MacDowall joining him for a second round in the #2 Vantage GT3 the Omani is determined to end his season on a high note.
Despite being ranked as outside contenders for the two hour contest, Bartrum’s team is all too aware of how much can change over the course of a race weekend and will continue to push until the final flag drops. With two excellent driver line-ups, the strong reliability of the Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3’s and the experienced crew in support, the Oman Racing Team will be unwavering in its pursuit of securing a second British GT Title.
“Anything could happen this weekend so we’ve got to go out there and give it our all;” added Bartrum. “We’ll be going all out in qualifying to secure pole and make sure that we’re in the best place possible come Sunday.
“The focus for the team this time around is trying to win the Championship for Rory and Liam. It’s a team effort and everyone at the Oman Racing Team will be doing their absolute best to try and get the job done. I have a feeling that we’re in for another exciting final!”
Driver Quotes: Rory Butcher: “Donington GP circuit is a great track to drive and the Aston goes well round there so we’re hopeful of a good showing this weekend.“We’re going into the final round as outsiders really so the pressure is really on the Barwell and Beechdean cars, we’ve just got to get our heads down and do our own thing. We need to at the least score a podium but we’ll be pushing all the way and looking to end the season on a high.”Liam Griffin: “I’m really looking forward to the weekend, it’s great to be with a chance of winning the championship on my first full GT season with Motorbase and I’m going to be giving it my all.“Rory and I are really up for it and we’re going to do our absolute best to keep the pressure on Beechdeen and Barwell. Last year we helped Ahmad to try and win the title and so it’s great to have his and the team’s support behind us this year as we fight for the championship.”Ahmad Al Harthy: “Donington has always been a track I enjoy racing at and the GP circuit is a great place to end the British GT season.
“It’s very close in the Silver Cup, we have the lead going into Donington which is obviously where we want to be – but anything can happen in GT racing. Last year was something very special for the Oman Racing Team and everyone who has supported my career from day one. We’re so determined to win the Silver Cup but the team championship is just as important, if we can retain that title it will be a weekend of huge celebrations.”After qualifying at 15.30 on Saturday (12 September), the two-hour race will start at 13.00 on Sunday. Live timing from the weekend will be available tsltiming.com with MotorsTV covering the race live from 12.45pm.
MotorsTV can be found on the following channels: Sky 447, Virgin 545 and Freeview 71 & 240.
