After Croft Performance Boost
Matt Harris travelled to North Yorkshire for the latest rounds of the 2007 Avon Tyres British GT Championship, the Hampshire racer putting on a strong performance and only denied a potentially leading finish when hit by another car near the end. Despite his disappointment, Matt was positive, the improvement in his car's performance over the weekend leaving him confident heading the for the final rounds of the series.
Sharing his 400BHP Tech 9 run Porsche with experienced team Tom Ferrier, the duo were on course for a top five finish in the second one-hour race of the weekend when Harris was hit from behind, spinning him round with just minutes to go.
"The car was night and day different to how it had been at Thruxton," said Matt, from Droxford, near Southampton. "I started the first race eighth and was up to fifth when I handed over to Tom. We made a fantastic pit stop but lost out in the final laps and finished eighth.
"On Sunday Tom started the car and gained a couple of places and was into sixth when we made another excellent pit stop. I emerged into a group of cars and battled with an Aston Martin, a Viper and a Ferrari, but through one thing and another I slowly made my way up the order.
"Three laps to go I went past the Aston Martin, but he was then hit by an Ascari, then I was hit, we all touched again and I got spun round and stalled. I got going and caught the car who took me off, but finished sixth when we could have been higher.
"It was a frustrating result, but compared to our recent outings was a very good race - I really felt that a podium finish was on the cards. There was a big improvement with the car, it wasn't great over the bumps at Croft, but the final rounds are at Rockingham where it is very smooth and I have gone well there before.
"It's really good to be driving with such an experienced team-mate. Tom has lots of experience and I am trying to learn what I can from him, our race pace is pretty much identical now and we are trying to work together to get the job done in the car."
Final rounds of the 2007 Avon Tyres British GT Championship will be at Rockingham, Northants, September 29th and 30th.
