Donington British GT title decider for Oman Air Motorbase

For the second year running, the Motorbase Porsche 911 GT3R will go into the final round of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship at Donington Park (5/6 October) as an outside contender for the overall title.Ahmad Al Harthy and Michael Caine will race the Oman Air Motorbase 911 GT3R in the deciding two-hour race and start the event 10 points down on the championship leaders. That mirrors the position going into the final race of 2012 when Motorbase dramatically snatched the title in an action-packed final race.However, team boss David Bartrum says that retaining the team’s 2012 overall title will be a massive challenge given the weight penalty that the Porsche will carry once more.All season the Motorbase car has been carrying a 75kg weight penalty due to the championship organiser’s grading of the two drivers. However, the speed of the Porsches has attracted further penalty as the season has developed and the Motorbase car will go to the final round with a massive 130kg of ballast: 75kg more than the championship leading Trackspeed cars.“I think there are six cars that can win the title at the last round and we are 10 points behind the leader,” said Bartrum. This situation is an exact mirror of last year’s showdown where there were also six cars that could win at the Donington final, with Motorbase 10 points behind the leader heading into the final round.However Bartrum is playing down the prospect of a repeat performance. “I think it will be a difficult task for us this year as we are carrying the weight and I think the quality of the field is up on last year. Donington is a two-hour race. We want to win the title again, but we’re not going in with the expectation of last year. We’re realistic about the weight and the odds are against us: but I’m looking forward to it immensely. It should be a cracking race.“The Aston will be quick, the BMWs will be quick and we’re in the middle in the heaviest Porsche in the world. But sitting a little way behind, licking his lips is Nick Tandy. This Pro-Am British GT Championship could actually be won by a works Porsche driver, because Nick is on a different total to his co-driver, Mr Ashburn.“The team has been really, really good this year,” said Bartrum. “The pit stops have been spot on, the car preparation has been first class and our engineer Ricki Martino has done a fantastic job. He understands that car so well. We’d love to go to Donington and win the championship: let’s see if we can do it.”Following free practice sessions during the morning of Saturday 5 October, qualifying for round nine of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship will be at 3.45pm. Sunday’s title deciding two-hour race starts at 1.15pm with live coverage on Motors TV. Event Information: Donington Park GP Circuit, Castle Donington, Derby, Leicestershire2.498 mile / 12-turn race circuit
Race Duration: 1 x 120 minutes

British GT TV Broadcast (All times local to broadcaster):LIVE TV: Motors TV: 13:05 BST / 14:05 CETChannel 4: Highlights, Saturday October 12th, 07:00
Motors TV: Highlights, Tuesday October 8th, 22:30



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