The Triple Eight Race Engineering GT team returns to action this May Day weekend (4th – 5th May), when the Avon Tyres British GT Championship bursts into life after a two-week hiatus at Corby’s magnificent Rockingham Speedway for the first two-hour race of the 2014 season.
Following a weekend of mixed fortunes for the Greatworth-based squad a fortnight ago, the second Bank Holiday event of the year sees both BMW Z4 GT3s take part after a lone-performance by the #888 car of Derek Johnston and Luke Hines at Oulton Park.
Two weeks ago the #8 Z4 of Lee Mowle and Joe Osborne was withdrawn from the weekend after a free practice off saw Lee hit a fellow competitors car, damaging the shell of the BMW beyond repair. After an incredible amount of work by the Triple Eight engineers, a new shell has been fitted and Joe and Lee will be ready to race come Monday.
Last year Rockingham yielded a fifth place in qualifying and fastest lap of the race courtesy of Joe, and an eleventh place race finish for the #8 car he shares with Lee. This year the pair are looking to make up lost ground and get their championship challenge back on track.
Coming into the second weekend of the 2014 season, Derek and Luke are seventh in the driver standings with sixteen points, just fifteen off the overall leaders, Oman Racing’s Michael Caine and Ahmad Al Harthy.
Twelve months ago, Derek put in a strong fight back from a lowly 22nd place to finish eighth. This will be Luke’s first race weekend at Rockingham for several years, but he, Derek and Lee completed some laps in wet conditions last Friday (25th April) at the Corby speed-bowl.
Quotes
Joe Osborne, Driver #8:“Obviously Oulton Park was a massive disappointment for us. To not even get the chance to race is always painful, even more so when you’ve gone quickest of anyone in free practice two. The positives we can draw from the weekend are that we had a good level of pace at arguably our worst circuit on the calendar, and the second car with Derek and Luke in it was on tremendous form too. Rockingham is a place where we definitely have unfinished business. Last year we picked up a puncture that ruined our race, but this year hopefully we’ll be luckier. I won at Rockingham in 2012 and it always delivers an exciting race for the fans and I don’t see any reason why we can’t challenge for podiums this weekend with both cars.”
Lee Mowle, Driver #8:“Rockingham wasn’t my best race last year, so I’m definitely aiming to do the opposite this year. After the disaster that was Oulton, this is our chance to get some decent points on the board and get our title chase up and running. Obviously Joe got the fastest lap last year, so hopefully I’ll do him justice and over the two hours we should stand a chance. It’s the first weekend where the gents will have greater involvement in where the car qualifies, so I’m really looking forward to that and it means that hopefully everyone should be in the right place come race day; fingers crossed everyone will be sensible through the first few corners this year. Joe and I are also going all-out to repay the efforts of the boys who’ve worked tirelessly to strip and build the Z4 so we can race here this weekend. It’s been a supreme job and I think we have a really good car for the weekend."
Derek Johnston, Driver #888:“I expect to be on the podium, nothing else will do. I like Rockingham a lot, and I really like driving the BMW Z4 too. Undoubtedly the Porsches and Astons will be quick there, but we showed at Oulton that we have good pace and we proved we can race too. So, with that in mind I don’t think it’s cocky to say that is what we want out of the weekend; we’re well up for it!
Luke Hines, Driver #888:“I was really pleased with how things went at Oulton. Derek is a great driver to work with, definitely one of the best in British GT this year. The team are great too and the BMW is a nice car to drive. That means we always have a chance and we shouldn’t be too far off the pace. This is the first of the longer races this season in British GT and for me that’s great; I get a bit more time in the car and you have to have a different mentality to the sprint races. I haven’t raced at Rockingham in years, but I know where to go and I think we should be challenging at the sharp end of the grid again, hopefully taking away more points too.”The Avon Tyres British GT Championship gets underway on Sunday with a pair of one-hour practice sessions and a 30 minute qualifying session, ahead of the big race on Bank Holiday Monday at 13:55. Television highlights will be available on BT Sport, Motors TV and Channel 4 from Saturday May 10th. Please check the official series website for details: http://www.britishgt.com/television.php
Race Weekend InformationAvon Tyres British GT Championship – RockinghamInternational Long Circuit2.05-mile, 13-turn race circuitCorby, NorthantsMay 4 – May 5, 2014
