New drivers set fast times in testing as team prepares for assault on the Silverstone 1000km race.
After a very successful test session at Snetterton last week, Zytek is finalising the preparation of its 04S sports car for the Silverstone1000km endurance race this weekend (12 to 14 August). The Zytek team will be running with two new drivers at Silverstone – American Sports car specialist Chris Dyson and UK Formula 3 frontrunner Robbie Kerr.
Dyson is enthusiastic about driving the 04S, in part because his Dyson Racing teammate, Andy Wallace, drove for Zytek at Le Mans.
“Andy and his teammates qualified third there, and were really the only team that was able to offer a head-to-head challenge to the Audis,” Dyson says. “Andy was impressed with both the team and the car, so I already had a quite positive impression even before Trevor Foster of Zytek called. Also, like the Audi team, Zytek manufactures both its own chassis and engine, and I think that gives them a potential advantage over their other competitors. If I didn’t think that we could challenge the Audis for the win, I wouldn’t be doing this.”
Robbie Kerr was suitably impressed during his first drive in the 04S at Snetterton, “ I was extremely pleased with the car’s performance, the engine ran so smoothly and we proved just how quick the car can be.” Looking forward to the race at Silverstone this weekend Kerr added, “Working with such a professional Zytek team and alongside Chris Dyson, I’m very eager to get back in the driving seat again and show everyone what we’re capable of.”
During testing at Snetterton, the 04S with Kerr at the wheel set a blisteringly fast lap time of 57.4seconds, giving the team plenty of reason to be optimistic about the Silverstone event. “The car is running superbly, we haven’t needed to make many changes in preparation for Silverstone,” says John Manchester, Operations Director at Zytek. “The main reason for this test was to acclimatise both Chris and Robbie with the car, but we have also been working on the set-up and balance, while Michelin have been here doing some work on the tyres. We feel that we are in really good shape for the next LMES race at Silverstone this weekend.”
