at Rockingham SpeedwayMotorbase Performance heads to Northamptonshire's Rockingham speedway circuit looking to kick start its 2016 British GT Championship challenge as round 2 gets underway this coming weekend (April 30/May 1).A disastrous start to the Wrotham-based squad’s 2016 campaign at Brands Hatch just two weeks ago saw the #8 Aston Martin V12 Vantage involved in a race-ending accident mid-way through the two hour race. Despite the Aston being effectively written-off, an incredible turnaround by the Motorbase crew in under a week means that the Vantage is set to return to the British GT grid in time for Sunday’s two hour contest.
“It’s certainly been a busy couple of weeks for Motorbase;” said Motorbase Performance Team Principal David Bartrum. “Obviously after the disappointment of round 1 with the car being so heavily damaged, as has been so well documented on TV and social media, it was very important that we rose to the challenge of getting Ross and Phil out at Rockingham. After a lot of hard work from everyone behind the scenes I’m very glad to say that the car will be on track this weekend and we can hopefully get our British GT season off to a more positive start.”
Despite the 1.94 mile International Super Sportscar layout not favouring the Aston Martin on paper, Motorbase has a good track record on the oval circuit. The team celebrated an impressive double podium here in 2015 and the Team Boss is hopeful that Wylie and Drybrugh’s experience and race pace will see the Motorbase Aston challenging at the front of the competitive GT3 field.
“Rockingham is a track we like;” continued Bartrum. “It’s been kind to us over the years and we need something to be kind to us after Brands Hatch so let’s hope Rockingham is feeling generous!”
Following free practice sessions in the morning, the first of Saturday's two qualifying sessions starts with the GT3 AM drivers at 15:35. Sunday's two hour race is scheduled to commence at 13:00 with live timing available at www.tsl-timing.comDriver Quotes:
Ross Wylie: “Brands Hatch was a bitter pill for us all to swallow at the season opener, the team had put together a great race car over the winter which was sadly written off in race one of the season. We were all relieved to see Phil step out of the car with minor injuries and it's a real testament to Aston Martin Racing and Motorbase Performance for providing us with a safe race car.
“Traditionally Rockingham hasn't been the best circuit for the Aston on the BGT calendar. The track configuration doesn’t ideally suit the car but Phil and I will be aiming to put that right. The Aston is a competitive car and Motorbase are doing a sterling job for us, it's just about piecing it all together.”
Phil Dryburgh:“After the disappointment of Brands I’m looking forward to Rockingham this weekend and getting our 2016 season off the ground. Even though on paper the Aston isn’t best suited to the circuit, Motorbase took a double podium here last year so we know that it has the pace to perform well if we can stay out of trouble.
“The boys have done an amazing job to get us back on track this weekend after a really tough couple of weeks and it would be great to reward that effort with a good result.”
