The Oman Air Motorbase team are in the hunt for the Avon Tyre British GT Championship title as they head into the final round of the season.
Although the Wrotham based team are an outside contender at Donington Park this weekend, they are still in with an excellent of winning the title two years in a row.
Ahmad Al Harthy and Michael Caine will be doing all they can to make up the ten point gap to the current championship leaders, in the final two hour race of the season.
In a quirky twist of fate the team were in the same position going into the same race last season, and they managed to snatch the title on that day too.
It is unbelievable to think that they are in this position given that they have been carrying 75kg of success ballast, due to the talent of the two drivers. Their recent success has also seen them given more ballast, which sees them going into this weekend’s racing with 130kg of ballast, 75kg more than the championship leaders.
Speaking ahead of the weekend Team Boss David Bartrum said: “I think there are six cars that can win the title at the last round and we are 10 points behind the leader. 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.
“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. 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.