The Oman Racing Team moves its focus to Snetterton in Norfolk for rounds five and six of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship this coming weekend.

With two wins from the opening four races, the #4 Motorbase-run Aston Martin Vantage GT3 of Ahmad Al Harthy and Michael Caine is ready to bid for the overall points’ lead during a pair of one-hour races at the East Anglian track.

Meanwhile, the team’s other Aston Martin will be handled by Rory Butcher alongside new co-driver Jeff Smith who makes his British GT debut at the Snetterton 300 double-header. With Butcher’s impressive early-season pace and Smith’s experience, David Bartrum’s squad are hoping that both Motorbase cars will be at the forefront of another very strong British GT field.

Fresh from an outstanding victory in round four, the three-hour race at Silverstone, Al Harthy and Caine will go to Snetterton with confidence high and Caine has always been exceptionally quick at his home track. With both team and drivers firmly getting to grips with the mighty Aston Martin, the plan is to try and peg back the five-point gap to the current championship leaders.

After qualifying on Saturday, the first race starts at 11.40am on Sunday with the second race schedule to commence at 4.25pm. The action will be covered in an edited highlights programme on Channel 4 with live event timing available online at www.tsl-timing.com

Oman Racing Team Principal David Bartrum said “We’re less than five points off the championship lead in British GT, so we’ve got to keep focussed and try to win the championship because it is do-able. Michael will have a lot of local support at Snetterton and I think it could be a good race for us.

“It’s great to have Jeff [Smith] on-board now in the #5 Aston, he’s a focussed guy with a lot of experience and I think, a good fit for Rory.”

Oman Racing Team driver Michael Caine said: “We won last time at Snetterton last year and it’s my home circuit so I hope to be picking up another trophy this weekend. We’ve been told that it’s not a great circuit for the Aston, but we’ve never been there in the Motorbase Vantage so we shall wait and see – podiums would be an outstanding result for us considering the longer pit stop.

“We’ve got a great week of racing ahead, heading straight to Paul Ricard for the Blancpain after Snetterton, so with any luck we can start on a positive.”

Oman Racing Team driver Ahmad Al Harthy said: “I can’t wait to be back in action at Snetterton, it’s been a fantastic year so far for us in British GT and after the Silverstone win we’ve shown how competitive we can be in longer races as well as the 60-minute races.

“To be in the top three of the championship as we reach the halfway point is exactly where we need to be: this is an extremely important part of the season. Having won at Snetterton last year, it only adds to the confidence knowing we can be competitive and hopefully challenging at the front again at the weekend.”

Oman Racing Team driver Rory Butcher said: “I’m really excited to get back on track with the Oman Racing Team after our success at the Silverstone 500 last month. It’ll be good to get back to the cut and thrust of the sprint races again and I’m looking forward to the challenges which Snetterton will bring. We’re building up momentum and learning all the time and I feel confident that we’ll be right back in the fight to secure another points’ finish with the Aston.”

Oman Racing Team driver Jeff Smith said: “I’m really looking forward to my British GT debut in the Motorbase Aston Martin this weekend. It’s a great championship to be involved with and I’d like to thank my long time sponsor ICD for their continued support and help in putting the deal together.

“We had a good test at Brands last week, the Aston is a very driver friendly car and we’ve got some ideas on how we can take it forward a little bit more. Hopefully I’ll get up to speed quickly and we can have a good weekend.”

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