AF Corse will return to the Intelligent Money British GT Championship with a Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo driven by Duncan Cameron and Matt Griffin. The series hasn’t seen a Ferrari compete since 2017 when the same team ran as Spirit of Race and picked up two podiums.
It’s a welcome return for the team and for Griffin who has made over 100 appearances in the championship including 14 wins.
“I’m a massive fan of British GT – it’s where my GT career began and I’ve enjoyed a lot of success there, but it’s also incredibly competitive,” Matt Griffin said. “Duncan and I were expecting to race in Europe this year. Now, in light of what’s happening, a domestic UK programme seems like the most sensible approach and provides us with a very high level of competition.
“I haven’t driven the Evo yet – that’ll happen at Donington on Tuesday – but the drivers that have reckon it’s a step forward over the old 488 GT3, which was already very competent. I’ve raced Ferraris for many years with Duncan, who’s a very accomplished amateur, while AF Corse UK run a world-class operation. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t be mixing it at the front from the opening round onwards.”
The team will be taking one of two spots vacated by last year’s champions TF Sport. Ahmad Al Harthy will not be returning to the championship where he was a runner up in 2014. The withdrawal means four-time champion Jonny Adam won’t be defending his championship along with last year’s teammate, Graham Davidson who would be defending his first title. TF Sports GT4 champion Tom Canning, who was due to step up to GT3 partnering Davidson will also miss out on the 2020 championship.
COVID-19 issues specific to the team have been cited as the reason behind the withdrawal and TF Sport intend to be back in 2021. The team and their drivers have always been fan favourites with the Tom Ferrier-led squad being regular winners since it was founded in 2014.
“Everyone at TF Sport is very disappointed not to have an opportunity to defend the British GT3 title this year,” said team principal Tom Ferrier. “We’ve run GT3 cars in the UK since 2014, won our first race a year later and have claimed championships in almost every season since.
“Two fantastic line-ups meant we had a very good chance of maintaining our proud GT3 record this year, but that just won’t be possible now due to COVID-19 circumstances specific to the team. Nevertheless, we are really looking forward to fielding two GT4 entries and are fully focused on retaining the Teams’ and Drivers’ crowns. British GT is a fantastic championship and we will be back in full force in 2021.”
The championship is scheduled to return at Oulton Park over the weekend of the 1st and 2nd of August.
All quotes courtesy of British GT.
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