Balfe Motorsport will get its 2004 GT season underway this weekend when it competes in round one of the British GT Championship at Donington Park.
The team is bullish about its chances in the race and is looking to repeat the result from 12 months ago, when it snatched victory on the last lap of the opening race of the season.
The team has been working hard over the winter period on the mighty Mosler MT900R racecar. After recent testing against some of the new competition, it is hopeful that it will be on the pace from the start of the weekend. But Balfe is under no illusion that this is going to be a tough season.
There are a lot more high class entries in the British GT championship this year
Teams have stepped back from the professional FIA GT series and from what we have seen and heard from testing there are some incredibly quick and professional combinations
Changes to the rules for the 2004 season will see drivers Balfe and Surrey based Nigel Taylor, race in two separate 60-minute races over the weekend. The shorter distance means that the tactical element of whether to refuel the car will no longer be a factor. However, Balfe knows that the sprint type distance will mean a harder race weekend.
“The twin race format will mean a longer and harder weekend for the team as we will have to prepare the car for two events
,” said Balfe. “The sprint from start to finish also means that there will be no time to relax for the drivers
.”
“It will be interesting to see how the new format works over the weekend. Saturday is going to be the busiest as we have practice, qualifying and the first race. But all the teams are in the same situation so it will come down to organisation and teamwork, which is where we are incredibly strong
.”.
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