2024 is set to be a landmark year for the British team TF Sport, the outfit set to make the switch to Corvette after a longstanding relationship with Aston Martin.
On the eve of its first test with the Z06 GT3.R in Texas last week, DSC sat down at length with team owner Tom Ferrier, who spoke candidly about the team’s past and his ambitions for the future. Amongst the topics covered are the team’s rise to international racing from the national scene, the feeling of winning Le Mans and the decision to switch from Aston Martin to Corvette.
It’s been a remarkable journey, from a humble Ferrari programme in British GT to the heights of scoring class wins at Le Mans, yet it feels like it’s just the beginning for this highly ambitious team.
Let’s start with your journey. Tell me about the formation of the team. How did it all start?
“It all started when I was still racing back in 2009/10 and then between myself, Piers Maserati and Danny Buxton started Scuderia Vittoria, which was a Clio team on the TOCA package. We then ran a Ferrari as well in British GT with an investor in 2011/12 and that between the three of us didn’t work. So we split amicably, it just wasn’t right with three chiefs.
“In the meantime, I’d met Paul Bailey and started running a Ferrari GT2 for him, so I split off and started TF Sport on its own.”
Is owning and running a team something you always wanted to do?
“Yeah, I think it is something I wanted. Even when I was back in my karting days I used to enjoy the attention to detail. I used to enjoy working with Ricky Flynn, who has gone on to run one of the biggest kart teams in the world.
Even when I was back in my karting days I used to enjoy the attention to detail
“The Clio stuff too was really good, as I was doing everything from sorting tyres to loading trucks, setting up awnings. Doing that stuff in the early years gave me an idea of everyone’s roles. I don’t touch much these days, but I’ve been there, taking down awnings in the pouring rain in the TOCA paddock.”
British GT has set you up nicely, hasn’t it? It’s a national championship that runs to a very professional level.
What was the formula for British GT? It’s fair to say you’ve owned that paddock for a long time.
“A young Scotsman (Jonny Adam), he was a massive part of it and when he came on board he was pretty much already ‘Mr British GT’. Having him be at Prodive, he brought so much to the team away from the track.”
Did he make himself a TF driver as much as he was an Aston driver?
“Absolutely. Probably at the time, he was more of a TF driver. He was hugely influential in the way we operated and the standards we were at. And then we met the great Turk in 2016, which was a life-changing year, winning British GT with Jonny and Dererk and Le Mans Cup with Salih. It set us on the ACO Le Mans path and cemented us nationally.”
And I imagine the connection with Salih came from his previous run in British GT?
“I met him through Euan (Hankey), who was coaching him at the time. He was looking for somewhere to go after his misdemeanour and the McLaren wasn’t a cheap car to run. So we ended up doing GT Open at the end of 2015 and then a dual programme in 2016 with Le Mans Cup and GT Open. It was a big year.
“Then we got introduced to Ahmad Al Harthy in 2017 and went off and did Blancpain as it was then.”
Tell me about the world of customer sport at Aston Martin. How was the relationship at the start? How did it evolve? They have played such a big role in the growth of the team.
“Yeah. In the early years, they played a big role. Credit to John Gaw who made things happen on the racing scene, and Andy Williamson who was our account manager there as well. They were so helpful with deals in the background with factory drivers and engineering support.
“I always liked it at Prodrive, because you could get close. It was a phone call away. I hadn’t worked with marques like Porsche. But with Prodrive for us, they’re a two-hour drive away and you can go and speak to anyone at the top. The success for us comes from the customer base we’ve had and the support.”
What was it like stepping up from national racing to international racing? How big of a step did it feel like at the time?
“It wasn’t so much a risk. But the first Blancpain race we did at Monza was daunting. We felt like a small fish in a big pond, we didn’t know anyone but were away of the big factory-backed teams.
“Probably the most daunting event was 2017 at Le Mans for the first time, it was surreal. But Aston was very good there, we were with them in the garages and shared everything. That helped us get through out first one. They gave us so much guidance and help.
“It’s strange because it all just happened. I was a touring car boy before, but that was a path from the ACO and once we did that first Le Mans we knew we needed to be back every year.”
The proof is in the pudding with the ladder then!
“Absolutely, and it’s a good story for them to have a Le Mans Cup champion to eventually end up in the FIA WEC, win Le Mans and a title.
“Part of the decisions we’ve made recently has been about staying in the WEC paddock. It’s where we want to be and from every member of staff we have, to drivers, they all love that environment and level of racing. Everyone is happy to be there.”
How has the level of staffing changed over the years? You’ve moved base in recent years.
“When we were in British GT in 2016, the first year we won it, I actually engineered Jonny myself, which was interesting!
Once we did that first Le Mans we knew we needed to be back every year
“I think doing that role has helped me along the way. It’s all stepped up though. Mechanically we have more people involved. There is more paperwork to do and freight is a big part of it now. We have a full-time crew chief now who is in charge of the cars but doesn’t work on them.
“And engineering-wise it has moved from me doing it to some people with a brain who do it properly! We’ve put a lot of investment in that recently, we want to improve that side.”
What percentage of your guys are freelance?
“The number of full-time staff isn’t that high. We are still pretty small with four-five full-time mechanics, and two full-time engineers. There are probably eight full-time and another six on contracts which means they are pretty much full-time. Everyone else is with us on weekends.”
It amazes me how many people are weekend warriors. Is it hard to retain people?
“I think there is so much work out there now that a lot of these guys are happy to work race weeks and be off when they aren’t working. If you’re doing two to three championships you’re doing enough days to make a good enough wage.”
I suppose with all your successes you have the luxury of people wanting to work with TF?
“Yeah, I think so. I think the WEC crew has been the same pretty much since we started in 2018. A lot of our staff are familiar faces. We’ve had a few newbies, but at Le Mans it was only five out of 62 that were totally new. I’m just trying to find more work for them all.
“But we are very lucky to have so many loyal familiar people.”
How do you see your team? From the outside looking in, TF has a reputation of being the benchmark, of being world-class.
“Sometimes I still feel we are the little team from Surrey. I appreciate we do a very good job but I think in the WEC paddock it’s a massively high level. It’s very hard to say. I still feel like TF is a small team when perhaps I shouldn’t do.”
There appears to be a family atmosphere.
“That’s why so many people enjoy working here. It’s such a commitment for people, so much time away from home. You have to enjoy yourself or it’s a fast downward spiral.
It’s such a commitment for people, so much time away from home. You have to enjoy yourself or it’s a fast downward spiral
“I fully respect guys like WRT, PREMA and the guys who have perhaps a different environment. But I believe we can do as good of a job as them given the right support and programmes and that’s our aim. That’s why doing the LMP2 stuff has been important. You can get lost in the GT world so it’s nice to do something Pro/Am but in LMP2, where there is a real benchmark with no BoP.
“The ultimate goal at some point is to do some pro racing with these guys.”
How amazing is it to win Le Mans?
“I would actually say that finishing in the top two four years in a row is a better achievement than winning it. I was dead chuffed this year, because there are not many teams that have done that, it’s a big statement.
“Winning the first one was amazing, winning it with Salih as well felt like a big moment on a long journey. I remember when he first came to us and watched his onboards. It was petrifying! So to get to the level he is at now is an amazing achievement, and to do it with Jonny and Charlie who are close friends of mine now. Amazing.”
This all happened pretty quickly, didn’t it?
“We had a fair few rough years, but the consistency was there by the time we won. It was great to win Le Mans, and with the small crew that had been with us and a driver crew that was on a journey with us.”
All this has happened at a time when GT racing has boomed, and become more expensive by the year. How much of a battle is it to keep on top of finances and stay competitive? And before the Corvette deal, which we will come to later, were you ever tempted to switch brands?
“The GTE bit was easier for us, and that’s why we’ve been with Aston a long time as the car has been very good in that. Our business has also gone that way with the ACO stuff. So we stuck with them.
“But every year there’s a fine line between making money and performance. There are not many Ben Keatings in the world who are so talented and fund a whole programme. So putting deals together is tricky.”
It’s ‘Battle of the Bronze’!
“Yes. I think everyone is aware of that. If there was no care for money in the world then everyone would do it.”
Getting into the situation with Corvette. Christie told me back at Le Mans that she spent a long time working out which customers should get cars by creating a criteria and scoring system. So the question is… Did they come to you?
“Yes. I think it was a merge between when Ben told me he was going to Corvette for this year, he’d said to them he was sad to leave because we did a good job. He told them if they were looking for a team then they should be looking at us.
“I also know Oliver Gavin well too, he has been there forever and is still there making tea!”
Did you come close to running a Corvette in GTE this year?
“No. If we’d been way ahead of doing a deal it would have been more of a conversation. It would have been tricky with where we are with Aston but it was never on the cards. It was discussed briefly once.”
Tell me more about this switch. Tell me about the conversations. Did you want a change ahead of the first chat with Corvette?
“It was not a quick decision. There were numerous aspects that led to it. The Aston GTE car is a fantastic product and we can fill them up every year, but the GT3 car has always struggled a little bit, with BoP and the Pirelli tyre. It’s never been a hugely strong car, and they can see that because we don’t sell all our seats so fast.
“So when the decision was made to adopt GT3 in the WEC, we started looking at all the options available. We know AMR is doing an evo kit, but at the time we did not know what this looked like or if it will be strong enough. From what I hear it’s heading in the right direction. But that was part of it, the performance of the car.
“A lot of it two was strategically thinking about how it’s working with entries. But as soon as they said there would be priority for teams racing with a manufacturer in the top class, that was a big swinging point for me.”
Has the support from Prodrive and AMR changed much since the recent ownership changes at AML?
“No, I don’t think so. Yes, there’s an evo kit coming but it’s not been properly announced. There isn’t a clear path at the moment, though it sounds like it’s cracking on and I am sure it will be a good product.
Nothing lasts forever, and these are exciting times. With Laura and Christie, I think we are a good fit
“Also if there are only two entries per manufacturer, Prodrive is a business like us. We are a race team, but we know they are keen to run two cars, we would be keen to run two cars. And then you get into who will get those entries. Will it be us? I believed it probably would have been but the biggest thing was having an allegiance with a manufacturer fully embedded in Hypercar.
“Nothing lasts forever, and these are exciting times. With Laura (Wontrop Klauser) and Christie (Bagne), I think we are a good fit.”
How much of this decision was emotional? How hard was it to tell Aston Martin you were walking away?
“It was not an easy phone call at all. I was more stressed over it than I thought I would be. We went to Detroit straight after Le Mans, which was great for jet lag I tell you! When they met everyone it became real.
“It was as well received as it could be. Adam Carter at AML who looks over the GT stuff understood the decision. At the end of the day, it’s a business and it’s not emotional really. But we’ve had endless success with them.”
But this isn’t necessarily the end of that relationship, is it?
“No, I don’t think so. Part of the thing with Corvette is they are building a small number of cars to start with. They couldn’t give us four cars to start with, so that was part of a deal that was WEC exclusively. So if the opportunity arises and someone wants to do something with an Aston in ELMS or World Challenge we are free to do so.
“I don’t know the future in that, but if we have the kit and are not in direct competition with Corvette then there’s no reason we can’t do it.
“Who knows where we will be in two years’ time? We might have 10 Corvettes or the exclusive WEC deal could have finished and we are back with Aston! But I want to build a long-term relationship with Corvette.”
The future though, is exciting. You’re involved in building something. They’re doing this properly globally. That must be appealing and I imagine that convinced you that this is the right decision.
“I think when you go back to Christie ticking boxes with a list of teams. When you look at our history with Pro/Am racing, it’s what appealed to them. We have done it for years and we have experience in everything from racing to parts supply to insurance claims.
There’s a lot to come and my aim is to do the WEC programme, and if they want to run cars at the N24 with Pros then I want to be first in line to do that
“Will we end up running the Corvette parts supply department? I don’t know, probably not with Brexit, but it’s exciting. There’s a lot to come and my aim is to do the WEC programme, and if they want to run cars at the N24 with Pros then I want to be first in line to do that. We can do as many programmes as they want to do.”
The WEC programme with them. Corvette has revealed its plans for GTD Pro with Pratt Miller. They’re straddling the line between factory and customer racing. Is this programme entirely yours, and how much support will they provide?
“They’re giving engineering support, an abundance of it to start with, which is really encouraging for a new product. But it’s down to us to put line-ups together and operate it.”
And you will select the Am drivers?
“We will get factory drivers for the Pro seats, and the financial part from the Ams is down to us.
“I think we will share things like Cadillac hospitality at WEC races. It will be as factory as it can be, but it’s Pro/Am racing.”
Being a part of Corvette and its history must be such a big deal for you.
“Just look at Le Mans, they’ve had so much success. So to take the baton is amazing. They want us to build on that success, they even want us to take the air horn to Le Mans and carry on that tradition, that’s our responsibility now! They are really keen for the fan interaction to continue too.
“It’s exciting because nobody knows where it could lead. Somewhere special we hope. Getting a Cadillac one day would be nice, but it’s not in discussion quite yet.”
So is that part of the strategy, with you expanding your LMP2 programme to two cars?
“Definitely. Part of the scaling up is to replace anything we lose Aston-wise. But clearly, LMDh and Hypercar are booming at the moment. If we do a good enough job in LMP2, why are we any different from WRT and PREMA who have got those Hypercar gigs by doing a great job?
“It’s something we are keen for in the future for sure. It’s another string to our bow. If we can win LMP2 in ELMS and WEC in Corvette, then you’re in a prime seat. Who knows? But there’s nothing wrong with putting your team in the best possible situation to make the most of an opportunity if it does arrive.”
What’s the timeline with the Corvette GT3 programme? You’re about to test in the USA. When will you get your first car delivered?
“The cars are fairly late for us. We are looking at early January delivery. We are doing a two-day test at CoTA next week, which gives us time with a test car and one with FIA homologation.
“It’s good for the crew and for potential customers that want to drive a Corvette in WEC. It’s not cheap to do, so they’ll want to try the car first.
“If we need more testing then we will head out again with one of their cars. But it depends on who signs as to how our test programme looks. We could take delivery in America and go and test out there in some place that’s warm.”
Is there a chance for you to bolt on some IMSA races? Or do they want you to focus on WEC?
“For the first year, it’s all separate. Possibly a test in America, then go to Qatar, then come to the UK, then Portimao. Or even do we try and do Asian Le Mans, the final two rounds there to get track time in a race environment in the right part of the world leading up to Qatar. It’s customer dependant.”
Being exclusive to WEC, are you allowed to race those cars elsewhere or are you contractually obliged to only compete with those cars in WEC?
“Yeah, we could do. We are the exclusive WEC team for two years but it doesn’t mean we can’t do Asian Le Mans for instance. The trouble is the freight, you don’t have a lot of options to do a lot else. But we are looking at a third car next Summer so maybe we try and do something with that like the Spa 24.
“Also do they want to run Pro cars, IGTC cars? I’d like to think we are in a good position to support that and help grow the customer side.”
Image credits: SRO, JEP, Chevrolet, Andrew Lofthouse, TF Sport
