Even though the British GT Championship is officially fully subscribed for 2015 there is still a good chance that the Porsche marque will still be represented, in the form of an AmD-fielded GT4 997. “The entry is in and we’re just waiting for Benjamin (Franassovici) to make a decision,” said AmD Essex MD Shaun Hollamby.
The Porsche in question is the ex-Team Parker Racing 997 fielded last year by Barrie Baxter and Dan Cammish, but while fellow BTCC team bosses Ian Harrison and David Bartrum will again be spending their race weekends on the pitwall, Hollamby will be climbing behind the wheel and will be joined by former Supercar Challenge racer Graham Coomes, subject to their entry being accepted, under the AmDTuning.com banner.
AmD has been a presence in the BTCC for several seasons and will be fielding a Ford Focus in 2015 for Mike Bushell, so what prompted the move to expand into GTs alongside Triple Eight and Motorbase?
“Both the BTCC and British GT are high-profile series, but in different ways,” he explained. “The BTCC is a brilliant promotional tool for AmD Tuning, with its high level of spectator interest and TV coverage, while British GT has arguably a higher profile in other ways and offers a very good business model for us to move forwards with. Running a GT3 and/or GT4 alongside the Touring Car programme makes perfect sense.
“I’d tried to run a GT3 for the last two years and came close both times with a couple of Gentleman drivers, but the deals never quite came together. So this year we decided to take the bull by the horns and do it ourselves, and GT4 is a lot cheaper than GT3.
“The deal with Graham came together over Christmas. We’re both 49 and basically wanted to have one last hurrah before we hit 50, which we both do this year. Some have joked that we’re having a mid-life crisis, but really that’s not the case; hopefully this is something I could do for the next ten years.
“The budget to run a season of BTCC is too high for me personally and in truth I’m probably too old now anyway, whereas I can race competitively in GTs. I took part in the final BTCC race at Brands Hatch in 2013 and finished on the podium after winning the Jack Sears Trophy. That was a fantastic way to finish my Touring Car racing and to be honest relit my fire to go racing.
“Graham and I know that we won’t be able to match the pace of the likes of James Nash, but we have similar pace to each other, as well as consistency, and are confident that we can get results.”
How will Hollamby juggle the two series’ calendars? “There are two clashes. The first round at Oulton Park clashes with the BTCC’s Brands Hatch Indy round, but BTCC race on the Sunday while BGT race on Monday so that shouldn’t be too awkward. The Snetterton/Knockhill clash in August could be more bothersome and we’ll worry about that nearer the time. But I’ve no doubt that the team will do a great job without me being there.”
Should the entry get the nod from SRO, the Porsche will hopefully make its debut at the BGT launch event at Brands Hatch, just down the road from AmD’s West Thurrock base, on March 23rd.
MH
