Hampshire sportscar ace Jeremy Metcalfe is gearing up for his home event this coming weekend, 28th/29th June, when the Avon Tyres British GT Championship visits Thruxton Circuit near Andover for the ninth and 10th rounds of the 2008 season.
The 20-year-old, who lives in the village of Church Crookham near Fleet, is aiming for a successful return to his local track having already been on the top step of the podium this year – his first season in sportscars – with a superb victory from pole position during the third round of the championship at Knockhill in Scotland.
Since then, Jeremy and team-mate Luke Hines have recorded further podium glory at Snetterton in Norfolk and have scored points in each of the last six races. Ahead of the Thruxton event this weekend, Jeremy has high hopes of fighting for the rostrum once again at the wheel of his Ferrari 430 GT3 car.
While Thruxton is undoubtedly the fastest circuit on the 2008 calendar, the biggest challenge for Jeremy and his CR Scuderia team will almost certainly be matching the pace of the rival Lamborghini Gallardos and Dodge Vipers which have benefited from a performance boost recently due to re-equalisation measures introduced by officials.
Having said that, Jeremy is very confident his Ferrari will perform well at the Hampshire circuit due to the large number of high speed corners. Added to the fact it’s his local race track, the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Rising Star is looking forward to the event more than any other so far this year.
“We’ll be aiming to do the same as always at the weekend, go out there and do the best job we possibly can”, said Jeremy, “I’m really looking forward to the races, I think we’ll be very strong. The high speed corners at Thruxton should definitely suit the Ferrari and I always feel very comfortable there, it’s always good to compete at your home track.
“It’s been a good season so far. Driving the Ferrari is fantastic, the team is doing a great job and I really am quite confident we should be strong at Thruxton. Both Luke and I would love to win again but a couple of podiums would be great too.”
Following practice at 09.25 on Saturday, 28th June, qualifying for rounds nine and 10 will commence at approximately 13.45 with the first one-hour race of the weekend expected to get underway at 17.00. Round 10 will take place on Sunday, 29th June, at 13.45.
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