By Tarek Ramchani
The second round of the British GT Championship will be at Rockingham next monday. A healthy 30-car grid is expected for the two-hour endurance event, including three Audi R8 LMS and ultra cars, from three different teams.
Leading the Audi squad will be United Autosports, the Anglo-American team had a great season opener at Oulton Park last time out. Both Matt Bell and Mark Patterson finished in a strong second place in race two with their #25 Audi R8 LMS ultra (2012 spec). In the championship points standings both drivers are fifth overall and ahead of their teammates with the McLaren MP4-12C cars.
The second Audi R8 LMS ultra is from M-Sport. The Scottish based team entered a full 2013 spec car at Oulton Park, when the car was not yet homologated by the FIA, meaning they were not allowed to score points. The team competed in an individual class, with special dispensation from the organisors, due to the non-homologated status. The drivers of the #10 M-Sport entry are Rembert Berg and Warren Hughes.
PE Group Blendini Motorsport will field the third Audi, an older specification R8 LMS. Dom Evans and Tom Roche will be the drivers of the #11 R8 LMS.
As seen at Oulton Park the British GT Championship is clearly one of the strongest national GT series worldwide. Close racing with hard battles on track for the top spots. The three Audi teams will have to fight against a very strong field from Porsche, BMW, Aston Martin, Mercedes-Benz and McLaren cars.
Photo credit: British GT Championship
