Race-week for the final round of the 2018 FIA accredited Pure McLaren GT Series season is upon us, with the drivers set to head to the “Home of British Motor Racing”, Silverstone, the site of so many memorable moments in McLaren’s racing history.
In the last Pure McLaren GT Series meeting at the Hockenheimring, Mia Flewitt secured the overall title with a win and a second-place finish.
With 44 points still on offer, battle for second place in the standings is very much on as Stewart Proctor and Sultan Ojjeh sit 21 points apart, with Mohamed Al Kalifa a further point off in fourth.
There is also still plenty to play for this weekend in the Bruce McLaren Cup class for novice drivers. Current leader Sultan Ojjeh and his nearest rival Issam Charrouf sit just a point apart in the class standings, meaning the title race is more than likely to go down to the last race of the season on Sunday.
Both David Kyte and Michael Petersen are also still mathematically in with a chance, the pair sitting third and fourth, 28 and 33 points back from Ojjeh respectively.
As a circuit, Silverstone presents a technical challenge for drivers. Built on a former airfield, despite it being a relatively flat circuit it tends to produce intense racing due to the variety of corners over a lap. Originally opened in 1948, and host of the inaugural Formula 1 Grand Prix in 1950, Silverstone has had multiple configuration changes over the years, the most recent layout debuting in 2011.
A 5.891-km circuit its 18 corners include the blind right-hander Copse, the fast-flowing Maggots, Becketts and Chapel sequence, the slow Brooklands and Luffield section and the long Hanger Straight. While patience is required behind the wheel at Silverstone, there are plenty of opportunities to overtake, especially in balanced fields such as the Pure McLaren GT Series, which features a grid comprised entirely of McLaren 570S GT4s.
Over the years, it has been a site of huge, pivotal victories for McLaren. McLaren has won major international and national race victories including the F1 GTR’s pair of wins in the BPR Global GT Series in the mid-90s and as recently as last year, a GT4 class win in the British GT Championship, with customer team Track-Club’s 570S GT4.
The drivers will hit the track during the weekend for two 25-minute free practice sessions, two 20-minute qualifying sessions and a pair of 30-minute races, one of each on Saturday and Sunday.
“The inaugural FIA Pure McLaren GT Series season has proven to be a huge success. The final leg of our European tour is at Silverstone, a circuit that means so much to motorsport and McLaren, and which every driver wants to do well at because of its rich history.
“We look forward to finishing off the year in style with the final two races of the year, where we’ll find out who emerges as the first ever Bruce McLaren Cup Champion.”
Vikki Ford, Pure McLaren GT Series Coordinator and Head of McLaren Automotive Experience Programmes.
SOURCE: McLaren
