VIPER TO BITE BACK AT KNOCKHILL


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The Viper crashed in qualifying at Oulton Park. Photo: Jakob Ebrey Photography

The Craig Wilkins/Aaron Scott GT3 Racing Viper is set to return to the Avon Tyres British GT Championship fray at Knockhill next month following a successful shakedown test at Silverstone last Friday. The car was badly damaged in a high-speed qualifying shunt at Oulton Park and had to miss the championship's opening rounds.

It's fully restored to heath now, says Wilkins: "The Viper is all back in one piece. We need one strategic part to arrive from the USA, which we hope will be here in time (volcanic ash permitting!), and Knockhill will be the start of our season. I expect you'll find that my fastest qualifying time will be set on my last lap; I'll be extremely sheepish, because I fully intend the car to start both races, that's for sure.

"The damage could have been a lot worse. It wouldn't have been wise to race it at Oulton Park until we had fully investigated all the components which could have been damaged. It had had a big impact. The Viper was running fine today and we are all happy."

Knockhill's rain-affected eighth round of the 2009 Avon Tyres British GT Championship brought Wilkins and Scott their second race win of the season, following that which they scored at Spa-Francorchamps in the Kingsbury Jig and Tool-backed Viper.

Wilkins and Scott were not the only Oulton Park casualties: reigning champions David and Godfrey Jones also left Cheshire point-less after mishaps with their Preci-Spark Ascari in both the first and the second round. They too are hoping to get their seasons back on track in Scotland.

The championship is led by MTECH pairing Matt Griffin and Duncan Cameron thanks to their twin Oulton wins; there's a four-way tie for the lead in the G4 class between Speedworks Motorsport Ginetta pairing Christian Dick/Jamie Stanley and ABG/prestigecarleasing.co.uk KTM X-Bow drivers Rory Butcher and Benjamin Harvey.

Knockhill's third and fourth rounds of the championship are scheduled for 9 May. British GT is sponsored by UK tyre manufacturer Avon Tyres and is further supported by Sunoco Racing Fuels, Anglo American Oil Company and The Independent.

For more information about the championship CLICK HERE


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