GAW & DRYBURGH READY FOR 2014 GT BATTLE OF BRITAIN

PGF Kinfaun-AMR has confirmed Phil Dryburgh and John Gaw as drivers for the 2014 Avon Tyres British GT Championship, after a solid debut season where the pair took four points finishes from ten races in their Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3.

The team will compete again with the V12 Vantage GT3, which showed its Championship pedigree in the hands of Beechdean’s Andrew Howard and Jonny Adam, with Howard lifting the 2013 title in the final round at Donington Park. As it stands this will be the fifth proposed Aston Martin on the 2014 grid, with further Aston entries possible before the end of March.

The duo, who finished 19th overall last season, also competed with the car in selected races during 2012 under the Cyber Racing banner, but switched to using the name PGF Kinfaun-AMR this time last year. With one full season with the Vantage under their belt and no ‘new’ cars allowed in British GT this season, Dryburgh and Gaw are in good shape to better their results in 2014. In addition, the car will keep its popular livery, with some additional colours to be potentially added during the season according to Dryburgh.

“It’s great to do another year of British GT,” said Gaw, who is also the Managing Director of Aston Martin Racing. “I’m disappointed not to have been downgraded to a bronze this year, I think that is where we’re at, but I’ll go with it. In reality we cannot compete for overall wins, but Phil and I want to improve and that is what we will aim to do, we are even going to do some pre-season testing this year. I spoke to Richard (Abra) last week and I beat him in qualifying four to one; I have told him he needs to reverse that this year. Then, Jonny (Adam) had me seven to one; at least I beat him once! It’s nice to be out there trying to keep up with the boys."

"I loved every minute in the car last year," said Dryburgh. "Fantastic cars, fantastic tracks, a fantastic grid. I think realistically we need to be aiming to be in the top eight each weekend; the days of keeping your nose clean and getting a podium are long gone. Nowadays it is more like: keep your nose clean and you might finish where you started! I have challenged John to go better in qualifying and he has tasked me to make less mistakes; I think that is fair! I am really looking forward to the qualifying changes in 2014. While I can't add anything to the overall pace of the car, it's nice to see my time play a part and hopefully add value."

“This season holds a lot of interest for me," added Gaw. "Going to Spa is going to be great. It is a big bonus as it is probably my favourite circuit to drive on and is one of the best circuits in the world, although saying that we did well on the Zandvoort weekend and we both enjoyed that! We also have the Aston Martin GT4 Challenge supporting British GT at certain rounds and that is exciting and strategically very important. It shows a clear ladder for drivers looking to pursue a career in GT; they can take the Vantage into British GT's GT4 class and they can also aim for GT3. It’ll be a real family affair on those weekends with around 20 Astons on track over the weekend.”

Round one of the 2014 British GT series will get underway at Oulton Park in Cheshire over the Easter weekend (19-21 Apr) with ticket details and more information available on the official Championship website, and on the official Facebook page.