Jun
6
It seems a long time ago, but one and half years ago on a winters morning at Silverstone I came up with the idea to move from Club to ProAm racing. I don’t think I realised quite where that idea would take me, but on the 19th of June Secure Racing will be on the grid at Brands Hatch for the first time.
Secure Racing is an unusual outfit for the British GT Championship’s GT4 class. For a start – we’re running the only Aston in GT4 – the 2011 Vantage V8 GT4. It’s superb. An absolute beast with more than 470 bhp from its 4.7 litre powerplant but it remains versatile, pointy and lithe through the corners. It will be featuring in a lot of wing mirrors as we chase down the Lotuses, Ginettas and KTMs on the track.
Secondly, we’re not a private or a manufacturer team. We’ve been created by the IT security industry, for the IT security to demonstrate that IT security has a life and a relevance beyond the dull and dreary office environment. Our main sponsors – Dtex Systems, PWC, and Algosec are all active in the sector. I’m employed in the industry and the team that supports our running and development all feature in the industry in some form or another. Even the Aston has a link back to IT security. During our first race it will sport a hidden coded message that, if you can spot it and are smart enough to crack – could be the key to winning your name on the car, and some hot laps with me and our other driver Chris Holmes.
Chris and I have come from very different sides of the motorsport arena. I came through Britcar and Porsche GT3 Challenge, whereas Chris harks from Formula 4, Formula BMW and Formula Renault. However, we were both very much in the same boat when we stepped into the Aston for the first time on a cold April morning at Silverstone earlier this year. It was the first time either of us had seen or driven the car and it was a huge step up from what we both knew. But it was also absolutely brilliant. It handled beautifully and inspired great confidence and within a few laps we were each pulling out some exceptional times. It gave us the belief that regardless of our British GT virginity we can give the other teams on the grid a run for their money.
Brands Hatch represents the first major opportunity for Secure Racing to show the world of motorsport what it’s all about. As one of the drivers and team founders, I know my responsibility is to get out there and get us a podium finish. But for everyone involved with the team this will be a monumental occasion. I hope that Chris and I can live up to that – I believe we can and I know we will. We are all looking forward to seeing you there.
Peter
