CR Scuderia Set for British GT Opener at Oulton Park

17 March 2008

Spring is here so it’s time to go racing and what better place for the CR Scuderia story to begin than at one of the UK’s most popular race tracks. Oulton Park is a good old-fashioned racing circuit, with some fast curves and tight twists and turns; it is a real favourite of many of today’s racing drivers.

The three CR Scuderia Ferrari 430s are up against some tough competition; not only from other Ferrari teams, but also other great marques including Lamborghinis, Vipers and Aston Martins, but CRS is ready for the challenge.

CR Scuderia Ferrari no.14: James Sutton & Michael Meadows
JAMES SUTTON: “Our number one priority at Oulton is to pick up points. Even though it will be Michael's and my first time in a GT race, I feel that we should be competitive enough to finish in the top few positions. Michael showed very impressive pace at the media day, for a guy who hadn't driven the car before, so that really suggests we should be fighting at the front of the grid. In the Ferrari 430 I think we have the perfect tool for the job in the British GT Championship. It's fast, it's very controllable and it should be light on its tyres. Oulton is a good track for racing. Druids is a very good corner, one of the best; it's a very fast, double-apex right-hander with the barrier seriously close to you on the exit. It's mega cool. When it comes to the competition it looks like we’ll have a close run season. I know there has been a bit of hype over the amount of Ferraris on the grid, and they will be extremely close to us. I know RPM will always put a good car out, and they've got good drivers as well. It’s going to be enjoyable.”

CR Scuderia Ferrari no.15: Michael Cullen & Paddy Shovlin
MICHAEL CULLEN: “The last time I raced at Oulton Park was in a Fiesta in 1999. I led the race until I got pushed off at Knickerbrook so I’m hoping for a better race this time. It’s a step into the unknown for myself and Paddy as we haven’t raced in British GTs before but we’re looking forward to it and welcome the challenge. We’ll soon know how competitive we are.”

CR Scuderia Ferrari no.16: Luke Hines & Jeremy Metcalfe
LUKE HINES: “We want to win at Oulton but we also know it’s important to get some solid points in the bag at the first race. I think Jeremy and I have showed we have the pace. Jeremy has no experience in GTs but from what I’ve seen he is very quick. We both need to crack on and work hard to get the results this year. Ferraris have always been dream cars to me since I was a kid so to be racing one is a dream come true. It is a very special car: it’s well-balanced and very responsive and I feel that it won’t turn around and bite me like some cars do! Oulton is really one of my favourite circuits and it is where I had my first ever GT race in 2006. There is no margin for error there though; an ‘off’ at Oulton is usually a big one. I think the racing will be good and that the weather could easily play a big part in the outcome. The competition is the strongest I have ever seen in British GT. The drivers are very strong and include some of my old touring car mates, and the likes of Allan Simonsen will be hard to beat. It’s definitely one of the strongest series in Europe and I’m very excited to be part of it.”

CR Scuderia

See 2008 series calendar for British GT Championship

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