AF Corse UK will return to the Intelligent Money British GT Championship for the first time since 2017, debuting the Ferrari 488 GT3 EVO in the series. The team, which last raced as Spirit of Race with Duncan Cameron and Matt Griffin bring the updated GT3 offering from Maranello for the same driver pairing.
The new for 2020 EVO spec Ferrari is in effect, a whole new car. Upgraded electronics and aerodynamics are a standard EVO kit feature. Lightened chassis and longer wheelbases are not, but the #51 AF Corse UK machine features all of this and more.
Cameron and Griffin have been racing in Europe since their run to seventh in the 2017 British GT Championship, which saw the only Ferrari in the field net a pair of podiums out of seven contested rounds. Success on the continent assured them an entry to the 2020 24 Heures du Mans, which the Coronavirus has rescheduled to 19th-20th September.
Missing in Action for Donington Park
The clash means that the Ferrari will miss the second championship visit to Donington Park, which will be worth a potential 37.5 points, and probably ensure the duo are not in the championship battle come Silverstone. The team have little choice in the matter though as both Griffin and Cameron are integral to the Le Mans effort, and AF Corse are responsible for running almost 20% of the grid on any given Le Mans year.
I’m a massive fan of British GT – it’s where my GT career began and I’ve enjoyed a lot of success there, but it’s also incredibly competitive,” Pro driver Matt Griffin told the series. “Duncan and I were expecting to race in Europe this year. Now, in light of what’s happening, a domestic UK programme seems like the most sensible approach and provides us with a very high level of competition.
“I haven’t driven the Evo yet – that’ll happen at Donington on Tuesday – but the drivers that have reckon it’s a step forward over the old 488 GT3, which was already very competent. I’ve raced Ferraris for many years with Duncan, who’s a very accomplished amateur, while AF Corse UK run a world-class operation. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t be mixing it at the front from the opening round onwards.”
The Ferrari takes one of two GT3 spaces vacated by TF Sport who have been forced by the compressed calendars to abandon their GT3 title defence. Neither Aston Martin V8 Vantage AMR GT3 entries from the team will run in 2020, though the GT4 commitment remains.
