Previous Britcar 24 Hour race winners, Rollcentre Racing have announced their driver line-up for this year's race. The Mosler specialists, returning after a three year gap, will be lead by driver and team owner, Martin Short, and alongside him will be Jon Barnes, Andy Neate and Steve Quick.
Jon Barnes is a familiar name to those in national paddocks up and down the country. A multiple Champion in Caterhams, single seaters and the 2008 British GT Champion in a Dodge Viper, Jon brings with him a huge amount of experience. In 2009 Martin drafted Jon in for a one off 3 hour VdeV GT race at Dijon. Jon achieved pole position, and between them they managed to win, with fastest lap as well.
Team boss, Short added, “I wanted a no nonsense, solid and dependable team player, and I know that’s what I have got with Jon. He hasn’t done much racing of late, but I know he will help Andy, Steve and myself ably with the driving duties. It's great to have him back with us”.
Andy has raced in the Britcar 24 previously, notably a strong second place with Rollcentre in 2007. This year Andy has been driving a BMW in the BTCC for the reigning champions & Europe’s most successful independent BMW touring car team, West Surrey Racing. His return to action follows an enforced 18 month sabbatical from racing, after a horrific accident in the 2008 Britcar event while driving a TVR. However, Andy is back in the Mosler alongside Martin (at his wife's demand!) and is fighting fit.
Steve Quick is a relative newcomer to motorsport. While he has only had one year of racing behind him, he has seemingly crammed in more miles than most people manage in 4 years. He regularly races a Lotus, and has raced in GT Cup in a Ferrari. A fortnight ago he raced in the Open GT Series at Brands Hatch, alongside Martin in a GT3 Mosler to 5th place in class. This will be his first 24 hour race, and he is looking to add to his impressive learning curve.
The car Rollcentre will be racing is in fact brand new. Looks wise it obviously draws on the GT3 Mosler's design, however its under the shell where the differences become more apparent. Using a 5.7 rather than a 7 litre Chevrolet V8 and with a tube frame chassis, opposed to a carbon honeycomb tub, the car has been built with economy and endurance in mind.
Short, added, “As the European manufacturer of Mosler race cars with Mosler Europe, I wanted to produce a car that was not as expensive as a GT3 car and was specifically for Britcar, Dutch Supercar and other races outside of the GT3 format. This car will achieve that, but will still retain the advantageous Mosler shape and handling characteristics.”
Rollcentre have been putting in the hours in the run up to the event and will give the car its first test today, only one day ahead of the race itself. Short, never one to shy away from a challenge remarked, “This race will be a big test for it, but I am hopeful that we will be competitive, as well as reliable. We will have three other Mosler’s in our class, which are our usual 7 litre GT3 variant. They will most likely, and hopefully be the fastest cars out there, and of course, they already have a great 24 hour heritage. Hopefully our baby Mosler (officially called the Mosler GT Cup) will do a fine job in supporting them as well as having a crack at a result as well.”
