MATTY TARGETS FURTHER BRITISH GT PROGRESS
In2Racing driver Matty Graham says the team can head into this weekend’s British GT meeting at Rockingham targeting a good result, after making a solid championship debut at Oulton Park over the Easter weekend.
Graham and crew-mate Marcus Hoggarth sealed a first GT4 podium of the year in race two at the Cheshire track, with the foundations laid by the Northumbrian driver who took the number 29 McLaren from 12th on the grid to second by the time of his pit-stop.
And after only coming together as an entry on the Wednesday prior to the first meeting, the 20-year-old believes that the experiences gained will allow the team to take further steps forward in the championship’s first endurance race on Sunday.
Graham said: “I think taking into account it was the first British GT event for In2Racing, the team across the whole weekend did an excellent job. Not only did they improve the car dramatically from the practice and qualifying to the races, but I was really impressed with the way they went about things as a whole across the weekend.
“Having only done six laps in the car I was really happy with how I performed, the pace we had, especially when we got the car a bit better for the race and I think the whole weekend showed what I can do in a car especially after so few laps.
“Marcus did a really good job too and we got on well over the weekend. I think as our relationship builds over the course of the year, we will end up being a very competitive Pro/Am pairing.
“At Rockingham, it’s going to be about building further as a team though I think we can have a good race. A second podium would be great, but obviously, luck plays a big part in endurance racing and we have our success penalty to carry over from Oulton, so an improvement on times and a development of the relationships in the garage will be the main measure of success for us.
In what will be only his second ever race at the Northamptonshire venue, Graham is hoping for a more straightforward run than that of his debut 12 months ago, which saw him battle against power steering failure to deliver his and Macmillan Racing’s first ever British GT points.
Graham recalled: “It was a very tough race last year and one of the most physically demanding things I’ve ever done. The power steering on the car was beginning to fail towards the end of Jack’s [Mitchell} stint and the team were thinking about retiring, but I wanted to give it a go. I was exhausted by the end, but it made the result all the more satisfying
“With the track being half oval half road, it is a little bit different to the other sort of tracks that we’ll drive on this year. The oval section is pretty much one big, fast turn and it feels quite good to go around. The infield is quite flat with a couple of the corners off camber and I expect the car to be a little bit understeering through some corners.”