Another top 10 finish

Academy Motorsport continued its strong form during the fourth round of the GT4 European Series this weekend (29th – 30th June). Racing at the Misano circuit in searing heat, it was certainly a challenge, but one that culminated with another good result.

There was a slight change in the driver line-up for this weekend. Fiona James was forced to stand down for this round due to illness, however in her absence Academy Motorsport’s British GT Championship regular, Micah Stanley, stepped in to partner Tom Wood.

As temperatures surpassed the 40˚C degree mark, the team began to struggle with tyre pressures. With each track session it was a desperate mission to ensure the car stayed cool and the tyres could handle the heat.

After a morning qualifying session, the stage was set for the first one-hour race. Sadly, problems for the shared Aston Martin of Will Moore and Matt Cowley meant the pair were unable to take part in race one.

Unfortunately, after 15 minutes of racing, the team was forced to retire the sister car of Wood and Stanley, following contact at the rear of the car from a rival.

With a new day ahead of them and one more hour-long outing, Sunday morning paved the way towards race two.

With Moore and Cowley missing once again from the second race, the team’s hopes fell to the Aston Martin Vantage GT4 of Wood and Stanley, and they were not disappointed.

The pair managed to hold onto seventh place throughout the 60 minutes. As the heat rocketed, both in and out of the car, the tyres were pushed to their limits. Despite immense closing pressure from the car behind in the final laps, the duo defeated the conditions to finish in seventh place overall.

Academy Motorsport’s Managing Director, Matt Nicoll-Jones said: “The heat has really pushed us this weekend, in terms of the car and the team, but we all survived and collected another strong result.

“We were sorry not to have Fiona with us this weekend, but grateful to have Micah step in at the last minute. He knows the car and the team, so he was the ideal substitute.”

The team now has a three week turn around to prepare for the next round of the British GT Championship at Spa during 20th-21st July.