Having started the Avon Tyres British GT Championship season at the wheel of the Emotional Engineering Vauxhall Monaro, Matt Griffin will end it in a GTC class Porsche after making a late switch to RPM.
Griffin will partner Peter Bamford for the final two rounds of the season at Brands Hatch and
Silverstone after being invited to join the team by boss Robin Mortimer and admitted he was excited to be reunited with the model of car that carried him to the Cup class title alongside Patrick Pearce in 2003.
“I got a call from Robin Mortimer at RPM and one of their drivers Peter Bamford to do the final two rounds with them,” Griffin told
Crash.net Radio. “For me, this is what a great chance to get back behind the wheel of a Porsche and return to the GTC class, which is certainly the most competitive part of the championship at the moment.
“I spoke to my team boss at Emotional, Allen Orchard, and he agreed to release me from my contract and send me out on loan to RPM which is great. I have a love affair with the Porsche and when I drove for GruppeM - Tech9 back in 2003, we won every race we finished with the car, so for me it will be like going home again.”
Although team-mate Bamford is a racing rookie, Griffin added that the pace displayed by the newcomer in testing had been a pleasant surprise ahead of the penultimate meeting for the GTC class at Brands this coming weekend.
“Peter is new to motor racing and is quite a novice although he has been getting quicker day-by-day,” he said. “We have had a few test sessions but I've given him most of the seat time to get up to speed and he has surprised me. To be honest I think he might surprise a lot of people come race day at
Brands Hatch. Our tests have gone really well and it was easy to jump back into the Porsche and be quick straight away.”
As for his relationship with Emotional, Griffin said he was aiming to be involved with the team again in 2007 – although it was unlikely that it would be at the wheel of the Monaro.
