24h Le Mans
24 Hours of Le Mans team members are a mixed bunch. Yet amateurs and team managers alike have all worked their way up the endurance racing ladder to reach the classic French race. Today, the spotlight is on Tom Ferrier, founder of LMGTE Am team TF Sport.
Team: TF Sport
Class: GTE Am
Car and Drivers:
Aston Martin Vantage AMR #90 pilotée par Charles Eastwood – Jonathan Adam – SalihYoluc
1998 British Karting Champion aged 16, he went on to drive successfully in Formula Renault before switching to saloon cars. He competed in BTCC and ETCC with Alfa Romeo and BMW then FIA GT and British GT with Porsche and Lamborghini. BRDC member and co-founder of Scuderia Vittora he set up his own team in January 2014, competing in the main GT championships. “I founded Scuderia Vittoria in 2010 with Danny Buxton and Piers Masarati who respectively raced in the UK Clio Cup and British GT. We were very successful, but the Clio side of things got too much for me to handle and Piers had other projects. Basically, by the end of 2013, it was time to move on. As I had a client who raced a lot, I was able to make my own way."
TF Sport began by racing an Aston Martin GT4 in British GT before switching to an Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 the following season. The team won the 2016 British GT with drivers Jonathan Adam and Derek Johnston. They also entered – and won – the Michelin Le Mans Cup, which earned them an invitation to take part in the 2017 24 Hours of le Mans. “Winning British GT set things in motion. It snowballed from then on. We get bigger and bigger each year." In February 2017 the team entered the Blancpain GT series with an Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 and ran an Aston Martin V8 Vantage GTE in the European Le Mans Series, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. TF Sport was declared ready to shine on the international stage. In 2018, they entered the World Endurance Championship in LMGTE Am and triumphed at Fuji, the first of three wins. "Good memories", says the former driver with a happy sigh.
This season TF Sport is aiming to win LMGTE Am at Le Mans. And is well-placed to do so. "As a team, we have come a long way since the 2019-19 WEC Super Season", reckons the manager. "Winning the 24 Hours of Spa gave us the confidence we needed. I think we’re ready to chase victory at Le Mans. Team, car, drivers – we’ve got all our ducks lined up – but it’s Le Mans. You never know. And conditions this year will be quite different to usual. This race will be peculiar, and not just because there’ll be no spectators. The weather is unsettled and there’ll be 4.5 hours more darkness, so we’ll have to be quick to adapt.” As usual, Tom Ferrier is likely to take things in his stride.
