Oxfordshire GT racer Jamie Derbyshire will be at his home venue of Silverstone this weekend for round one of the FIA GT Championship.

The Spirit Motor Group backed driver is stepping up to the top level GT1 category of the international series, driving the Balfe Motorsport Saleen S7R against the likes of Aston Martin, Maserati and Corvette in the three-hour race for the prestigious Tourist Trophy.

Early season testing has shown Derbyshire to be on the pace with the front runners and a final shakedown last week showed that the car is in good shape and gave him one last chance to drive it before the competition finally gets under way at Silverstone.

"I'm really looking forward to getting the season under way, he said "The team has done a great job on the car and I can't wait to see where we can be over the course of a race weekend. It feels like it has taken forever for the season to start, but I know its going to be a long one now that we're finally going to Silverstone."

A bonus for Derbyshire and the rest of the team is the fact that the opening round is on home soil, which means that all the drivers know the layout of the Grand Prix circuit and should be fully up to speed from the moment they leave the pit-lane.

Derbyshire said: "It's definitely a bonus to be starting out at Silverstone. We know that the Saleen may not be the quickest car over a single lap, especially compared to the newer Astons and Maseratis.

"But now that we've got the car where we want it all the drivers can concentrate on getting on with the driving and staying consistent. I think we can certainly surprise a lot of the established GT1 teams on the grid with our pace and results. I can't wait for the weekend to get under way."

Derbyshire will be on track from Friday afternoon for the opening free practice session, before qualifying for the 500km race starts on Saturday.