BILLERICAY racing driver Daniel Brown will be looking to build on his solid start to the European Le Mans Series at Imola this weekend.

The 22-year-old and his Gulf Racing team-mates drove to a top 10 class finish at the opening round at Silverstone last month.

Now Brown, Stuart Hall and Roald Goethe will be aiming for more of the same in the four-hour endurance race in Italy.

"Silverstone went to plan with us finishing the race and not encountering any major dramas," said Brown.

"Since that first round, the guys at Gulf Racing have been working hard to fine tune the Aston Martin and progress with changes to the set up that will help to see us challenging right at the sharp end."

This will be Brown's first time on track at the famous Grand Prix circuit which is Ferrari's home track.

But he has been on a simulator getting a feel for the layout in a bid to hit the ground running.

And while conceding nothing beats actually driving a track, the experience of the computer simulation means that he does not feel intimidated by the prospect.

"In the modern era of racing, the possibility to learn new circuits has been hugely aided by the use of simulators." he said.

Echo: On track — Daniel Brown (inset) has not given up in his championship quest

Daniel Brown has been learning the Imola track on a simulator

"I have been lucky enough to spend some time in the highly-advanced simulator based at Gulf Racing's workshop, so I feel prepared and happy with the direction of the circuit before I have even arrived there".

The trio of drivers and the UK-based Gulf Racing team are aiming for a top five finish in their Aston Martin Vantage in the GTE class, which is for cars closer in specification of production vehicles.

Last time out the Aston lost out to the Ferraris in straight-line speed but Brown is confident that mechanical and aerodynamic tweeks will let Gulf be closer to the Italian cars in their own backyard.

There are two practice sessions today, followed by qualifying and the race tomorrow.