Tony Hughes is pleased with how testing has gone for him, his new team-mate Adam Morgan and the Speedworks Motorsport team ahead of the start of the 2012 British Touring Car Championship, and has expressed what his aim for the season is and how he would celebrate.
Ahead of the on track test, Hughes had to face the media in a press conference, where he was asked about his recent visit to the Houses of Parliament, as he was promoting the contribution of small and medium sized businesses to the recovery of the economy.
He also stated his aim for the season and how he planned to celebrate it, and this got the laughs from the media in attendance. He said that if he broke into the top ten, he “would be cracking open the champagne like it was a win.”
Silverstone saw the official launch of the 2012 campaign with the official Media Day and for Hughes, it was another successful test, as he and BTCC rookie Morgan have been racking up the miles ahead of the opening round of the season at Brands Hatch, Kent.
“Testing has gone well” mentions Hughes, “the car handles so much better after the work that we’ve done on set-up, it gives me so much more confidence to push the car. We’ve tested the Avensis at Donington, Oulton, and quite usefully here at Silverstone in the wet, as I still haven’t covered many miles in front-wheel drive in damp conditions”.
In the build up to the official series Media Day, the Speedworks Motorsport outfit had their work cut out to get both the #33 car of Morgan and #50 Avensis of Hughes ready, and the final touches were made to Morgan’s car at 3am Monday morning.
“All credit to the team” added Tony, “they’ve done a great job getting the cars ready for today, including adding the brand new ‘front ends’ to both cars – which have helped us with the cooling – and I’m sure you’ll agree, looks great”.
Hughes welcomes on board for the 2012 campaign Carlube Triple R, DCB and Adam Morgan’s Ciceley Truck and Van.
The British Touring Car Championship gets underway at Brands Hatch, Kent over the 31 March/1 April, with Hughes local circuit of Oulton Park being the fourth weekend of the season, over the 9/10 June.