The trio of independent Toyota drivers, Frank Wrathall, Adam Morgan and Tony Hughes are all set for their toughest challenge of the season as they head to the challenging Thruxton circuit in Hampshire for rounds seven, eight and nine of the 2012 British Touring Car Championship.
None of the drivers have much experience of the circuit in their NGTC Avensis race cars, with the #11 Dynojet car of Wrathall being a completely different car compared to the one he took around the Hampshire circuit in 2011.
He heads to Hampshire looking to continue the form he showed at Donington Park, after the disaster of Brands Hatch.
“Donington was just what we needed – three solid races and no damage,” said Garstang-based Frank, 25. “Hopefully we can repeat that and perhaps even do a little better.”
The 2011 races saw Wrathall lose out on track time due to teething problems on the car, which was still new to the team at the time.
“In what little time get did get on track we were soon on the pace,” said Wrathall, “so I hope that with the advances that we have made with the Toyota we will be even closer to the front. I have always gone well at Thruxton, but it is an unusual track and you can never really be totally sure how things will pan out. We will certainly be giving it our best shot.”
Wrathall will take to the track sitting thirteenth in the overall Championship and eleventh in the Independents while Dynojet occupy ninth in the teams’ Championship.
Adam Morgan has never experienced the track in the Speedworks Motorsport Avensis and the twenty three year old isn’t sure what to expect.
“It is going to be a bit of a leap into the unknown,” said 23-year-old rookie racer Morgan. “I have competed before at Thruxton and have had some tuition there, but no testing at all in the Avensis, so it is going to take me a few laps to get up to speed.”
He does have memories of the circuit however, having rolled while competing in the Ginetta G50 Cup in 2010 and he remembers the incident well.
“I went off at Church corner and flipped over the barrier. Fortunately I was not at top speed at the time but it’s not something I want to try again,” said Morgan, who secured a victory at the circuit last year en route to the Championship.
Donington Park proved to be a breakthrough weekend for the former Ginetta racer as he secured his first point finishes around the East Midlands circuit and brought home the teams’ best result with a thirteenth place finish.
In the build up to the event, Morgan has competed in his first triathlon, which included a 400m swim, a 26km bike ride and a 6km run.
“It was really tough and I hated every minute of it while I was doing it,” admitted Adam, “but a day afterwards I was looking for more triathlons to enter…”
Morgan’s Speedworks Motorsport team-mate, Tony Hughes, also is lacking in mileage at the circuit having sat out last years’ event. Hughes heads to Thruxton looking to continue his points scoring habit – at both Brands Hatch and Donington Park, he secured a fifteenth place finish in the final race of the day.
“I haven’t driven the Toyota there and it’s going to be exciting, I am sure,” added Hughes, who has been celebrating the announcement of a Queen’s Award for Enterprise for his company, Hughes Safety Showers of Stockport.