The trio of Independent Toyota teams are all hoping for a dry weekend at Thruxton, venue for rounds 7, 8 and 9 of the 2013 British Touring Car Championship.
It was in the wet last year where Frank Wrathall and the Dynojet team secured their first podium of the season, having held off Jason Plato in the final race of the day to bring the car home 3rd overall.
His podium finish in the 3rd race came off the back of a fifth and fourth place finish in the opening two races.
He is unsure of what to expect from the Hampshire circuit this year: “I’m not sure what to expect from Thruxton, to be honest. It will be a bit of an unknown for most people because the only time it was dry there last year was right at the end of qualifying. I think there’s a lot to learn about the tyres; it will be interesting, but at least most people are in the same boat.”
After a front row start at Donington Park, the Preston based racer had a tough weekend as he suffered a turbo boost issue and this restricted him to a single 7th place finish.
“I think we’ve got to the bottom of our engine problems; we will be giving it a run on the dyno before the meeting, and hopefully it will back to full health,” he said.
“We had good pace at Thruxton last year and the Toyota has felt absolutely mega so far this season. We just need everything to come together, a bit of luck on our side, and I am sure the results will flow.”
Leading the Toyota charge after the opening six races is Ciceley Racing and Adam Morgan. The 24 year old is one of only six racers to have scored points in all six races to date and his consistency – including a hat trick of top 5 finishes at Donington – means he is sixth in the Championship and second in the Independents’.
He admits that he was lucky to finish the third race at Donington Park: “Some debris had got through and damaged the turbo blades,” Morgan said. “If one of those blades had come off it would have badly damaged the engine, so we were lucky it held together.”
He is hoping to continue his strong start to the season at Thruxton, a start which has seen him finish outside of the top 6 just once in six races.
“I will be more than happy if I can replicate the results I had at Brands Hatch and Donington,” he continued. “I think we should be there or thereabouts; I really like Thruxton. I just hope it’s dry…”
For Speedworks Motorsport, they are looking for a change of fortune at Thruxton after both Dave Newsham and Ollie Jackson failed to finish the final race at Donington.
Despite his race three retirement, Newsham secured the first double points score for the team since Knockhill last year and was on for a strong final race of the weekend before suspension issues caused him to spin down the Craner Curves.
“It was definitely impact damage, not a simple failure,” explains Christian Dick, Speedworks Motorsport team boss. “Just when that damage happened isn’t clear – it may have been several corners before the suspension failed.
“However, that is all repaired and we are going through all the data from Donington, as a result of which we will make some changes for Thruxton and hope to build our pace.”