Speedworks Motorsport believe they have taken a step in the right direction after the Cheshire-based team enjoyed the strongest weekend of the year so far in the British Touring Car Championship at Oulton Park.
Having spent two days testing prior to the Oulton Park meeting the team were confident ahead of their home race. Their confidence was vindicated on Saturday when lead driver Dave Newsham scored their best-ever qualifying result by taking fourth on the grid for race one.
Raceday also delivered strong result for Newsham – who finished eighth, sixth and 14th respectively in the day’s three races. Ollie Jackson did not fare as well, finishing 24th, 16th and 15th respectively.
“There’s plenty to be positive about,” admitted Team Principal Christian Dick. “Our objective was to show that we’d made progress following the two test days since the previous round, and without doubt we’ve proved that. All the steps we’ve taken have been entirely in the direction we wanted to go.”
Newsham finished the weekend in a buoyant mood, despite contact with Gordon Shedden in race three dropping the 45-year-old from ninth to 22nd. Nevertheless, the Scot valiantly fought his way back up to 14th by the end of the race.
“We’ve moved on so much with the car, which for the most part was great all weekend,” said Newsham. “After adjustments in qualifying and then after race one, I was able to find a bit more pace that helped to push us on.
“There’s still more improvement to come, but we leave Oulton Park in a much better position than we finished the previous round.”
Jackson once again failed to string together three consistent races and took home just one point from the weekend’s races, leaving him down in 21st in the championship. A sensor fault in race one lost the Surrey racer two laps, whilst a spin in race three also cost him valuable time.
“The car felt the best it has done – and quick – at the start of the final race, so at least I signed off on a positive note,” said Jackson. “It was a really mixed bag for me this weekend, but I’ve something to build on at the end of it.”