Speedworks Motorsport Team Principal Christian Dick is hoping for a change of luck and fortune as the British Touring Car Championship heads to Rockingham.
“Hopefully this run of bad luck will change, because we know the pace is in the car for results to be better,” said Dick.
“It doesn’t feel like we’ve had much fortune, but we’ll continue working with the same enthusiasm we always have done.”
Ollie Jackson in the #48 Toyota Avensis secured a trio of points finishes at Knockhill last time out and he is targeting his first top ten finish of the season at Rockingham, a circuit he has gone well at in the past.
He took a brace of top ten finishes in 2012 and this gave him a front row start for the final race of the day, where he started alongside former Speedworks Motorsport driver Adam Morgan.
“I’ve had a lot of good results at Rockingham, and plenty of good fortune too. I like racing there; it’s a track that suits me,” reflects Jackson.
“The weather helped me out last season as I tend to go well in the wet, but those are good memories sitting on the start-line across from Adam.”
In the six races held since the summer break, Jackson has secured five points scoring finishes including an 11th place finish in his 50th BTCC start north of the border at Knockhill.
“I’ve found more consistency, but there’s no secret behind that or a specific change that’s made all the difference,” he said.
“It’s more that I’m adapting better to the car and getting my head around how it behaves and how to set it up.
“The challenge of switching to an NGTC machine has been more difficult than I expected; it’s an awkward thing to get used to, so I’m not surprised it’s taken half a season to feel as though I know what to expect,” concluded the 29 year old racer.
Inverness based team-mate Dave Newsham has had a tricky couple of events since the mid season break and he is looking to record his first top ten finish in the BTCC around the Rockingham circuit.
He secured two points finishes at his home circuit despite mechanical issues dogging the #17 Avensis.
“Our pace over the majority of the season has been inside the top eight, but we have endured an unbelievable run of misfortune,” he said.
“It would be easy to blame the team for the car’s unreliability, but when you analyse the faults not one of them can be attributed to a mistake because each of them has been a one-off.
“There are podiums in the car and me; we just need a couple of weekends without any issues,” concluded the 46 year old.