Dave Newsham and his AmD Tuning team were left disappointed by a point-less British Touring Car Championship weekend at Oulton Park, which was ended early after a collision with Jack Goff.
In a recent interview with TouringCars.Net, Newsham had been upbeat about his chances of moving up the grid and that vision looked to be a real possibility as the 46-year-old performed well in the weekend’s opening wet practice sessions.
But with the track drying out for qualifying, the Inverness-based driver was forced to settle for the 16th fastest time – which still marked his best race one grid slot of the season – as a red flag caused by Jack Clarke meant he was unable to improve his time.
But that was only the start of his frustration, with Sunday’s action at the Cheshire circuit blighted by a lack of overtaking opportunities. Newsham was one of a number of drivers who found themselves frustrated on the International layout, which the series was using for the first time in nearly twenty years, as he was unable to advance from his qualifying position, crossing the line one place further back in 17th.
And Newsham’s weekend came to an untimely end in the second race of the day, as contact with RCIB Racing’s Goff – who was attempting to follow Andrew Jordan through as the trio battled in the minor points placings – sent him skidding across the previously sodden grass and into the barriers on the exit of Old Hall, leaving his Ford Focus with sub-frame damage which proved to be irreparable, forcing his team to withdraw the car for the final race of the day.
Newsham was downbeat to have retired from the action, but remained positive that the next event would see a change of fortune for him and his team.
“I’m so disappointed with the way things went on race day as we’d been really confident coming here,” said Newsham. “We lost out a bit in qualifying because of the red flag and then in the opening race, we were just as quick as the cars ahead but it was like racing in the Monaco Grand Prix; there was just no chance to find a way past the guys in front.
“The tyre pressures had been a bit soft in race one so we tweaked them for race two and the car felt a lot better. I managed to make up some places and was having a good battle with Andrew and Jack when the incident happened.
“It was one of those times where I think Jack might have thought he was clear of me as he came across and I was recovering and we touched. I know it wasn’t a dirty move as Jack isn’t that kind of driver and I’ve always enjoyed racing alongside him, but when I got on the grass, there was no chance of me stopping the car. Even though a divot took some of the speed off, it was a heavy hit into the barriers and not the way I wanted the weekend to come to an end.
“Yet again we showed we have good speed in the car, and we’ll hope for better luck at Croft later in the month.”
Team principal Shaun Hollamby was equally disappointed that their racing was curtailed earlier than expected, but insisted that the outfit’s focus was firmly on providing their driver with the best race-car possible for Croft in three weeks’ time.
“The red flag in qualifying meant we were a few places further back on the grid that we hoped to be, and it was a tough race day,” he said. “We stayed out of trouble in race one, which was one of our aims after recent events when something in race one has put us on the back foot, but then it all went wrong in race two.
“Dave was showing strong pace and was one of the few people who was able to make up places but the accident was one of those unfortunate ones that happens in touring cars. Although it wasn’t as bad as it first looked, it was the biggest impact we’ve had in the BTCC and the damage was too much to be fixed for race three.
“However, the car will be as good as new in time for Croft, so we’ll put this weekend behind us and focus on what is to come.”