Chris Stockton and the Power Maxed Racing team signed off their 2014 British Touring Car Championship campaign having narrowly missed out on a top 15 result during the season finale at Brands Hatch.
Having seen his quickest lap of the qualifying session ruined due to a red flag for a car in the gravel at Sheene Curve, Stockton lined up 28th for the opening race of the day.
Having survived the opening lap melee at Paddock Hill, Stockton had made up 15 places in the opening lap to run 13th overall and was on course for his first points of the 2014 campaign. A nudge from behind dropped Stockton down the order but he recovered to finish 18th.
As in the opening lap, Stockton made up positions at the start of the second race and found himself just outside the top 10 after five corners but by the chequered flag, he was back down to 18th after being taken out again, with no bad feelings between Stockton and the driver who hit him out.
The season finale was held in conditions a complete contrast to the opening two races as the heavens opened and soaked the track. Stockton’s finale didn’t last long as damage sustained from the hits in race 2 had damaged the steering on the #28 Chevrolet Cruze.
Despite the final race retirement, Stockton is pleased with the overall improvement the car has made throughout the season and is turning his attentions to 2015.
“This year has been incredibly difficult with the early engine failures,” explained Stockton. “But since the change to the Swindon engine, the car and team have made massive steps forward in reducing the gap in pace from 3 seconds to 0.75 seconds.
“We have to be pleased with the progress we have made, as a competitive bunch of course we wanted to win and now have our sights set high for next year. I would like to thank the Power Maxed Racing team for all their hard work and dedication and our fantastic sponsors who have supported us when times were tough, we look onwards and upwards to a great 2015,” the Cheshire-based racer concluded.