Martin Depper was delighted to have secured a maiden top-ten finish in the British Touring Car Championship at Donington Park, as he and his Eurotech Racing team continue to make progress.
Keeping his head in a frantic third race at the Leicestershire circuit, Depper picked his way impressively through the pack to cross the line in ninth place – his best result to-date in the championship, having previously scored a brace of 12th-places last season.
Having scored a point in the opening race of the day and with team-mate and owner Jeff Smith finishing all three of the day’s races in the points, the result also reflected a step forward for the Eurotech team, with five points scores from a possible six.
Speaking to TouringCars.Net, Depper was thrilled with his result, which he felt was just reward for the efforts of his team.
“I’m pleased,” said a chipper Depper. “But there’s more to come, keep watching.
“We’re obviously thrilled. Jeff and the team are working really hard and I’m building my speed – that’s always been the main thing for myself, to continue my improvement, and I’m really chuffed because it [ninth place] demonstrates what we can do.
“We’ve been showing the pace in various areas but we’ve never been able to make it count across the line, or we’ve had a bit of bad luck in the race which means it doesn’t count on the finish sheet.
“But in race three for once we managed to be where we should which is great and we look forward to continuing that at Thruxton.”
The 46 year-old admitted that he had revelled in the opportunity to fight in the competitive order, and hoped that result was a sign of things to come from both himself and Smith.
“It was fabulous really. Mike Jordan always said to me last year if you can get through the mid pack and then get onto the top ten the racing is hard – of course it is – but it’s a slightly different style of racing and that’s exactly what it is.
“You’re racing with very experience people and while they do race hard and are a little bit cheeky in places they know when they’ve lost a position as well.
“So it was great to be racing with them, it’s where we want to be, it’s where the car should be of course and me and Jeff will continue to make our personal improvements and hopefully continue to push into that top ten.”
Depper also said he was enjoying a second season with the Eurotech team, with Smith having taken control of the outfit over the winter.
“The dynamic is very similar because a good proportion of the team are still here. That’s a positive thing so it still feels as friendly and I feel just as at home as I did last year.
“Everybody’s continuing to work really well. Like all good race teams, it is all about the people who are in it and we’ve got a great bunch of guys.”