Motorbase Performance Team Principal David Bartrum was delighted with the performance of Ford’s EcoBoost engine as his British Touring Car Championship outfit returned to testing action despite the continued absence of a title sponsor.
A fortninght before the start of the 2015 campaign, the team announced that they would miss the opening six races of the season having failed to find sufficient funds after the withdrawal of their title sponsor Airwaves at the end of last year.
With a sponsor still not found, the team nevertheless returned to testing action on Friday, with a full programme of running at Brands Hatch continuing the development of the EcoBoost engine, which Motorbase are set to debut at Snetterton.
And Bartrum, who attended the previous round of the season at Thruxton as the outfit continues to work towards a return to the grid, was pleased with the running that drivers Mat Jackson and James Cole were able to achieve during the test.
“We had a great test on Friday with both BTCC cars in the full 2015 specification;” he said. “Mat and James worked through some set up work and engine work that we had planned which went extremely well. We also covered both qualifying and race run simulations with both cars and were very satisfied with the results.
“Mat was pleased with the developments since our last test earlier in the year, and though James is less familiar with the Motorbase Focus, he was delighted with the car’s performance and pace.
Bartrum conceded that the team’s finances had not been fully resolved, but was optimistic that the test had showed potential sponsors how serious his squad was about returning to the grid.
“We’re still working on finding a financial solution so we can be out at Snetterton in August,” he continued. “We’re not there yet but Friday hopefully showed some interested parties that we’re ready and raring to go. We remain hopeful that we’ll be back on the grid come the second half.”