Hunter Abbott insists that he is pleased with the opening British Touring Car Championship race at Snetterton, taking the fastest lap of the race but finishing on the edge of the points in 15th.
From sixth on the grid Abbott got off to a poor start in his Power Maxed Racing Chevrolet Cruze, dropping to the lower echelons of the top ten halfway around the opening lap.
However, he was then turned around by the BMW of Sam Tordoff at Oggies, dropping him to the back of the pack in 26th at the end of lap one.
Abbott then set about mounting a comeback drive, fighting his way up eleven places before ultimately taking home one point for 15th and one for the fastest lap of the race.
“I got a bad start, and got bogged down off the line,” explained Abbott to TouringCars.Net. “I came back and did Tordoff at the hairpin and finished the move at the exit.
“Then we were going down to the right-hander at Oggies and I was behind [Matt] Neal, who locked a little bit and took a similar line. I got a tap from behind from Tordoff, and I think it was just one of those things. There was a little bit of a gap and a little bit of a bunch and he saw half a car width. I got turned around and went backwards.
“I got the fastest lap, by three tenths as well, so I’m pretty pleased with that. If I had got off the line it would have been a different story and I think we had the pace.”
Abbott admits that he has to work harder on his starts in the future, although he didn’t put all of the blame at his own door for the poor getaway.
“Front-wheel drive is very different to rear-wheel drive and the only standing starts I’ve done have been in touring cars, and mainly in rear-wheel drive,” added the former GT racer. “I struggle a little bit with it.
“Also with the engine we’re working on developing I don’t think we’ve got the mapping quite right, so it’s very easy to bog it at the start. I think it’s a combination of those things. We’ve got to do a bit of work on that side, even if it’s just me sat in a car park and doing starts all day!
“The good thing is we got the fastest lap of the race and it’s a nice thing to have in touring cars with the level of competition.”
“I know I was still quick at the end and I was taking a second a lap out of the guys in front of me. Obviously those guys were stuck in traffic, but there was a bit of pace there for sure.”