Chris Smiley has hailed the efforts of BTC Norlin Racing after scoring his maiden victory in the British Touring Car Championship at Rockingham today [12th August].
The Northern Irishman took full advantage in slippery conditions at the start and defended well from Rory Butcher’s MG before extending his advantage to score the team’s second victory in three meetings.
Speaking to TouringCars.net afterwards, Smiley paid particular tribute to the sacrifices of Team Manager, Bert Taylor, in saving and re-building his racing career.
“When I came into parc ferme I could hardly get out of the car, to tell you the truth. The last five laps of that race felt like five years,” he admitted.
“I drove them to perfection. Everything I know about driving a front wheel drive touring car I used there. I didn’t lock up, got off the corner, did everything absolutely textbook.
“It’s just an absolute dream come true. Bert Taylor, the Team Manager, left his job for me to go racing; two and a half years ago I never thought I’d go racing again, never mind win a race in British Touring Cars. It’s just an unbelievable feeling.”
He also underlined his belief in the Honda Civic Type R’s performance, saying that once ahead the pace to record his maiden win was never in doubt.
“I didn’t really see what happened [at the start], all I saw was a clear track and I was gone. I just got my head down and off I went. Rory Butcher took a few more chances at the start when the track was a bit more iffy, but I knew what I had to do and we’ve had the pace all weekend. I knew I could do the business.”
The team’s decision to switch from the Chevrolet Cruze to the hatchback-shaped Honda Civic Type R has been validated in the last two months with maiden wins for Dan Lloyd and now Smiley, who described being part of the developing outfit as a ‘great feeling’.
“This team is a year and a half old, we’ve had these cars about eight months, we haven’t done a single dry test day in them and we’re only getting better every weekend.
“This is a team effort and I’m only a very small part of it. It’s just an amazing thing to be part of, every single one of them is like my best friend and my family, it’s a great feeling to be here.”
The championship reconvenes at Knockhill in Fife, Scotland, over the weekend of 25-26 August.