Árón Taylor-Smith believes that Power Maxed Racing ‘can be full of optimism’ ahead of the second round of the British Touring Car Championship this weekend on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit.
Although Team Principal Adam Weaver was left feeling slightly disappointed after the opening round at Donington Park, in which Taylor-Smith and team-mate Mikey Doble broke into the top ten just once out of six combined starts, Taylor-Smith believes there is reason to be optimistic for this weekend.
The Irishman hasn’t finished inside the top ten on the short Brands Hatch Indy circuit since 2016, and last year claimed a best result of 12th in the trio of races at the short Kent circuit.
But after qualifying in a strong seventh last time out, and going fifth fastest in the official pre-season BTCC test at the track, Taylor-Smith is nonetheless confident for the weekend’s races.
“Heading to Brands Hatch I think the team can be full of optimism, especially coming off the back of our performances at Donington Park,” said Taylor-Smith. “We all have our sights set on having a strong weekend.
“When we tested at the circuit in pre-season the car felt really strong in both wet and dry conditions so I think we should have a fast package.
“I feel like we will be able to challenge up towards the front and I’m excited to see what we can do.”
Doble believes that the tweaks to the BTCC’s hybrid rules and tyre regulations this year, which come into play this weekend, will aid the team’s performances.
“We started with a solid opening round where we scored points in all three races and came away with some silverware,” added the 25-year-old.
“Heading to Brands Hatch we’re looking to build on those results and hopefully use our additional hybrid to put the car well inside the top ten.
“This is going to be the first meeting of the season where we see the new tyre rules come into effect and I think that is going to spice the racing up even more.
“I’m fully focused on claiming more big points in the Jack Sears Trophy and Independents’; we should be right in the fight.”
Team Manager Martin Broadhurst hopes for a return to competitive ways at the circuit, where the team scored its first BTCC win in 2018 and Jason Plato claimed his final career win a year later in 2019.
“Brands Hatch has always been a strong track for us and I’m optimistic that this year should be no different; especially when you add in the alternative levels of hybrid power and the option tyres that are available,” said Broadhurst.
“The BTCC is all about evolving and since Donington Park we’ve found a few little areas that we hope will improve the car and therefore allow us to fight closer to the front.
“It’s going to be competitive but we’re up for the fight.”
Although the team scooped all three Independents’ class wins at Donington, Team Principal Weaver wants more.
“Donington Park was a relatively solid start to the season for us as a team however we are by no means content and we’ve been working hard to further improve the whole package over the past ten days or so.
“Brands Hatch plays to the strengths of the Vauxhall Astra so on paper it should be a strong weekend for Árón and Mikey.
“When you factor in the differences in hybrid deployment and the option tyres it should make for a really exciting weekend!”