Rob Austin is celebrating joining the British Touring Car Championship winners circle as he took ‘Sherman’ to victory in the second race of the day.
“It has just been an awesome day for everyone in the WIX Racing team,” explains Austin, whose results have seen him move into the overall Championship top ten with six races to go.
Having taken third on the grid for the opening race of the weekend at Rockingham, Austin secured his fourth podium finish of the season after recovering from a bad start which dropped him down the order.
Lining up third on the grid for the second race of the weekend, Austin used the Rear-wheel-drive advantage of the Audi A4 to jump both front row starters and once in the lead, he drove away to secure his maiden BTCC victory by 3 seconds from reigning Champion Gordon Shedden.
“This is the absolute top level of motor sport in the land and the incredible effort we’ve put in behind the scenes is now starting to pay off,” said the Evesham based driver.
“The first win is just magical and I’ll admit there were a lot of emotions in the car on the last lap when I think of the commitment from all the people involved, but boy has it been worth it. Coming back into parc ferme and seeing the smiles and tears on people’s faces is a memory I’ll treasure forever.”
Having drawn 8 for the reverse grid finale, Austin finished ninth to complete his second strong weekend on the trot – after taking a trio of top four finishes north of the border at Knockhill.
“We need to carry this momentum over into the final two fixtures on the calendar,” continued Austin. “The drivers embroiled in the title fight, who have quite a bit more to lose, will know that we now really mean business when we’re out on track. We’re a real threat and will be going to Silverstone and Brands Hatch fully intent on more wins.
“For now, though, we’re going to thoroughly enjoy our achievements and I hope our many fans do as well – the reaction to our results today on social media has been out of this world. Undoubtedly we’ve won both on the track and off it today,” explained Austin, whose results came at the same time as Rush – in which he features – was released in cinemas country wide.