Donington - 3rd/4th May

 

Qualifying

 

After a difficult start to the day with clutch problems in Chris Stockton’s car and both drivers not having driven the cars since they were purchased, the team were pleased with Chris qualifying in 19th and Stuart in 22nd.

 

Race 1

 

Race 1 was a very exciting race, with Stuart and Chris both making up places on the first lap.  The drivers both reported that they were happy with the cars in the dry setup.  Chris finished the race in a respectable 13th with Stuart also making up places to finish 17th.  The team were more than happy with this result as, getting two cars to the finish line, was a major step forward from the recent disappointments.

 

Chris Stockton said, “I am very happy with the car’s performance in Race 1 and was very pleased to get to the finish and make up places.  I have had no running in the car whatsoever before today and was hampered this morning with clutch issues too.  The Seat Toledos are going to get some getting used to, being left hand drive and also front wheel drive but I am more than happy so far.”

 

Stuart Oliver said, “Getting over 50 laps this morning in free practice 1 and 2 was a great help in my steep learning curve with the new cars.  Although they are left hand drive like my racing truck, the two are still light years apart!  I am really happy to have completed a race and am looking forward to the next race and starting a little further up the grid.”

 

Race 2

 

Race 2 was started in a small shower, making the Donington Park circuit quite slippery.   Unfortunately Stuart came across a spinning car on turn 1 and, in his attempt to avoid it, slid sideways into the spinning car and then was collected by Martin Bell who was left with no where to go.  Stuart’s race was over.  

 

Chris reported that the car was working extrememly well in the damp conditions, despite a dry set up and, with some great overtaking moves and bumper to bumper racing, finished his second race of the day in 8th.

 

 

Chris, “I am so happy to now have finished two races in one weekend and to finish in the top ten is wonderful.  The car worked very well in the conditions and this is reflected in our result.  The team deserved a good result after recent race disappointments and we are now looking forward to seeing where we are on the reverse grid.”

 

Stuart, “Not much to say other than this was a typical racing incident in slippery conditions.  I have spoken to my engineer and he is confident he can rebuild the front right of the car and get me out for race 3!”

 

Race 3

 

In a very exciting move, the reverse grid found Chris in second for the final race and on the front row of the grid alongside Gordon Sheddon.  However, in an incident linked to the fitting of the front right tyre, Chris suffered a puncture on the way to the grid line up.  The team worked quickly to replace the tyre but, on the green flag lap Chris suffered a puncture on the same front right tyre.  He came into the pits but unfortunately the puncture had also damaged the front right suspension and his race was over.

 

Stuart’s team of mechanics and engineers worked tirelessly during the gap between Race 2 and 3 and managed to rebuild the car just in time for Stuart to join onto the end of the green flag lap in Race 3.  He finally finished the race in 15 before slowing to a stop at the end of the pit lane on the cool down laps due to an alternator problem.

 

Chris - "I am very disappointed in the events that have happened for race 3.  I felt this was my best chance to prove to everyone what we are capable of and unfortunately, due to human error, we were unable to race.  Being 2nd on the grid was our best result ever and the weather conditions were exactly what we were hoping for but it didn’t end up being result we were hoping for.  The Seat Toledos have been excellent for us this weekend and I am confident we can now start to move regularly up the grid and start to challenge the top ten on a regular basis.”

 

Stuart – “Firstly I would like to thank my team for getting me out for Race 3.  They worked very hard to rebuild the front right of my car and got me out at the end of the green flag lap!  I had a good race but it is obvious from the handling that the car will need some work between now and Thruxton in 2 weeks time.  I am more than happy with the performance of the Seat Toledos and feel that we are now in a good position to challenge those infront.”

 

 

BTC Racing enjoy its best Race weekend with the Seat Toledo’s

 

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