AmD Tuning Team Principal Shaun Hollamby believes that the team’s Audi S3 will be stronger in Oulton Park’s British Touring Car Championship races this weekend, after the team failed to score last time out.
At Thruxton neither Ollie Jackson nor Ant Whorton-Eales were able to break into the top 15, although Jackson only just missed out after finishing 18th, 16th and 17th respectively in the day’s three races.
It marked the first non-score of the season for the team, with each driver having taken one points finish apiece in the two preceding meetings.
Hollamby believes that the outfit can be stronger in Cheshire, despite not having picked up points at the track since the 2012 season.
“As I said at the time, we were unfortunate not to score at Thruxton and we head to Oulton Park aiming to put that right,” said Hollamby. “Both Ollie and Ant have been driving well this season but we haven’t always been in the position to take advantage of the pace we clearly have in the car.
“We’ll be looking to improve our qualifying performance this weekend as Oulton Park is a circuit where he will be difficult to make the most of a good race car if you qualify down the order.
“Since upgrading the Audi over the winter, we’ve worked hard to improve our package and we go to Oulton Park with a car that we are confident will be strong; it’s just down to us to make the most of it to challenge for solid points across all three races.”
Jackson believes that the weather will be a crucial factor at the weekend, with a strong possibility of rain showers on both Saturday and Sunday.
“There is the chance that the weekend might be wet, but we have a good understanding of what we need to do with the car,” said Jackson. “We also have a few ideas to investigate to try and improve our one lap pace and move us up the order in qualifying as that is what has held us back a little this year.
“We’ve had a strong race car at all three rounds this season, so if we can nail qualifying and start from higher up the grid, it will only increase our chances of adding to our points tally.”
Whorton-Eales himself has a strong record at Oulton Park away from the BTCC, having taken a podium finish in each of the last three seasons in the Renault Clio Cup.
“I’m looking forward to getting back behind the wheel and getting down to business at Oulton Park,” said the 22-year-old. “I’m hoping that with the engine gremlins having gone, we can put on a strong performance this weekend and challenge for points, whilst I’m also determined to fight for my first Jack Sears Trophy win of the season.”