Rounds three and four of the 2012 World Touring Car Championship saw James Nash and the Team Aon team show their potential with two storming drives from sixteenth on the grid.
For Nash, his efforts were unrewarded as he failed to break into the top ten in either race and the wait for his first points of the 2012 campaign continues.
“Nevertheless, our race pace today was on the edge of the top ten in spite of us having to carry a 30kg weight penalty until we can fit some redesigned parts. So going forward, there are good reasons to be optimistic for the Championship ahead,” said a positive Nash.
Having qualified the #14 Ford Focus in sixteenth position, the 2011 British Touring Car Championship Independents Champion had worked his way eleventh position in both races before slipping back down the order to finish twelfth in race one while broken suspension meant that Nash had to retire with five laps remaining of the second race.
“I got good starts in both races which is critical when the field is as competitive as it is in the WTCC. We had some good racing thereafter, the highlight I guess was passing Monteiro in an out-braking manoeuvre,” said Nash about his weekend.
The two Valencia races showed that Nash is able to mix it with the best. He had the better of Stefano D’Aste during the first race – D’Aste would later lead the second race – while in round four of the season, he had the better of former Formula One driver and WTCC race winner, Tiago Monteiro.
“It was a shame to finish race two early in the pits but all in all I’m not too disappointed with how we’ve gone this weekend. We’re continuing to make progress with the Ford Focus, which, is brand new this season. We’re going to concentrate our minds on the chassis between now and the next meeting in two weeks time. There is definitely time to be found in the car as we develop it.”