Speedworks Motorsport secured a brace of top ten finishes during rounds 4, 5 and 6 of the 2013 British Touring Car Championship at Donington Park.
Dave Newsham brought the #17 Speedworks car home ninth and seventh in the opening two races of the day and was on for another top ten finish in the final race before he spun at Craner Curves and was forced to retire with damage.
Despite his race three retirement, Newsham secured the first double top 10 for the team since Knockhill last year, where Paul O’Neill secured a trio of top ten finishes.
“It was a frustrating way for the weekend to finish,” said a downbeat Newsham.
“However, we made progress with the car with each race after a bit of a battle for pace throughout most of Saturday.
“We were building nicely, and had high hopes for the final race after a favourable reverse grid draw. But I was hit from behind early on, which broke the suspension.”
Qualifying for the 45 year old saw him set the ninth fastest time of the session and he was able to hold his position in the opening race having chased the eBay Motors BMW 125i of Colin Turkington.
He moved up the order in the second race as he secured seventh having passed Sam Tordoff in the latter stages of the race. This meant he lined up on the second row for the final race of the weekend.
“It felt like I was racing again out there,” added Newsham. “I was worried in race one we’d found all of the pace the car has, so it was a boost to find out the speed is there to challenge closer to the front.”
Team-mate Ollie Jackson had a testing weekend at Donington Park as he failed to bring the sister Avensis home inside the top 15 and had two retirements.
After qualifying 14th for the opening race, the Attleborough based racer finished 16th after suffering a damaged anti roll bar, while races two and three saw he fail to finish.
He had a faulty master switch in race two and an oil cooler leak in the final race, the retirement in the final race potentially caused by accidental damage on the opening lap.
“It turned out to be one of those weekends for me, which is a shame,” explained Jackson.
“The car felt good on the whole, although we struggled at times for speed.
“There wasn’t a lot of luck on my side either, which sometimes happens. It’s something I’m now determined to put right [at Thruxton] next time,” he concluded.