Andy Neate pleased with Silverstone promise

Andy Neate is pleased with the promise that the IP Tech Race Engineering Chevrolet Cruze displayed during the penultimate round of the 2013 British Touring Car Championship.

Having withdrawn from the previous round of the series at Rockingham, the car had been fully rebuilt and despite being held up on his best lap in qualifying, Neate finished the session 11^th fastest – just a tenth off a top six starting position.

“We showed the potential that there is in the car during qualifying, especially when you consider that I got held up and lost a tenth of a second on my fastest lap – which would have put us well inside the top ten,” Neate said about the qualifying session.

The opening race of the weekend saw Neate retire at the end of the first lap after contact with two other racers resulting with the Aylesbury racer finishing in the barrier and the #44 Chevrolet Cruze with extensive front end damage.

“In the first race, I wouldn’t have even been in the position to have to take avoiding action if it hadn’t been for contact from Bratt’s Audi, and that then had an effect on race two as the boys worked brilliantly to repair the car but didn’t have time to get the set-up right for the race,” Neate continued.

With a rebuilt car for the second race, Neate finished 17^th overall from the back of the grid and brought the car home 18^th in the final race of the weekend, while encouraged with the lap times which he set in the final encounter.

“In race three, the lap times we set were comparable with those in the top ten but when you are forced to fight in the pack at the start, it quickly takes the best out of the tyres and it then becomes a real challenge,” the 39 year old said.

Looking ahead to the season finale at Brands Hatch, Neate is hoping to convert the promise into some points – his last points scoring finish came in the penultimate race of the 2012 season on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit, where he secured a 12^th place finish.

“There is no doubt that there is a lot of promise in the car as we have the handling, and now have the power as well. Sadly the issue we had in practice, and then the incident in race one, meant we couldn’t convert that promise, and the aim now is to have a trouble-free weekend at Brands Hatch and turn it into points,” Neate concluded.