Lea Wood was in a buoyant mood after qualifying in 18th for round 16 of the 2014 British Touring Car Championship season at Snetterton.
The Houseman Racing driver secured his best qualifying result of the year at the Norfolk circuit, taking advantage of others’ misfortunes to post a time within two-tenths-of-a-second of the points paying positions.
And speaking to TouringCars.Net after the session, Wood was delighted to be amongst the pack.
“Yes – [18th is] really good,” exclaimed the 29-year-old. “Obviously it’s our best qualifying so far this year, and we’re making good changes on the car and really finding some time in it so I’m feeling positive going into the races.”
With six points to his name so far in 2014, Wood’s achievements are all the more remarkable given that he came into the season with a new Toyota Avensis that he had had no time to test, and he was proud of the job that he and his team have done this season.
“When we came into this season we had [done] no testing at all, we came out at the first meeting [at Brands Hatch] and that was it so to do what we’re doing is unbelievable – I’m really pleased. We need to keep getting good finishes.
“We are underdogs, but the team keep doing a fantastic job with the car. These cars are all pretty similar now anyway, so we’ve just got to make it work as well as the rest.”
The Herefordshire racer has run well in his most recent visits to the circuit, having been on course for a win in 2012 while his 2013 weekend marked the start of his domination of the Jack Sears Trophy, and looking towards the races, Wood was optimistic about being able to add to his points tally.
“I do like Snetterton,” said Wood. “It was a shame two years ago when we had that problem, but hopefully we can do a good job and get some good results.
“I hope [we can score points] – definitely.”