Tech-Speed targets improvements at Rockingham

The GoMobileUK.com with Tech-Speed Motorsport team will hope to rebound from a tough weekend last time out at Knockhill when the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship arrives at Rockingham this weekend for the eighth round of the season.The Leamington Spa-based team came away from the Knockhill weekend without a point after the turbo-powered cars on the grid proved to be too quick for the normally-aspirated Chevrolet Cruzes driven by Widnes-racer Paul O’Neill and Guernsey-based team-mate John George.After the disappointment of Knockhill, Paul heads to Rockingham – where he secured a fine podium finish last season driving a Honda Integra – hoping to return to the kind of form displayed at Snetterton last month, where he took his Chevrolet to second place in the final race of the weekend.Although the high-speed nature of the Rockingham oval is likely to play to the strengths of the turbo cars, the tighter infield should suit the Super 2000-specification Chevrolet, with Paul hoping to come away from the weekend with more points added to his tally.“We thought that Knockhill was going to be a good weekend for us and obviously it wasn’t the case,” he said. “The turbo cars seemed to benefit from the hills in Scotland a lot more than we expected, but Rockingham is a lot flatter and I’m going there more confident of some good results, although its still going to be tough.“The long run round the oval is pretty much flat out so – in theory - the turbo cars shouldn’t be able to use their torque quite as much and the infield is quite technical, so we have to try and make sure we use the strength of the chassis through that section. It’s hard to make predictions until we get on track and we’ll have to see how it goes, but hopefully we can match the kind of results we gained at Snetterton.”Team-mate John had hoped to open his account for the season at Knockhill but – like Paul – was left frustrated after failing to come away from the weekend with a point to his name.Heading to Rockingham, John admits it won’t be easy to pick up a first top ten finish of the season but will continue to fight hard for the breakthrough result at the wheel of his Cruze.“I think the oval is going to help the turbo cars and the main overtaking place is where you drop off the oval into the first hairpin which might make it difficult for us,” he said. “However, we’ve got a really good chassis and we should be able to hold our own on the twisty infield. “I’m expecting it to be tough to beat the turbo cars again this weekend and I’ve got to make sure I take any chances that come my way. My best bet is to try and make up places on the infield and then defend on the oval – but that’s something that will be easier said than done.”Rockingham will mark one of two ‘home’ races for both the Tech-Speed team and title sponsor Go Mobile, which is based less than an hour away from the circuit in Daventry.


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