Tom made it onto the podium in the second race at Thruxton, but didn’t have a happy time in the other two, struggling with set-up difficulties on his VX Racing Vectra.

The event started well for Tom, setting 2nd and 4th fastest times in Saturday morning’s free practice and he was confident going into the afternoon’s half-hour qualifying session. His first run was even quicker than the lap time he set in the morning, but at the end of qualifying Tom was 4th quickest and not happy;

“I should have had a slightly different set-up as I had massive oversteer on the exit of the fast corners and that cost me straight line speed up the hill to the chicane. Being 4th on the grid for the first race is not the end of the world, but I know I should have been quicker.”

Round 7

Tom made a great start in the first race and drove a fantastic opening lap, gaining places at the complex and through Goodwood to end the lap in 2nd place. Over the first few laps Tom gained on leader Fabrizio Giovanardi and pulled away from the chasing pack, setting the race’s fastest lap in the process.

By lap six it was clear that Tom was struggling as he slowly but surely slipped back and was caught by firstly Darren Turner then Mike Jordan. Tom did his best to hold off his pursuers, but on lap 11 both Turner and Jordan were past and Tom’s mirrors were then full of Jason Plato’s SEAT.

Clearly suffering from a lack of grip, Tom hung on the best he could, but over the final four laps he lost places to Plato, Colin Turkington and Matt Neal and found himself down in 7th place. Jordan suffered a puncture on the final lap so Tom crossed the line in 6th place;

“That was awful and I’m really disappointed” said Tom after the race. “The understeer got worse and worse with every lap and by the end I had to take the fast corners at a ridiculously slow speed just to stay on. I had a problem with the front tyre pressures apparently, so we will have to get that sorted for the next race.”

Round 8

The VX Racing team changed Tom’s set up for the second race and it certainly appeared much better. Following another fantastic start from 6th on the grid, Tom was up to 4th after the first few corners. He put a wheel on the grass exiting Goodwood though, ran wide and lost a place to Matt Neal. Plato incurred a drive-through penalty and so as the field commenced the second lap Tom was 4th.

Lap 4 and with a couple of brave moves Tom passed Neal again and Colin Turkington to move into 2nd place. He caught race leader Giovanardi with ease and started to put pressure on the Italian when a safety car had to be deployed, delaying Tom’s charge.

When the racing resumed so did Tom’s challenge and a three-way battle for the lead ensued with Neal joining the two Vauxhalls. Tom was caught in the middle, wanting to find a way past Fabrizio, but also having to defend from Neal. With just three laps to go Tom ran a little wide on the exit of Church corner and Neal was through. Tom couldn’t keep the pressure on Neal and settled for 3rd place. The change of set-up had brought a podium finish, but Tom still wasn’t happy;

“That was definitely better, but I’m still struggling with the handling from about halfway through the race. Having a safety car disguised the problem as it allowed the tyres to cool off for a few laps. There is still some work to do for sure.”

The final race of the day had the top ten finishers from the second race reversed, so Tom would line up 8th on the grid.

Round 9

Tom again put in an amazing opening lap and through the melee he emerged in 5th place but it wouldn’t last. On the second lap in amongst a group of cars, Tom got baulked and lost momentum on the fast sweeping curves out the back of the circuit. The chasing cars swept by, dropping Tom to 9th.

He got a place back, passing Dave Pinkney to move into 8th place and that was as good as it got. Feeling disappointing and surprised, Tom explained after the final race how much of a struggle it had been;

“I’ve had three different set-ups today and they all gave me problems. The car was good in the first session on Saturday but since then it’s got slower and the tyre degradation has got worse. I guess I just haven’t found the sweetspot here at Thruxton, we’ve lost our way on the set-up and it’s surprising.”

So not a brilliant weekend but the 19 points Tom picked up keep him in 3rd place in the Championship and now him and the VX Racing team can look to the next races which will be at Croft in Yorkshire on the 2nd and 3rd of June.