Team RAC driver Tom Onslow-Cole took three top ten finishes at the third round of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at Thruxton this weekend (5/6 May). The 19 year-old from New Malden qualified his BMW 320si on the fifth row and headed into the first of three races around the ultra-fast Hampshire circuit looking for his maiden win.
Sadly it was not to be as the teenager struggled with the set-up of the car in the first few laps athough he improved during the latter stages of the race to cross the line eighth and give him a fourth row start for race two.
In the second race a fantastic start saw him gain places again but a high-speed incident between Darren Turner and Matt Allison at the chicane brought out the safety car mid-way through the race. At the restart and with the location now out of bounds to overtaking, hopes for Tom gaining ground were nil and he took the flag in seventh place. When the reverse grid was decided, with tenth place in race two being awarded pole for the day's final race, Tom duly lined-up fourth and hopes were high of a podium finish at least.
A great start saw him slot into third as the pack headed into the first corner before being pushed down to sixth. Midway through the race he was pushed into a spin which dropped him down the order although he recovered well to collect yet more valuable championship points.
"It's not exactly what I was hoping for on my favourite circuit particularly after getting the second place at Rockingham I was obviously hunting down a win. But to come away with points in all three races is great, it keeps the championship hopes going which is what you need really. We are now really getting to know the car and finding out how much it reacts to small changes. There is still room for improvement but the car is developing well."
Dick Bennetts, WSR Team Principal, commented: “It has been quite a frustrating day overall for Team RAC. It is the first time we have used a new type of tyres. Although we are happy with the drivers performances the car is not exactly how we would like it to be at this stage of the championship. However we are positive that we can make progress and are looking forward to Croft.”
Team RAC now lead the Independents Team Championship with 102 points, and sit fourth in the Overall Teams Championship with 76 points.
Result of Race 1 - 16 laps 1. Fabrizio Giovanardi Vauxhall Vectra 21:41.754 2. Jason Plato SEAT Leon 21:46.112 3. Darren Turner SEAT Leon 21:46.726 4. Colin Turkington BMW 320si 21:46.973 5. Matt Neal Honda Civic 21:48.180 6. Tom Chilton Vauxhall Vectra 21:54.859 8. Tom Onslow-Cole BMW 320si 22:05.308
Result of Race 2 - 18 laps 1. Fabrizio Giovanardi Vauxhall Vectra 25:41.800 2. Matt Neal Honda Civic 25:42.085 3. Tom Chilton Vauxhall Vectra 25:46.157 4. Mike Jordan Honda Integra 25:49.415 5. Colin Turkington BMW 320si 25:50.352 6. Jason Plato SEAT Leon 25:50.873 7. Tom Onslow-Cole BMW 320si 25:52.041
Result of Race 3 - 16 laps 1. Jason Plato SEAT Leon 21:45.119 2. Gordon Shedden Honda Civic 21:46.532 3. Mike Jordan Honda Integra 21:50.085 4. Fabrizio Giovanardi Vauxhall Vectra 21:52.414 5. Matt Neal Honda Civic 21:52.591 6. Darren Turner SEAT Leon 21:53.000 10. Tom Onslow-Cole BMW 320si 22:13.321
Championship positions after 9 rounds:
1. Jason PLATO, 107 points2. Fabrizio GIOVANARDI, 983. Tom CHILTON, 684. Matt NEAL, 665. Colin TURKINGTON, 446. Darren TURNER, 407. Mike JORDAN, 388. Mat JACKSON, 359. Tom ONSLOW-COLE, 34
