Dan Jones enjoyed a solid debut in the Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup at Croft, picking up three podium finishes in challenging on-track conditions during the fifth meeting of the season.
The 37-year-old from Newcastle joined defending teams champions Richardson Racing for his first run in the British Touring Car Championship support series, which also marked a switch into sprint competition after years spent racing in endurance events.
With no testing prior to the weekend, Dan was aware of the challenge that lay ahead, with his focus for his first meeting being to come to terms with the different mentality required for the short, all-action Supercup races.
A challenging qualifying session, which was affected by a mid-session stoppage, saw Dan take 17th on the grid for his first race, which was also the first time he had performed a standing start for a number of years.
With his focus for three races being to bring the car to the finish to gain as much experience as possible, Dan survived a late-race spin to take the flag 14th in race one and then went one better to cross the line 13th in race two.
Race threewhich was brought to an early end following a heavy downpour that left the circuit un-driveable on the slick tyres fitted to every car on trackthen saw Dan again improve to finish twelfth.
Taking second in the G50 class in each of the three races saw Dan come away from the weekend with three podium finishes and three pieces of silverware to his name, while his improvements throughout race day were shown in the fact that his best race lap of the weekend came in race threedespite it being run in the most difficult conditions.
It was a good weekend and I really enjoyed myself, he said afterwards. Okay, Im a bit disappointed that my pace wasnt better, but the changing conditions all weekend made it difficult and I found myself chasing grip quite a bit.
Working with the team was fantastic and they did everything I asked of them, and gave me some good advice on how to improve my performance on track. In hindsight, I should have done a test before the weekend to gain a better understanding of the car and to see how the Michelin tyres performed, as that was the first time Ive raced on Michelin rubber in my career and the tyres were different to what Im used to.
Looking at the data and the onboard videos afterwards, I can see where I need to improve as I wasnt aggressive enough in the braking zone and was avoiding the kerbs; basically I was still nursing the car and the tyres as I would do in endurance racing. By the end however, my lap times were coming down, and in the first two sectors in particular, I could see the improvement.
My sponsors loved the racing and being part of some a major package, and hopefully Ill be able to agree a deal with them to do some further races in the second half of the year. Id certainly love the chance to drive with the team again.
