Clio Cup champion Mike Bushell seeks Snetterton pointsNicolas Hamilton eager to impress on second touring car outing

Having endured a season of mixed fortunes so far, the AmDTuning.com team will seek to come out fighting when the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship season resumes this weekend at Snetterton. The West Thurrock-based team makes the trip to Norfolk buoyed by a solid test at the longest circuit on the schedule last month, where Mike Bushell and Nicolas Hamilton showed encouraging pace at the wheel of their Ford Focus and Audi S3 respectively. For reigning Clio Cup champion Mike, the Snetterton weekend will mark something of a fresh start as he seeks to return to the kind of form he displayed when the BTCC season kicked off at Brands Hatch back at Easter. Following his points scoring debut for the team, which included a Jack Sears Trophy win as top rookie, the 26-year-old has endured a somewhat frustrating season to date; with his undoubted speed at the wheel of the Focus not being translated into results. Mike will now hope to build on his performance in testing, where he ran comfortably inside the top ten during the morning session, with his aim being to return to the points this weekend.“It’s been a long break since Croft and I can’t wait for the weekend to come around,” he said. “Based on how we performed during the test at Snetterton last month, I’m feeling confident about our chances and I’m also feeling fully fit myself after the problems I had with my shoulder last time out.“Last year, Snetterton was a real turning point for me in my Clio Cup campaign, and I’m hoping the same will apply this season. It’s been a tough year so far, but I’m viewing Snetterton as a fresh start and hopefully we can enjoy a solid weekend to get the second half of the season underway.“The first aim is to qualify in the top 15 if we can, and then push for three strong results on race day. Points are the target, and I also want to try and come away from Snetterton with another Jack Sears Trophy to my name.”For team-mate Nicolas, the first disabled driver to compete in the series in its long history, the Snetterton weekend will provide him with the opportunity to build on an encouraging debut at Croft prior to the summer break. The 23-year-old, who lives with Cerebral Palsy, successfully achieved his aim of three race finishes during his first outing in the championship – which also marked his return to competitive action for the first time since 2013. Like Mike, Nicolas enjoyed a successful test at Snetterton last month, where he made light of his lack of experience in a BTCC machine to post a quickest lap within the top 20. Showing the progress he has already made in his short time at the wheel of the Audi, Nicolas will now seek to take more strides forward when the race weekend gets underway, with his aim being to fight further up the field as he continues with his BTCC education.“I feel a lot more confident going into this weekend,” he said. “The recent test we had at Snetterton went well, and I’m really happy with where we ended up at the end of it. I found a lot of time during the day and I have a better understanding of what to expect from the car – and also of what is needed from me.“The aim now is to try and make sure that when the race weekend gets underway, we are able to start where we left off at the end of the test. I want to be right on it from the moment FP1 begins and hopefully we can use practice to refine things and then make a push in qualifying.“The testing pace showed that I can be right in the pack, which will throw up a new challenge for me. At Croft, it was all about getting three finishes and gaining as much experience as I could, and while that applies again at Snetterton, this weekend is also about taking the next step and learning all about racing door to door in the series.”Team boss Shaun Hollamby said he was hopeful that both Mike and Nicolas would be able to impress when the on-track action begins as the AmDTuning.com team prepares for its second weekend running two cars in the highly-competitive series.“Croft seems like a long time ago, and it’s going to be interesting to see how everyone shapes up after the summer break,” he said. “We’re going into the weekend in confident mood after the Dunlop tyre test last month, where Mike and Nicolas both drove well and showed encouraging pace.“For Mike, this will hopefully be the weekend where his wretched luck comes to an end as, from the speed he has shown, he deserves much more than he has had so far in terms of results. He was on the pace throughout the day when we tested and if he can replicate that this weekend, then he’ll be in good shape.“Nicolas is now free from the pressure of his debut and he was impressive during the test considering how little time he’s had in his car compared to the rest of the field. To finish the test inside the top 20 was a real positive and hopefully he can carry that into this weekend and start to make progress up the order.”