Sibsport Looking to Bounce Back as BTCC Returns
to Oulton
17 June 2007
New Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship team sibsport are
positive they can have a strong weekend at Oulton Park, Cheshire – the
venue for rounds 13, 14 and 15 of the season which take place on June
24th.
Despite setting a strong pace last time out at his local circuit
of Croft, Simon Blanckley would ultimately come away with one finish
out of three races. However, the Durham driver is happy about the
way the weekend went overall, especially the pace he showed during
the races. "We
proved we can mix it with the bigger teams, which was good to see.
Our pace has improved so much over the season. At Rockingham, which
had similar lap times to those at Croft, we were slightly over 2 seconds
off the leaders. Then, two meetings later at Croft, our fastest lap
was just over a 1 second away from the fastest race lap. That's
a big step in motorsport, especially as we haven't got the best
budget it the pit lane. The whole team is working so hard and it's
because of this that we have grown into a regular contender for outright
championship points – it proves we have been developing throughout
the season so far, which was my original aim for the team."
Although Oulton Park was the venue where Blanckley had a violent
accident whilst running near the front in his ex-BTCC Honda Accord 'Super
Tourer' during his 2006 LMA Euro Saloons championship campaign,
he still enjoys the circuit and feels its tight and flowing nature
will make for some interesting action for the fans. "Although
I've never driven on the full Island circuit, I know that Oulton
is a track where you have to keep your concentration up, because if
you don't, it will bite back. I remember watching on television
some really classic races from Oulton throughout the years, so I hope
to experience another one from behind the wheel.
"Like Croft I've heard that the locals come out in force
for the Oulton BTCC races each year, so it should be a great atmosphere.
Having seen it now from a driver's perspective, you can't
get much more passionate than BTCC fans!," concludes Blanckley.
With half the season now elapsed, the series now heads at full steam
towards the final event in October at Thruxton.
CMA
See series calendar for British
Touring Car Championship 2007
Related Story 14.06.2007 - Plato Aims to Extend Mid-point BTCC Advantage
