TEAM VERTU BIDS TO ENTER SUMMER BREAK ON A HIGH AT OULTON PARK
Team VERTU will look to head into the summer break in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship on a high with a strong performance on track this weekend at Oulton Park.
The EXCELR8-run team heads for the Cheshire circuit for the fourth meeting of the campaign sitting second in both the Drivers’ Championship and the Manufacturers’ Championship, and third in the Teams’ Championship following the first nine races of the campaign.
Defending champion Tom Ingram is best placed of the Team VERTU drivers on the back of his fourth podium finish of the season last time out at Snetterton, although an unfortunate alternator failure also saw him miss out on a potential second victory of the year.
Ingram will look to reduce the gap at the top of the standings at a circuit where he has run well in recent years, having finished outside the top four only once in the last twelve races – with four victories.
Similar results this time around will help strengthen Ingram’s bid to retain his title before the start of the summer break, which has been brought forward this year due to the World Cup.
Experienced team-mate Tom Chilton topped the times in qualifying for the qualifying race at Snetterton last time out, and also secured his first podium finish of the season to move into the top ten in the championship standings.
Chilton scored a top three finish at Oulton Park last season, and will seek to benefit from having full TOCA Turbo Boost going into the weekend to once again feature towards the sharp end of the field.
Ricky Collard was also amongst the podium finishers at Snetterton as he recovered from a difficult Saturday to secure a fourth top three result of the season, maintaining his impressive run of form since returning to the grid at the start of the year.
Collard launched his car racing career at Oulton Park back in 2012 with a one-off outing in the Ginetta Junior Championship and is a multiple winner in other formula, with his goal for the weekend being to add to challenge for more silverware to maintain his position inside the top six in the standings.
Nicolas Hamilton goes into the weekend full of confidence on the back of a strong weekend at Snetterton in which he secured Jack Sears Trophy honours, earning him a place on the podium for the first time in his career.
Having displayed strong pace across the three races last time out, Hamilton will look to maintain the progress he had made across the opening rounds of the year to challenge for Jack Sears honours for a second successive meeting whilst also chasing an overall points finish.
After free practice on Saturday morning, qualifying kicks off at 14:00 and airs live on YouTube, with the qualifying race over ten laps following immediately afterwards.
Sunday’s three races, each of which runs for 15 laps, are scheduled for 12:25, 14:55 and 17:20 and will air live on ITV4.
Tom Chilton, #3 Team VERTU Hyundai i30 Fastback N, said:
“Getting my first podium of the season at Snetterton last time out was a real positive, although I still had my fair share of misfortune across the weekend that meant the results as a whole weren’t quite what I was hoping for.
“However, the fact we were quickest in qualifying and took pole for the qualifying race shows that the pace is there in the car, and the goal this weekend is to try and stay out of trouble and make the most of that fact.
“Oulton Park is one of the more difficult circuits to overtake with it being so narrow, so hopefully the fact we have full TOCA Turbo Boost will allow us to repeat our qualifying performance from Snetterton and put us at the front for when the racing gets underway.”
Ricky Collard, #11 Team VERTU Hyundai i30 Fastback N, said:
“Snetterton was the most difficult round of the season for me, but we still managed to come away from the weekend with a trophy for the third meeting in a row, which is the big positive thing for me to take away from it.
“Having dropped a few places in the championship might actually help me heading to Oulton Park because it will give us that extra bit of boost at the start of the weekend, which I think is going to be important.
“Oulton Park is a circuit that has provided me with plenty of memories going back to my first ever car race, and hopefully I can create some more positive memories this time around.”
Nicolas Hamilton, #28 Team VERTU Hyundai i30 Fastback N, said:
“The response to what happened at Snetterton with the Jack Sears Trophy win has been unbelievable and achieving my goal of making it onto the podium for the first time in my career has given me a huge amount of confidence.
“I’m really starting to feel more comfortable in the car as I showed with my pace last time out, although I know there is still work to be done and I can’t afford to rest on my laurels.
“My obvious goal is to try and challenge for the Jack Sears Trophy win for a second time, but the main focus is to keep pushing myself to develop and improve so I can take another step forwards in performance.”
Tom Ingram, #80 Team VERTU Hyundai i30 Fastback N, said:
“Although we got a podium at Snetterton, it was another weekend of what might have been had we not had more bad luck in the second race with the alternator issue. Until then, it looked like we were going to be able to claw back more points on Ash in the championship, but instead he was able to extend his lead at the top.
“With the summer break coming early this season, it’s vital that we have a trouble free weekend at Oulton Park to try and bring the gap at the top down. The big positive is that we know it’s a circuit where our car is strong given our record in recent years, and we have to make sure we maximise every session to try and keep that record going.
“We’re not even a third of the way through the season yet and there is still a lot racing to do and a lot of points to be won – and a big haul of points is my target this weekend.”
Justina Williams, Team VERTU Team Owner, said:
“We head to Oulton Park feeling confident given the strong performances we have seen from all four drivers so far, and the fact that we’ve gone well at the circuit in the past. With the summer break coming up early after this weekend, it would be great if we could add to our win tally and close the gap in the standings.”
