Rob Austin Racing Press Release
Worcestershire’s Rob Austin (Evesham) is confident of strong performances in all three Dunlop British Touring Car races at Snetterton tomorrow after setting the 13th fastest time in this afternoon’s qualifying session at the Norfolk circuit.
Rob's Exocet Racing Audi – run by his privately-entered Rob Austin Racing team – ended the session right behind two cars run by the factory Honda and MG outfits. Thirteenth means he will line up on the inside of the seventh row of the grid for the first of Sunday’s races which will significantly also mark the 100th race in Britain’s premier motor racing championship for his Pershore-based squad.
Rob predicted: “It always comes back to us in race trim and I genuinely sense we have an opportunity to make a good number of places and come away with some really good points tomorrow. Same old same old in qualifying – the rear-wheel-drive Audi can’t match the front-wheel-drive cars on single-lap qualifying pace and that leaves us having to overtake people in the races, but that’s what I love doing and what I’ll be aiming to do in front of the fans tomorrow.
“Qualifying was so-so… nothing too spectacular. We’ve been suffering with understeer which is hurting our mid-corner speed. Hopefully we can make some further tweaks to cure that for tomorrow, plus in a race situation things get very bunched with people tripping over one another. I need to make sure I’m in the right place at the right time to capitalise when my moment comes.
“I’d really like to come away from Snetterton back in the top ten in the championship particularly as we have two really good circuits for the Audi – Knockhill and Rockingham – next up.”
Meanwhile Rob’s team-mate Hunter Abbott (Maidenhead) has significantly more work to do after qualifying 26th overall in his AlcoSense Breathalysers Racing Audi which stopped at the end of the session with an electrical problem.
Hunter commented: “We’re at a bit of a loss really with the lack of pace but, as Rob says, I know things will be better for us in a race situation. I showed at Croft last time out I can pick people off at the starts and keep on making up places. I definitely need some more of that tomorrow.”
See how both Rob Austin Racing Audis do at Snetterton tomorrow with seven hours of live TV coverage of the event (11.00am-6.00pm) on the ITV4 channel.
Photo credit: Rob Austin Racing
