Many thanks to Matt Salisbury for sharing news of this driving challenge Island-based James Kaye will be taking part in this weekend. Ed
The AmDTuning.com team has its sights firmly fixed on the podium when the new Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship season gets underway this weekend at Brands Hatch.
The West Thurrock-based team heads into the season opener on home soil seeking to challenge for honours in the new Jack Sears Trophy, introduced into the BTCC this season for teams running cars to the older Super 2000 regulations.
Island driver
Isle of Wight-based driver James Kaye will be making his début at the wheel of the team’s turbo-powered Volkswagen Golf as he starts his first full season of BTCC competition since 2006.
The 49-year-old makes the trip to Kent buoyed by an impressive display during official testing at Donington Park last week, where he posted the second fastest time amongst the S2000 runners.
Two-time winner
James, a two-time winner of the BTCC’s Independents’ title, will now aim to replicate that form on his first full weekend in AmDTuning.com colours, with hopes high of a strong start to his championship campaign.
“I’m feeling very positive about my debut,” he said. “I was pleasantly surprised how good the car was when I tested it last week at Donington Park and I’ll be going out there to do my best at Brands Hatch.
“Brands Hatch is circuit I enjoy as it is very intense and the racing is always action-packed. It’s a good indicator for the remainder of the season, and if we can put on a good display at Brands Hatch, then we know we will be in good shape for the rest of the year.
“Qualifying is going to be vital because it’s difficult to overtake around the Indy circuit, but even though this is a very new relationship, I’m confident that we can be in the mix for Jack Sears Trophy honours when the action gets underway.”
Start of British Touring Car Championship grid
The Brands Hatch weekend will mark the start of AmDTuning.com’s fourth season on the British Touring Car Championship grid, with the team having worked hard over the winter to improve the ever-popular Volkswagen; which has become a firm favourite with fans in recent years.
With the introduction of the Jack Sears Trophy having given the team a realistic chance of securing championship silverware during the year ahead, team principal Shaun Hollamby said he was hopeful of seeing AmDTuning.com on the BTCC podium for the first time this weekend, with the performance in testing having given cause for optimism about the year ahead.
“Over the winter we have worked on improving the reliability of the car to put us in a stronger position for this season, and I’m feeling very good about the weekend ahead,” he said. “James was happy with the car during the test at Donington last week and I was very happy with his performance considering it was his first time in the Golf. When you add the fact that we didn’t run on new tyres in the test, he did a great job to be so close to the top of the S2000 times.
“We know that Lea Wood in his Vectra and Liam Griffin in his Ford are going to be strong competitors, but I’m confident that both James and the Golf are up for the challenge. There would be nothing better than to see him standing on the podium by the end of the weekend.”
Image: © Used with permission of Bob Knightley
