SUBARUS KEEN TO BOUNCE BACK
British Touring Car champions Jason Plato and Colin Turkington say they will be in a position to target race wins with the new factory-blessed Team BMR Subaru Levorg after a tough debut at Brands Hatch last weekend.
Three of the team’s four cars had not turned a wheel until a 15-minute shakedown at the Kent venue on the Friday before the event. Turkington qualified his example 11th, just 0.5s of pole position, while Plato was stymied with brake problems and lined up 23rd. Warren Scott’s example was 27th and James Cole was 29th in the fourth machine.
Overheating problems struck all of the cars in the opening race, but improvements were made over the course of the three races and Turkington took the crew’s best finish of 12th in race three.
Turkington explained: “The car was actually feeling quite good by the end of the weekend – I am enjoying driving it. More importantly, we know the areas to work on. We found speed in each of the three races. We have gone forwards and I am optimistic. We are all happy with the chassis, and I don’t think it will be long before we are knocking on the door [of wins].”
The cars struggled for straightline speed at Brands Hatch, but more work will be done by engine tuner Mountune before the next rounds of the championship at Donington Park on April 16/17.
Plato said that he knew the fundamentals of the rear-wheel-drive car were strong.
He said: “We [the four drivers] tried different things in each of the races. It is as much about shutting down the avenues that we think are wrong and working towards the avenues we think are right.
“I am excited by the basics of the car, but we have only scratched the surface. It is like we have all the ingredients for a great recipe, but certain flavours are drowning out the others right now. When we get the mixture right, it will be superb.”