Cole looks for points thrust at Thruxton
MOTOR racing champion James Cole, from Southport, is looking for “two days of clean running” and “the chance to bring back a big haul of points for the championship” when he competes in the third round of the 2018 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at the fast and demanding Thruxton circuit this weekend.
After the first two rounds Cole (29), who is driving one of the brightly coloured Motorbase Performance/Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher Ford Focus RSs in this years series, has already scored a trio of top ten finishes.
Following on from a ninth place in the opening round races at Brands Hatch and two excellent races to fifth and sixth positions at Donington Park last month, the former single-seater champion (Cole was the British Formula Ford Champion in 2009) is now beginning to feature strongly in the tin-top arena.
However, the undeniable race-winning pace shown by the team has yet to yield a podium.
Says Team Manager Oly Collins: “Thruxton is the fastest circuit and probably the most demanding on our BTCC calender and which on paper suits our new Focus RS.
“To get a result you need everything right; chassis,aero, engine and driver. If one of these elements is lacking you’re likely to struggle, which is why it’s the most demanding circuit we visit”.
Following a successful test at Thruxton recently Collins commented: “We know the car is performing well in all areas as are the drivers” and added : “We need to confirm the pace of our care with some podiums this weekend.”
Cole is currently lying in 13th place in the BTCC Drivers’ Championship standings, ahead of Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher team-mate Tom Chilton (15th) and Sam Tordoff (25th) who is driving the third Motorbase Perfor- mance Ford Focus RS with backing from Gard X.
Looking ahead to this weekend Cole said: “I think I speak for the whole team when I say that going into Thruxton we have a bit of a point to prove.
“We’ve shown that we have the pace during testing and the start of the year but because of circumstances, the results haven’t gone our way so far.”
“We just want two days of clean running and the chance to bring back a big haul of points for the championship, that’s our aim.”
Practice and qualifying takes place on Saturday with three races, all which can be see live on ITV4 on Sunday.