Challenging Croft test awaits Newsham

DAVE Newsham wants to sign off the first half of the season on a high after what he concedes has been a frustrating start to the 2015 British Touring Car campaign.

Shunts, mechanical failures and tyre issues have hampered his hopes for a promising debut season with the newly-formed Power Maxed Racing team, leaving him in 15th place in the drivers’ standings and 44 points adrift of the top ten.

The BTCC campaign reaches its mid-way point this weekend as it rolls into the North Yorkshire circuit of Croft, where Newsham came fifth while driving for Speedworks in 2013. On one of the tightest race circuits in the United Kingdom, a podium finish remains a hope for the Westhill driver — if he gets a reverse grid on his side.

"We should be able to scrape inside the top 10 in qualifying and hopefully get near the front, because we’ve got the pace to stay there," said Newsham. "You’re then in the lap of the Gods hoping for a reverse grid and if that’s the case, a podium place is up for grabs.

"It would be nice to sign off the first half of the season with a decent result. It’s been frustrating because the punts I have had have come at key points and that sets the tone for the rest of the race. If we stay out of trouble, it should be a good weekend."

The best finish for Newsham this season came at Donington on race day two, where he came sixth. His 37 points leave him two spots and 11 points behind team-mate Josh Cook, who has four top-10 race finishes to Newsham’s two.

Croft features a tight hairpin bend right before the start-finish straight and has several other tight corners.

"It’s quite challenging. There’s some fast parts — you’re flat out down the back straight — and some tight technical bits," said Newsham, managing director of Inverness company Norscott Vending. "The tightest corner is the final hairpin, which is a first-gear, full-lock type of corner. It suits the rear-wheel drive cars because they can gain a lot of pace through those corners.

"I have gone fairly well there in the past. I dominated in the Clio Cup and it’s a circuit that tends to have a fair bit of rain."

The 47-year-old is also confident the tyre problems, which caught out the PMR team at Oulton Park, will be bypassed this time around.

"We’ve got plenty of the new specifications to test so we should be able to deal with it better."

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