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Dave Newsham promises more to come from BTC Norlin after securing first podium


By Jamie Durent

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Dave Newsham wants to kick on in year two of the BTC Norlin project. Picture: Jay Adair.
Dave Newsham wants to kick on in year two of the BTC Norlin project. Picture: Jay Adair.

DAVE Newsham has promised there is more to come from BTC Norlin Racing after securing their first podium finish.

The Inverness racer took third in the final race at Silverstone and admits it is a shame the British Touring Car season is coming to a close as the team starts to find form.

A reverse grid had actually put Newsham on pole for the final race, only to see a slow start allow Rob Huff to take the lead heading into the first corner.

Matt Neal’s surge up the grid saw him go head-to-head with Huff for the race lead, with Newsham fighting with Tom Ingram and Adam Morgan to stay in the podium hunt.

He briefly slipped out of the top three but was a mid-race pep-talk saw him retake his spot on the final rostrum, his first podium finish since Knockhill in 2014.

“It’s incredible for this team,” he said. “It’s their first year and I can’t thank Richard Irvine, who’s put me here and had faith in me, and (team principal) Bert Taylor. They’ve put me here and I’d like to think I’m doing the business for them.

“The car was mega. I was a bit too soft early on and let people go by. But I thought ‘I’m going to dig in here’ and get the podium. I gave myself a strong talking to after probably the worst start of my life. It was rubbish. If I had made the start I might have won it!

“There’s been a lot of investment in the team but we’re learning every time we go out, about the car and we’re hitting the sweet-spot just now. It’s a shame the season is about to end but we’re going to come back strong next year, there’s no two ways about it.”

It rounded off a brilliant weekend for Newsham personally and BTC Norlin. The Norscott Vending managing director came seventh in race one and was bumped up to eighth in race two, after Ash Sutton was sent to the back of the grid for his third penalty of the season.

He now has nine top-10 finishes this season and is 13 overall in the BTCC standings.

Newsham told the Inverness Courier earlier this month that he was geared up to play a big part in year two of BTC Norlin, looking to build on the work done in their inaugural season.

BTC Norlin team-mate Chris Smiley secured a career-best finish in the final race of the weekend too, taking seventh.


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