Encouraging signs, despite car troubles
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Following a lengthy summer break, Inverness driver Newsham and his Special Tuning Racing team returned to action in rounds 16, 17 and 18 of the competition, which took place at the Snetterton circuit in Norfolk.
But it was a sign of things to come when in practice the car started to misfire, resulting in much of the session being spent in the pits in a bid to rectify the problem.
With just a few minute remaining, Newsham returned to the track and a flying laps saw him go from last place to position eight on the grid ahead of qualifying.
The 44-year-old produced an impressive first lap to record the seventh fastest time and despite dropping down a place, the result was the best his team had achieved in the championship.
Newsham’s hard work in practice and qualifying, however, counted for little when a poor start to race one saw him slip from eighth place to 13th going into the first corner.
He quickly set about recovering the situation and by lap five was in ninth. But with four laps to go, car problems struck again.
Feeling his left front wheel start to wobble, Newsham was convinced he would not even reach the end of the race and slowed the car down.
He was passed by one driver on the penultimate lap before realising that the problem was not getting any worse. Newsham chose to defend his 10th place and did so successfully, claiming a single point for his efforts.
Upon further inspection, it was found the left front suspension had come loose and it was a real race against time to fix the damage before race two.
With second to spare, Newsham returned to the track and the car seemed fine, taking him up to sixth place after just lap one.
He also set the fourth fastest lap time early on, but with just three laps remaining the front tyres were struggling to retain their grip. Newsham, however, used all of his experience to claim seventh place overall — his best result of the championship so far.
Buoyed by his efforts last time out, Newsham went into race three, which is drawn by ballot and as a result, he was given pole position.
His objective was to try and build a healthy lead as early as he could, but a mistake on the second lap lost him one place.
Newsham was putting in an excellent performance against the top drivers, yet he could not hold them off and by the time he crossed the finishing line his battered car was in eighth place.
“That was some meeting,” he said. “We proved we can mix it with the best drivers in the country.
“Although we had three solid points finishes, it should have been so much better.
“I am now very comfortable with the tea, and the car. I just loving racing my Seat Leon and when you are having fun, you usually go well.
“It’s my home race at Knockhill next on Sunday 4th September. My tail is up and I’m feeling confident — I just hope the car holds together.”
