Newsham hopes Snetterton proves to be a piece of cake
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DAVE Newsham hopes his car his the right ingredients for success this weekend after being in the hands of Great British Bake Off judge Paul Hollywood.
The celebrity baker drove Newsham’s Power Maxed Racing Chevrolet Cruze at CarFest last weekend, an event conjured up by BBC presenter Chris Evans to raise money for Children in Need. Hollywood drove a three-lap demonstration of the Oulton Park circuit before signing autographs for the crowd.
British Touring Car driver Newsham was unable to make the event, so Hollywood got behind the wheel of the Cruze alongside fellow PMR driver Josh Cook.
“Paul’s really into his cars and expressed his interest in having a go in a touring car to (motorsport organisers) ToCA. I was asked to go down to Oulton Park for it but couldn’t commit, so my car became available,” said Westhill racer Newsham.
“It was great PR for the team and sponsors so it worked out quite well. It’s still in one piece — but if I have any problems this weekend I’m holding Paul responsible!”
After a summer break, Newsham returns to BTCC action this weekend at the Norfolk course of Snetterton, the home of his first win in the Touring Car Championship back in 2012.
PMR and Cook have had a week’s testing in the car over the break and have assured Newsham that improvements have been made. Both drivers sit outside the top 10 heading into the second half of the campaign, below where the team want to be.
“They were desperate for a testing sessions because there’s only so much you can do over a race weekend,” said the 48-year-old. “We had a pretty good car for the first three rounds and then introduced the new Dunlop tyre, which didn’t work for us. We went from being in the top 10 to scraping into the top 15.
“We should have done well at Thruxton where we were fourth-fastest. Then we went to Oulton Park, where it all went to pieces. A sub-frame issue cost us at Croft and the new one meant I could hardly steer. Putting the repaired one back in made it drive much better.”
Snetterton is one of the longer tracks on the BTCC calendar, coming in at just under three miles. Despite that win for Team ES Racing in 2012, the course has not been kind to him since, with his best finish out of the subsequent six races being eighth in 2013.
With an improved car ready to roll tomorrow, Newsham is hoping that a push, not just for the top 10, but for the top six, is on.
“We’ll challenge for the top six if the car is back to anywhere near what it was before,” he said. “The top 10 shouldn’t be any issue.
“Snetterton is a long track and has a European feel to it. It’s a very flat circuit.”
