Newsham suffers set backs on home circuit
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DAVE Newsham thanked his fans for supporting him during a disappointing outing on his circuit of Knockhill in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.
The Inverness driver had looked forward to the meeting all year and was confident following a great performance at Snetterton last time out but he soon suffered setbacks.
His car was fitted with a brand new engine, but problems began during a wet practice round when he was forced into the pits. The fault continued during qualifying and after some parts were changed he could only manage a time for position 21 on the grid — not ideal at a tight track where overtaking is notoriously difficult.
“That was a very frustrating session,” Newsham recalled.
His team were convinced misfire problems had been solved, but they soon discovered all the teeth on the alternator belt had sheared off, which dropped the voltage. Without good voltage the car loses power.
Despite this and his lowly grid position he had worked his way up to 12th place by lap seven of the first race, but his progress was halted in lap 18 when he slid off the circuit after hitting oil spilt by Martin Byford’s Golf.
He resumed in 18th place and mustered a 15th place finish and post-match inspections showed the power was still comparatively low.
Starting from 15th on the grid in the second race, he managed to finish in 12th but he was still concerned about his car’s speed, with team data showing it was slower than the first race despite it being worked on.
“I was absolutely wringing the neck of the car,” Newsham commented. “The only place I had an advantage was through the chicane where I made up maybe three to four car lengths and the car was taking a pounding over those kerbs, but with the lack of power it had to be done.”
Further work was carried out prior to the third and final race and he was soon up into 10th place — his first time in the points during the event.
The car appeared to be performing faster before the gremlins returned and he was crashed into by Nick Foster’s BMW, almost sending him off the circuit.
Newsham regained his composure and finished 11th, while his team-mate Tom Boardman won the race.
“The car was great to start with, and we were on to collect some points, however the car slowed again towards the end,” he said. “It seems that my car did not want to come north of the border as she has played up throughout. Thanks to all who support me. It means a lot.”
* Dave Newsham is next in action at Rockingham on 18th September.
