Tour Of Duty

Those of you who read our last BTCC report will recall how the Power Maxed Racing team were looking forward to Snetterton after their summer ‘break’…

- Si McNally

Saturday morning qualifying at Snetterton Circuit saw drivers, Tom Chilton and Senna Proctor, in action with what was thought to be a near-perfect setup for their modified Astra Ks. The model is completely new to the BTCC this season. In other words, Power Maxed Racing (PMR) has limited test data at its disposal. Initial setup is calculated to be as close to possible for the circuit the team is attending, which didn’t quite work as intended at the famous Norfolk motorsport venue.

The track surface at Snetterton is incredibly sensitive to temperature and the amount of rubber stuck to the circuit. Consequently, the Astras were under steering and suffering from bouts of snap oversteer, meaning that they were heading anywhere but where the drivers wanted them to go! Being an enterprising bunch, PMR soon ironed out any problems, leading Senna to qualify in twenty-seventh place while Tom came home in a respectable sixteenth position. With less than half a second between the two, it just goes to show how much difference the smallest of adjustments can make to a professional race car.

A damp Sunday morning heralded the start of race day, but little could dampen the spirits of the PMR crew. Race one saw Senna make up ten places to finish seventeenth, while Tom brought home points in tenth. Unfortunately, race two saw Senna drop down to twenty-third position, leaving all in attendance slightly nervous for race three. They needn’t have worried…

Those of you who were lucky enough to be there saw what is undoubtedly one of the drives of Senna’s life. Starting in twenty-seventh position, the eighteen-year-old finished in ninth place! Tom was close behind in tenth. The performance earned Senna the coveted Dunlop Forever Forward trophy, an award dished out to whichever driver manages the highest number of overtaking passes. Yup, the boy done good!

CLEAN FIGHT