Round three of the British Truck Racing Championship took the team to Thruxton which holds the title of the fastest track in the UK. It was typical British summer weather at the Hampshire track a mixture of sunshine and showers which certainly tested the drivers over the weekend.
A scheduled practice session was first order of the day on the Saturday. Both trucks were running well, and Stuart and the number seven were achieving some exceptionally fast lap times. Unfortunately, the truck had other ideas and a major mechanical fault during a lap resulting in the loss of assisted steering for Stuart. With no way of stopping at such high speed he collided into a barrier. Due to the force of the crash, he was sent to hospital for precautionary checks. Other than some cracked ribs and heavy bruising he was thankfully ok, but this incident brought an abrupt end to his weekends racing.
The first race of the day was indeed a solo trip to the track for Michael Oliver who was left to fly the flag for the team. The grid was determined by the drivers’ standings currently in the championship. Michael sits fourth which put him second row on the grid. The battle began for the top spots and Michael began chase. He pushed on and worked himself into second position which he held comfortably throughout the majority of the race earning him a trip to the podium!
The grid for race two was set again by the championship order and once more Michael sat on the second row. A battle began for those podium positions and Michael was in hot pursuit. The front runners had a close battle throughout and Michael had an excellent race. He eventually crossed the line in a very respectable P4.
Sunday brought the first reverse grid of the weekend for race three. The results of Saturday’s race one reversed, which sat Michael at the back on row four. Stuart now back from hospital but of course unable to compete for the rest of the weekend joined the commentary team in the box to give the listeners a driver’s perspective to the racing. Michael began his campaign to make his way through the pack on this slightly damp track and was caught up in a close battle mid pack for those podium positions. After a lot of jostling and some great manoeuvres he crossed the line in a comfortable P4.
Reverse grid again for race four. Yesterday’s race two top eight reversed, which put Michael row three. Stuart again joined the team in the commentary box. Within moments of the race beginning a large collision occurred as the trucks pressed forward. Unfortunately, Michael was caught up in the incident and his truck was spun round. The race was red flagged. Michael managed to get back going and meet our mechanical team in the pits to check over the number 12. While the debris on the track was cleared and the other trucks arranged back in grid position our mechanics worked their magic and got it ready to race! The other trucks began the restart race and Michael joined one lap in from the pit lane which insured he collects some of those all-important championship points! He finished P8.
Row three on the grid for Michael in race five on a very wet track as the rain decided to make an appearance. Stuart again took a spot in the commentary box for hopefully the final time this season! Despite the tricky track conditions Michael had a very good start to the race and powered through into the lead. He held the position for nearly the majority of the race as the other teams gave chase. He eventually crossed the line in second position and claimed another piece of silverware!
A weekend of two halves for the team but we would like to thank everyone for their support and well wishes. We now look to get both Stuart and the number seven back to full health in time for Donington!
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