This weekend the team made the return trip to Brands Hatch circuit for the season finale of the British Truck Racing Championship. With the table points extremely close there was everything to play for as the teams prepared themselves to do battle for those coveted trophies.
Day one was a very wet start making the morning qualifying track conditions very difficult. Stuart unfortunately suffered some mechanical issues and had to retire, a P13 for him. Michael battled the weather and achieved a very good P5. These results set the grid for the first race of the day.
A slight improvement in the weather for the first race but still a very wet track. These track conditions lead to Stuart taking a spin within the first lap which caused significant damage to his truck. The race was red flagged, and the number 7 was sadly towed off back to the paddock for the team to begin major repair work. The grid was reformed for a ten-minute restart. No sooner had the race started the red flag made a re-appearance for another truck spinning off the track. The race was brought to a halt with Michael in third place. As this race was under two laps the result was void.
Second race of the day race too was unfortunately a solo trip to the track for Michael as Stuart’s truck was still not fixed from the previous race. Michael started on the second row as the grid was decided from the second fastest qualifying time. It didn’t take long for the red flag to appear with track conditions still difficult. A ten-minute restart race commenced, with the grid set from the positions at the last full lap. Michael had a great start and crossed the line in a good fifth place.
The team worked late into the night to make the necessary repairs to the number 7 truck. Their hard work paid off and Stuart Oliver returned to the track for the first race of Sunday morning. Michael was row three on the grid for this race and Stuart, with plenty of work to do, on row six. With the weather and track conditions much improved from yesterday both drivers had a steady race as they tried to push forward in the pack. Michael crossed the line P6 and Stuart just behind with a P7.
The grid for race four had Stuart back on row seven and Michael row two. A good start for both drivers and Stuart began to work his way through the pack. This wasn’t to last as the race was red flagged five minutes in due to a stranded truck. The grid was reformed, and a restart race commenced. On the first lap Michael took a spin and several trucks got caught up in the tangle. Stuart again suffered damaged to the back of his truck which led to him having to retire from the race. Michael went on to get P7. It was back to the paddock for more repairs!
The fifth and final race unfortunately had to be abandoned due to an incident on the track and the championship was brought to an early close. Thankfully both drivers involved were ok.
Not quite the weekend the team planned, and it certainly put our expert mechanics to the test! Despite this Stuart Oliver still achieved third place overall in the championship. A fantastic result for the team. Michael also performed well over the season and sat P8 in the championship.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our sponsors for their ongoing support throughout the year and we look forward to working with you in 2024!