TRIO OF BTCC TITLES SECURED AT SILVERSTONE FOR ABSOLUTE ALIGNMENT' TECHNICAL PARTNER
Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing enjoyed a historic outing in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship last weekend (21-22 September), at Silverstone, to secure an unassailable lead at the top of the standings across three categories.
Taking centre stage at the Home of British Motor Racing, the penultimate meeting of the season proved to be one to remember for the squad as Árón Taylor-Smith and Mikey Doble provisionally wrapped up the Independent Teams’, Independent Drivers’ and Jack Sears Trophy titles.
Set to officially be crowned champions at Brands Hatch in less than a fortnight, this achievement marks the first time the Worcestershire-based outfit has clinched the coveted Teams’ title, while Doble and Taylor-Smith have also secured their maiden championship accolades in the BTCC.
Arriving at Silverstone riding a wave of momentum following a number of strong performances since the summer break, the Vauxhall Astra pairing was on the pace across Saturday’s two practice sessions and went into qualifying looking highly competitive.
Cruelly, the team would experience the highs and lows of the sport as Taylor-Smith claimed a sensational pole position – only to have it ripped away from him due to failing the post-qualifying ride height checks. Doble suffered the same fate having originally clinched third on the grid.
Starting the first of Sunday’s three wet races from the back, the two drivers endured contrasting fortunes as while Taylor-Smith progressed up the order to claim a vital Independents’ win, Doble watched on from the sidelines after sustaining a turbo failure.
Both drivers pushed ahead in race two as Taylor-Smith broke into the top ten to finally wrap up the Drivers’ title. Doble meanwhile demonstrated his overtaking prowess by fighting forward into the points.
Race three around the 1.64-mile National layout undoubtedly saw the worst of the rain hit the track and after just nine laps the red flag was waved on safety grounds, as conditions were deemed near impossible to drive in.
After a lengthy delay, racing resumed with Taylor-Smith powering his front-wheel-drive machine to a 19th Independents’ win of the season. Hot on his heels was Doble who dug deep to clinch 11th overall, all while battling the elements without a working window wiper.
Árón Taylor-Smith said, “It’s a dream come true to be able to stand here and say I’m the Independent Drivers’ champion! This was the goal coming into the season and I’m so incredibly proud that I have a title to my name in the BTCC.
“It’s not just me though because everyone at Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing has worked incredibly hard this year to allow us to provisionally win three titles in what is renowned for being one of the toughest championships in the world.”
Mikey Doble commented, “I’m a little lost for words if I’m honest. That was without doubt one of the most challenging weekends I’ve had in the BTCC so to come away having done enough to wrap up the Jack Sears Trophy is brilliant. To be standing here now knowing I can’t be beaten in the Jack Sears Trophy is special. This has been what I set out to achieve since the start of the year so to wrap it up with a round to spare means we can have some fun at Brands Hatch.”
Martin Broadhurst, Team Manager, added, “There’s no denying that this weekend has tested us so to come away having provisionally wrapped up the Independent Drivers’, Independent Teams’ and Jack Sears Trophy titles is a fitting reward for everyone’s hard work.
“We showed that we had the pace to fight at the front however the smallest of margins meant we were forced to start from the back of the grid and that really changed the outlook of our race day. Árón and Mikey did the best they could in the conditions though and deserve a lot of credit.”
The 2024 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship season concludes at Brands Hatch on 5-6 October.
Absolute Alignment is proud to be a long-term Technical Partner to Power Maxed Racing in the BTCC. To find out more about the wheel alignment equipment that Absolute Alignment supplies to Power Maxed Racing and other teams in domestic and international motorsport, call the Technical Team on 01252 549340 or go to www.absolutealignment.co.uk
Miss Alignment
September 2024