The United Autosports team heads to Croft for the Anglo-American team’s “home” Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship event at the Croft circuit in North East England this weekend (28-29 June) in a buoyant mood.
The last races at Oulton Park marked an improvement in competitiveness for the Toyota Avensis and it is hoped to carry on the momentum in the three, 15-lap races around the 2.25-mile Croft circuit (29 June) this weekend.
#20 Drivecool – Toyota Avensis
James Cole (GB). Age: 25. Born: Southport, England. Lives: Liverpool, England.
“We saw a lot of positives at Oulton Park which gives me confidence moving to Croft. We had a strong test there at the start of the year and the car has been developed much more since then! I think we can see light at the end of the tunnel with regards to set-up and understanding the Toyota. Now we are getting down to the fine-tuning of the Avensis which makes the difference of being 15th on the grid or being on the front two rows.
“We are all learning together and hoping to continue the progression forward up the grid. We do not expect massive leaps at a time but a gradual increase in speed is our realistic aim. We are hoping Croft allows more overtaking than Oulton Park. We showed good race pace but sadly Oulton’s layout did not help us move forward. It was however nice recording the fastest race lap in the third race there.”
#21 – Toyota Avensis
Glynn Geddie (GB). Age: 24. Born & Lives: Aberdeen, Scotland.
“We made big improvements in the previous meeting at Oulton. I’m hoping we can take further steps forward and so I’m very much looking forward to Croft. This venue was the first circuit I raced at in a Porsche Carrera Cup in 2008 and so I have fond memories.
“The Toyota should be good and suit Croft allowing us the pace to qualify well which is the key to a decent result in the following day’s races. A good grid position will allow us to race well.”
Richard Dean, Team Owner and Managing Director, United Autosports:
“We’re feeling really positive heading to Croft with the two Toyotas. We showed at Oulton Park that James and Glynn have the pace to be running in the top half of the grid and it was just bad luck, with red flags and the rain, that halted us getting any further up the leaderboard. Croft is the team’s ‘home’ race in terms of location to our raceshop so to get a good result there would be great for the whole team.”