As CarStore Power Maxed Racing prepares for this weekend’s rounds of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship at Thruxton (28/29 May), the Bidford-based outfit has revealed it will be honouring the upcoming Royal Jubilee in Hampshire.
With both Michael Crees and Ash Hand breaking into the points-paying positions last time out at Brands Hatch, the duo will be aiming for more success around the 2.36-mile circuit, buoyed by the celebratory Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Emblem on their Vauxhall Astras.
Following an incident during race two in Kent, Crees was unable to build on his 12th-place finish in the opening encounter, as the #777 driver was forced to retire from the second contest and, with substantial damage to his car, the Broadstairs racer was also unable to take part in the final race of the day as the team got to work on the necessary repairs.
Hand’s weekend saw the 28-year-old clinch an impressive 13th in qualifying, and work through the pack ahead up to 11th by the end of race one. Caught up in the same incident as his team-mate, Hand would also retire from round five, but made progress in race three from 25th on the grid to take 21st.
This weekend will see the team embrace the Jubilee festivities with celebrations alongside the addition to the squad’s livery, including a number of activities for their guests and partners, as the third event of the BTCC campaign roars into the UK’s fastest circuit.
Saturday’s qualifying will be live from Thruxton on itv.com/btcc from 1515 before the race-day action gets underway on Sunday from 1100-1815 on ITV4.
“Brands Hatch really was a mixed bag for us, it was amazing having so much support,” said Crees “Honestly, I couldn’t believe how many guests and sponsors we had with us at my local track – and the pace in practice and qualifying was really strong. Race one was pretty good, we made some progress, but what happened in race two was pretty frustrating and did end our weekend early.
“That’s in the past though now, I’m just focussing on Thruxton and hopefully putting together our best weekend of the season so far. We’ll need to get the car dialled in during free practice, after all of the repairs from Brands, but I love the challenge and speed of Thruxton and I’m determined to battle for our first podium of the season.”
“Our weekend [at Brands Hatch] was successful in many ways,” added Hand. “In order to get results you need to have the right ingredients. That’s something we definitely had over the weekend and something we can build on. Heading into the third event at Thruxton, we believe as a team we’re now at the point where we can show ourselves at the sharp end of the grid and get some of our best results to date.”
