Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing added to its silverware collection at Brands Hatch, claiming another clean sweep of Independents’ wins in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship.
The Worcestershire-based team maintained its strong start to the new campaign as Árón Taylor-Smith and Mikey Doble both triumphed, while Taylor-Smith also narrowly missed out on an overall podium finish in race three.
That success means that the outfit remain at the summit of the Independent Teams’ and Independent Drivers’ Championship, while Doble maintains a healthy advantage at the top of the Jack Sears Trophy standings.
Árón Taylor-Smith said: “It’s been another good weekend and it was nice to end it on a high in race three with a fourth place overall. In qualifying we were on the wrong side of a tenth and that somewhat pushed our strategy towards focusing on race three.
“To bag two top tens in races one and two was great but race three was the highlight. We fought as hard as we could to stay up there but a few classic touring car moves meant that we lost out on that podium – and that’s the way it goes sometimes.
“I loved fighting at the front though and putting on a show for everyone. I’m also very excited to see what we can do at Snetterton because we had great pace there when we tested in pre-season.”
Mikey Doble said: “Overall it has been another positive weekend for myself and I’m happy to be heading home with points in all three races, as well as a couple more trophies.
“It was frustrating to miss out on Q2 by such a small margin, but I feel like we turned it around on race day. Race one was pretty uneventful, but we were able to get stuck in and move forward when we put the soft tyre on for race two.
“In race three we just got caught up in a little bit of typical touring car racing and got shuffled down the order. Still, to be able to claim another Independents’ win and secure back-to-back Jack Sears Trophy wins is fantastic."
Martin Broadhurst, Team Manager, said: “I think we’ve proven that we have the capabilities to fight at the front this weekend and these results are only going to spur us on even more when we head to Snetterton for the next event.
“Both Árón and Mikey drove great, and they both deserved better than they got in race three. To come away with a great haul of points, some silverware and a step forward in car performance is something we can be happy about.”
Adam Weaver, Team Principal, said: “This weekend has been a positive step in the right direction and whilst it would have been great for Árón to get a podium in race three, it’s clear that when we’re at the sharp end of the grid we’ve got the pace to contend for big results.
“Maintaining our 100% record in the Independents’ Championship is something that the whole team can be proud of, and we’ll aim to extend that – as well as fight for overall podiums – at Snetterton.”
The 2024 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship season continues on May 25-26 at Snetterton.
