The recent Goodyear tyre test at Oulton Park saw Team HARD. Racing complete nearly 250 laps of the Cheshire circuit over two days, as the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship squad notched up over 500 miles on track.
Check out what Jack Goff, Aron Taylor-Smith and James Gornall, who joined the team for the test, had to say about it below...
Jack Goff said: “The two days were frustrating really because of the weather. I could never get into a rhythm to really dig deep in the car and every time we changed it and went to go on a new tyre run, it would start to rain. The weather was obviously the same for everybody, but it was frustrating.
“However, to be sat here saying we’re frustrated at ending the day in fourth on day one and sixth on day two shows how far we’ve come already with the CUPRA. It’s only testing and we can make sure we go away now, crunch some numbers and come up with a good setup before we head to Oulton Park.
“Overall, it was good and we should be happy with how well we performed. The car felt pretty good, but it was just a shame that we couldn’t do a proper new tyre run on day two. The rain just halted our development, but it is what it is.”
Aron Taylor-Smith said: “It was a very successful two days. The weather prevented the timing sheets from showing the CUPRA’s true potential, but we’ve found a new area to explore on the car that we didn’t necessarily get to have a go at on race weekends due to time capacity in free practices.
“All in all, I’ve left with a lot more direction. We know we have a very fast race car beneath us, as proved at Brands Hatch, and I think now we’ve stumbled onto something that will hopefully unlock our qualifying potential.”
James Gornall said: “I was very pleased with the two days. To jump in after quite a period out of the car and perform well – and against tough competition – was great. I was very impressed with the CUPRA. It was great straight out of the box and responded well to the changes we were making. It really was a pleasure to drive in all conditions and has huge potential.”
With just three weeks remaining until the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship returns to Oulton Park, the team will be aiming to turn the data gathered at the test into more podiums, as the second half of the 2021 campaign kicks off on 31 July/1 August.
