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Doyle upbeat despite prang |
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Wednesday, 16 April 2008 |
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Michael Doyle remains upbeat about the progress of his In-Tune Racing team, despite missing out on a maiden points finish in yesterday’s HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship meeting at Rockingham.
In only his and the squad’s second BTCC outing, Doyle was lying ninth in the day’s third race. But, like many drivers, he lost control on a water-logged track and retired his Honda Civic Type R against the barriers.
The 20-year-old Scot said: “It was an unfortunate end to the third race but I really enjoyed myself out there and I think we did a fantastic job in the conditions. When I managed to get up to ninth place I really did think we were on for our first ever BTCC points. It was a shame the race ended in the barriers but I think we acquitted ourselves well in difficult conditions.
“There are many more positives than negatives to come out of the weekend and the whole team is confident we can move forward again at Donington Park in three weeks. Whether it rains or it’s dry, I’m really looking forward to it and I feel we’re beginning to really get our teeth into racing in the BTCC.”
Notably, respected race engineer Andy Scott – who has previously fettled a number of rapid Hondas in the BTCC – joined the In-Tune squad at Rockingham and Doyle feels this will further help the team progress.
Doyle added: “We cured the gremlins from Brands Hatch and Andy helped us a lot with the set-up this weekend which made a huge difference. Things were going well initially on Saturday, but then the clutch packed in and as soon as we had rectified that problem the gearbox started causing us some troubles again.
“In the end we got things sorted out and I think we can take a lot of confidence from the way we performed in the third race. The problems were unfortunate and we obviously don’t have the biggest budget out there. We’re doing a good job with what we have though and we’re working hard on trying to secure more sponsors as the weeks go by.”
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