 Arkas Racing with Sunshine.co.uk driver pairing Martyn Bell and Erkut
Kizilirmak have both hailed the outstanding efforts of their team following the
weekend’s fourth race meeting of the 2008 HiQ MSA British Touring Car
Championship at Thruxton.
Having been left with two seriously damaged Vauxhall Astra Sports Hatch
race cars after the previous BTCC event at Donington Park a fortnight ago, the
Arkas Racing squad worked wonders in the run up to the weekend to enable Bell
and Kizilirmak to take part, let alone challenge for Independents Trophy
points.
During the first of the three BTCC races yesterday, Sunday, 18th May,
Barrow-upon-Humber based Bell produced a very encouraging 17th place finish –
from 23rd on the grid – to just miss out on the Independents points placings by
one position.
Race two, round 11, saw the 43-year-old caught up in a very unfortunate
accident at Segrave on lap one and resulted in a heavy impact with the tyre
wall. As he attempted to avoid the chaos ahead, caused by a spin for Andrew
Jordan, Bell was forced wide onto the grass and suffered a collision with the
barrier.
With substantial damage to the front end of the Astra, the Arkas squad –
which is run on the ground by Leamington Spa based Tech-Speed Motorsport –
worked hard to repair the car in time for round 12. Close to an Independents
points finish again, Bell ended the final race of the day in 15th position
overall, just behind team-mate Kizilirmak.
The Turkish racer secured the final Independents Trophy point in 14th place
overall during round 12, his own car having needed some care and attention
following round 11 when a trip over the kerbs at Club Chicane damaged the sump
and he ended up in 19th position. During the first of the day’s races,
38-year-old Kizilirmak was 22nd overall.
Reflecting on the weekend, Kizilirmak said: “The team has done a fantastic
job again, they worked incredibly hard in the lead up to this weekend to build a
new car for me after the Donington accident. Ok, we didn’t get the results we
wanted but sometimes that’s the way it goes. I think at Croft we can be
stronger, I’m looking forward to it.”
Team-mate Bell added: “All of the guys at Arkas, the Tech-Speed mechanics,
are a real bunch of stars. The hard work they put in after Donington to make
sure Erkut and I were both racing this weekend was unbelievable. Obviously, we
had one or two incidents this weekend too which meant even more hard work but
they did a fantastic job.
“It’s a shame we weren’t able to deliver better results as the team
deserves them but I’m confident Croft will be a different story in two weeks.
I’m really looking forward to being back on home soil for the next three
rounds.”
After the latest BTCC encounter, Arkas Racing with Sunshine.co.uk remains
in eighth position in the Independents Team Trophy, but with an increased points
total of 30.
Following Kizilirmak’s 100mph accident during the second of the Donington
Park races two weeks ago, the team was left with no option but to build a spare
Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch car for the Turkish racer to pilot at ultra-fast
Thruxton.
With a total of just 10 days (including the May Day Bank Holiday and last
weekend!) in which to ready the car, the Tech-Speed mechanics did a superb job.
Similarly, Bell’s car also needed a fair amount of repair work due to the damage
he sustained during the same Donington race.
Having had several other incidents to contend with this weekend at
Thruxton, everyone at Arkas is now hoping for a trouble-free event when the
championship resumes at Croft Circuit in North Yorkshire a fortnight from now,
over the weekend 31st May/1st June, for rounds 13, 14 and 15 of the BTCC
season.
Action from yesterday's three BTCC races will be screened during the
regular ITV1 highlights show late tonight, Monday, 19th May, at 00.55. Further
screenings will be shown on sister Freeview, digital satellite and cable
channels ITV4 and Men & Motors later in the week – please see listings for
additional details.
|
