Straight line speed woes for James Cole

James Cole said straight line speed issues were at the heart of his and his United Autosports team’s struggles over the opening weekend of the BTCC season.

The renowned sportscar outfit made their series debut in Kent, with series returnee Cole and debutant Glynn Geddie behind the wheel.

Cole posted the team’s best result of the weekend, a 14th place in the third race, but he was left bemoaning the lack of top end speed in his Toyota Avensis, which was propping up the speed trap figures.

“We are in the pack – the problem is it’s a pack of 20, rather than a pack of 10 like it was last year,” said Cole to TouringCarTimes.

“Pace-wise, it’s not bad. Our straight line speed is just not good enough. When you’ve got Marc Hynes pushing you down the straight, you’ve got issues.

“Whether that’s traction based, or boost based, that is a whole different story. You look at the speed traps and they tell you everything.

“Through the corners, we are OK. But when there’s only a couple of tenths between so many of you, you only need to lose a tenth on each straight, and that screws you.

“We shouldn’t be pushed down the straights by our competitors. A tenth on each straight – that’s three tenths, and 15 positions.” 

Another element of a trying weekend was a clash with Eurotech Racing’s Martin Depper in the first race, which led to Cole retiring, and Depper being excluded from the results.

Cole said: “That says it all [that he was excluded]. He went for a move that wasn’t on. I left him room and I think he must have just completely missed his braking point.”