AmD Tuning team pleased with top ten start

AmD Tuning boss Shaun Hollamby said he was pleased with a top 10 finish on the team’s first weekend with its new Ford Focus ST.

Driver Dave Newsham recovered from qualifying 20th on the grid, albeit just 0.7s from pole, to rise to 12th in the first race. However, contact from Adam Morgan’s Mercedes A-Class saw him fall to 17th at the flag.

After finishing 16th on the soft Dunlop tyre in race two, Newsham battled forward to ninth in the final race, ahead of the likes of double race winner Andrew Jordan, and Sam Tordoff’s MG.

Hollamby said: “I’m pleased with how we have performed as a team this weekend. We faced a balance issue with the car today, but worked hard to resolve it and to give Dave the car he wanted; and he rewarded us with a really strong drive in that final race. He made some good overtaking moves and his lap times were really impressive; to be within a tenth of a second of the quickest guys in this company isn’t easy.

“We know we have a car and driver that can push for the podium positions, and that remains our aim. If we can get to Donington Park and start the weekend in the same way we have finished here, then we’ll be in a position to show what we can really do.”

Newsham said: “For race three, we went softer on the front end of the car and it was a lot more planted. It wasn’t perfect and there are still more improvements that we can make, but it was the best it has been all weekend. I got a good start and we were able to move forwards, and it was good to get into the top ten and give a taste of what we are capable of.

“It is a bit frustrating that we’ve not been able to get more than one points finish, but we have been able to learn a lot about the car that will benefit us going forwards. We elected to go our own way with the set-up of the car and have been as quick as the other Fords on the grid; it’s just a shame that qualifying left us with work to do.”