Mixed fortunes for AmD Tuning’s first weekend with two cars

AmD Tuning endured a mixed Croft weekend, with Mike Bushell being forced to sit out the final race due to mechanical issues while Nicolas Hamilton hit his team targets on his debut BTCC weekend.

Making its first appearance as a two-car team, AmD Tuning set Hamilton, the BTCC’s first disabled driver, the task of making it to the flag in all three races, which he did so, impressing many due to his lack of experience in both the car and relative lack of experience of racing in general.

Qualifying 29th on the grid, although he states he could have been higher had he not been held up by a rival competitor on his best lap, Hamilton completed his goal of three race finishes, finishing 25th in the first two races and 22nd in the final encounter.

“The weekend has been absolutely mental,” said Hamilton. “Obviously there has been a lot of attention on me, and I’m over the moon with the support I’ve had from fans; it’s been fantastic. To be part of the BTCC is a great feeling and this weekend has been all about learning as much as possible to take forwards. I’ve been out of a race car for a while so it’s almost been like a fresh start, but the progress we have made from the first time I got into the car during testing at Brands Hatch to the end of the third race here is something I’m really happy with.

“This weekend I think we’ve ticked the boxes that we needed to tick and with more time in the car, I know I’m only going to get quicker and be in a position where I can really push forwards and start racing with the guys ahead.”

Meanwhile, Mike Bushell had a less than perfect weekend, plagued by a legacy of his high-speed crash at Thruxton earlier in the year.

Having qualified 21st, Bushell had hoped for a charge up in to the points, but struggled with extreme pain in his right shoulder from the first lap onwards. Bushell’s race came to an early end, however, having to pit for medical attention despite trying to battle through the pain.

With his shoulder freshly strapped for race two, Bushell worked his way from the back of the field to finish 19th, setting up a potential point scoring encounter in the final race. However, an engine problem was discovered on the Ford Focus when it returned to the garage, forcing Bushell to sit out race three.

“If I didn’t have bad luck, I don’t think I’d have any,” said Bushell. “The second race of the weekend went quite well and I enjoyed that one considering the discomfort I was in after race one – where it’s no exaggeration to say I was in total agony. From the moment my shoulder popped on lap one, the pain was horrendous but luckily a visit to the medical centre meant I was able to head out for race two. Missing race three was difficult as I honestly felt we could have pushed forwards into the points, but it’s one of those things that we couldn’t do anything about, and it was just a tough way to end what has been a difficult opening half of the season.

“I honestly thought this was going to be the weekend when things changed but it wasn’t to be. Our bad luck is hard to stomach but it only makes me more determined that when we get to Snetterton after the break, we’ll come out fighting and show what we can do.”

“Overall, this is the first weekend where we have run two cars and I’m really proud of the whole team and the way they have performed,” added team boss Shaun Hollamby. “While it would have been nice to get both cars through the three races, we live to fight another day and are looking forward to getting back on track after the summer.”