Photo: TCR Media

Robb Holland eyeing TCR return in 2016 after top six finish in Macau

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Robb Holland found his way through the melee in Race 2 in Macau to score a sixth place finish behind the wheel of the Roadstar Racing SEAT León, finishing second in the TCR Asia class in both races, and says both BTCC and TCR International are on the agenda for next season.

The American driver was able to avoid the pile-up at the start of Race 2 which took out 11 cars, and found more pace on race day after struggling through practice with the handling of the SEAT.

“We struggled with brake issues in FP1 and FP2 so we struggled to get a good handle on the car, and I wasn’t able to get enough confidence in the car to really get a good read on things,” said Holland to TouringCarTimes.

“Race 1 and Race 2 were really the first time I could really push hard and my best lap of the weekend was the last lap of the race, so I’ve learned a lot.”

On avoiding the collision in Race 2, triggered when pole-sitter Rob Huff in the WestCoast Racing Honda and Craft-Bamboo’s Jordi Gené came together at Turn 1, Holland added:

“You have to go in with a bit of a plan. You know 1, this is Macau, and 2. Once the cars have been sitting for a bit you just can’t get heat in the rear tyres. We knew through the first corner cars are just going to get loose and some guys are going to save it and some won’t.

“Sure enough, in Race 2 there was a spin up front and everyone started to check up and I checked up a lot more just knowing that we’d have to stop. Other guys were trying to carry some more speed into it and those are the guys that got caught in the wreck.”

Holland’s team Rotek Racing is working with Hong Kong-based FRD Sports, which have taken over the development of the Ford Focus ST from Onyx Race Engineering for next season, which may lead to a full programme in TCR, but says his primary focus is on a full-time return to the British Touring Car Championship next year.

“BTCC is where my heart is,” said Holland. “We have a deal to help the guys at FRD Sports to develop the Focus, so we’ve got a busy winter ahead of us. Hopefully we can get some more pace in the Ford, and then we’ll see what next year brings, whether it’s TCR or BTCC, we just have to see what makes the most sense.”