Photo: PSP Images

Power Maxed Racing promises “more to come” from new Vauxhall

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Power Maxed Racing team boss Adam Weaver has warned there is still ‘lots more to come’ from the team’s new Vauxhall Astra despite the car scoring a podium finish on its BTCC debut.

The team went into the season opener hoping to pick up some solid results with the new car, which showed strong potential throughout the weekend – even before the returning Tom Chilton took a strong third place finish in race three.

With team-mate Senna Proctor winning the Jack Sears Trophy, and the pair securing a manufacturers’ victory in race one, the team was able to head away from Brands Hatch well placed in the early season points but promising further improvements as it continues to develop the Astra.

“Next to none,” Weaver replied to TouringCarTimes when asked how much potential the team had already unlocked in the car. “What we have found is a very good base set-up with the Astra, and if you look at the result of race three, Tom was only beaten by a past champion in Andrew Jordan who was in a proven car, and Colin Turkington in the car that he used to win his second title.

“We were comfortable in third place with a gap to the car behind and to be in that position this early is great. Okay so we had some luck with Rob Austin’s exclusion from race two giving us pole for race three, but we knew we had decent pace in the car and that was displayed in the result.

“When you consider how much time we have had with the car compared to those who we were fighting with at the weekend, we can be really pleased and we know there is a lot more still to come.”

Insisting he wasn’t surprised to see teenager Proctor impress on his debut – praising the 18-year-old for having an old head on young shoulders – Weaver added that his team deserved praise for the way in which they had readied the new Astra for its series debut.

“I’m in awe of those who work for me, and I’m lucky to have a fantastic team putting in the hours to do what they need to do,” he said. “No-one asks them to stay late and work on the cars, and no-one asks them to come in on the weekend; they just do it. To have come away from the weekend with a manufacturers’ trophy, a third place and the Jack Sears Trophy is great reward for them and they’ll look good in the cabinet.”