Rob Austin viewing Independents’ title race as “a bonus”

Rob Austin admitted that the Independents’ title would be a ‘bonus’ for his Handy Motorsport team after a solid weekend at Oulton Park saw him close the gap to the top three in the standings.

Austin secured his first Independents’ victory of the season in the final race in Cheshire on a weekend where he secured another three solid top ten finishes at the wheel of his Toyota Avensis.

That ensured he not only outscored Tom Ingram, Jack Goff and Adam Morgan amongst the Independent drivers, but also put more points on the board than his closest rivals in the overall standings to cement his position inside the top ten.

“I’m happy with the way things have gone, but before the weekend I honestly thought we could challenge for pole,” he said. “Obviously I underestimated the rear-wheel drive cars and the Honda and got that one wrong!

“After being disappointed that I didn’t get a lap together, I don’t think we could have done much more on race day. We went forwards each time, scored well and have closed the gap to the people ahead of us in the championship. We were highest scoring Independent driver as well but that is a bonus for us; it isn’t the main focus.”

However, Austin admitted that the Oulton Park weekend had also shown that the team has plenty of work still to do.

“We need to find more pace as the speed of the Honda is ridiculous,” he said. “I watched Matt’s pole lap and the car was just bolted to the ground so we have work to do for sure, but we are getting there.

“We’ve taken huge steps forward compared to last year and are improving all the time. It sets us up well for a strong end to the year and into next season because this is a long term project and we are all working together towards our end goal.”