Vauxhall hoping to keep it cool at Croft

Vauxhall are hoping for cooler weather for the next round of the BTCC at Croft in a week’s time, after high temperatures caused the team to struggle at Oulton Park.

With temperatures topping 27 degrees at the Cheshire circuit, all three VX Racing Vectras suffered from tyre degradation, with championship leader Matt Neal only able to record a solitary podium.

As a result of this, and rival Colin Turkington’s two wins, the BMW driver has now closed to within two points of Neal, but the West Midlander is confident heading in to the next three races.

“We are heading to Croft with fresh minds. We will see what pace we can draw out of the Vauxhall, but we expect three very hard races. I love Croft, it has a good mixture of everything, and it has some big commitment, high-speed corners, as well as long straights and slow corners. The atmosphere there is great, the North Eastern crowds are brilliant and they really get stuck in with the cheering and the booing.

“We are carrying more weight than Colin (Turkington) in this next race, the small two points gap we have are worth nine kilos. But then you have to look at it that come the end of the season, the points gap could be the difference between winning and losing the championship, so I’m happy to carry it.”

Nineteen points behind Neal in the standings in double champion Fabrizio Giovanardi, who is also hoping for cooler temperatures in the North East.

“If it is as hot as it was at Oulton Park, we will face similarly difficult conditions, I would prefer it to be cooler, although rain might favour us. That is one factor that is outside of our control, but could play a big part in our fortunes over the weekend. The rear wheel drive cars will undoubtedly be more suited to this track than the Vauxhall, but as a team we have the experience and determination to give them a run for their money.”

Best of the Vauxhall drivers at Oulton was Andrew Jordan, who hopes to continue his good form at Croft, having picked up his third podium of the year, last time out.

“It’s a high speed circuit and you need guts for some parts of the track which makes it a good challenge for a driver. Again, I think the BMWs and the Chevrolets will prove strong round there, but we will work on it and we will be there or thereabouts come race day.

“To prepare for a race weekend I usually watch last year’s coverage to reacquaint myself with the track and I’ll also work on my fitness. We saw in the heat at Oulton how a driver needs to be race fit, Sunday is a long day and we need to be as prepared as we can be.”