Photo: PSP Images

Rob Austin marks century with double points haul at Snetterton

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A pair of points-scoring finishes at Snetterton helped Rob Austin celebrate his 100th start in the BTCC.

The first race of the weekend marked the Worcestershire-based driver’s century of BTCC races, although he could only manage to move up to 11th from 13th on the grid. Race two saw the positions reversed, with the Audi A4 dropping to 13th from 11th on the grid.

A complete points haul was taken away from Austin with the failure of his power steering on the way to the grid, causing him to drop out of the top 15 and out of the points-scoring placings.

“We’ve not quite had the raw pace at Snetterton so it was important to take what we could and I don’t believe we could have wrung any more from the car today,” said Austin, who is now aiming for a top ten position in the standings come the end of the season. “Race 3 was a great shame as I felt a top 10 was on the cards but instead, with the power steering gone, I really had to man up to muscle the car along. The physical effort to drive one of these things with no power steering is massive.”

The series now heads north to Knockhill before heading to Rockingham, the scene of Austin’s first ever pole position and race win, where he hopes the team can close the gap on tenth place.

“Still we’ve come away with some points at least and the gap to 10th is very do-able. We’re 26 off with two of our much stronger circuits to come in the next month or so. It’ll be hugely important that we make the most of those two events.”

“I’m also immensely proud of our team having achieved a century in the BTCC. It’s a fantastic championship to be a part of – even though there are plenty of highs and lows along the way the incredible effort that goes on behind the scenes is worth it all! I prefer to think of this as our first 100 with many more races to come in the future. I’d also like to say a huge thank you to the brilliant sponsors, partners and fans we have for going through it all with us. Their support never ceases to humble and amaze me.”