Proteam to sit out of Salzburgring to develop Ford Focus

Proteam Racing have endured a very difficult weekend in Monza, Italy, which was the first proper outing of the Onyx-built Ford Focus ST.

The Ford had been out on track in Sepang, Malaysia, for Free Practice, and had since returned to England to undergo more developement work ahead of the European season.

However, the standard H-pattern gearbox proved to be not fit for racing, which forced Tom Boardman to just drive the car around as the team tried emergency repairs to the gearbox, without being able to run the car in anger, as it was about eight seconds off the pace. Despite scoring a point in Race 1, the English driver was over one minute off the lead under the flag.

As a result, Proteam decided to sit out of the Race of Austria, electing to work on the car in the team’s workshop in Tuscany, Italy, where the car is being fitted with a racing sequential gearbox.

TouringCarTimes understands the participation in the Race of Russia in Sochi is also in doubt, as the team are adamant the car will only hit the track once it has reached a reasonable level of performance. According to sources inside the team, the car has good potential, but has to undergo extensive modifications in order to accommodate the new gearbox in the car.

Proteam Racing are sure the car will be on track in Argentina in July.