Derek Palmer pleased with Infiniti race pace

Derek Palmer was pleased to score his first points in the BTCC after taking a trio of points-scoring finishes in the Independents Championship.

Since Infiniti pulled its backing from the Support Our Paras Racing team the pair of Infiniti Q50s, of which only one raced at Oulton Park, are now eligible to score points in the Independents table. The change allowed Palmer to score the first points of his BTCC career, taking six points away from the weekend, scoring one point in race one, two in race two and three in the final race.

“I’ll take that!” Palmer told TouringCarTimes after finding out he’d earned his first points. “I’m very, very happy, our race pace is getting good now. We’re mixing and racing which is great for the guys. We’ve been on it up to this point and we’ve all had to learn massively from a drivers’ perspective, an engineering perspective and a mechanic’s perspective so it feels like it’s gelling a bit now.

“We’ll lack a bit in qualifying pace still for sure but with the race pace we’re creeping towards it a little bit more. After that if we can mix it further up a bit more in the pack then it’s about getting the qualifying pace up to make sure we’re in the right place on the grid for the races.”

Palmer, who now sits fourth in the Jack Sears Trophy standings, was also keen to praise the new Dunlop Medium compound, which made its debut at Oulton Park, despite suffering a major flat spot in the final race.

“The new Dunlop Medium was very consistent,” he continued. “It took a bit longer to get up to temperature, I would say, but once it’s there its actually pretty good. In race three I flat spotted straight away, even though it’s been through to the canvas and the wire it held up which is pretty much testament to the tyre. I think we improved the car aswell, to me it feels more consistent, we’ve shifted the balance a bit and it just feels more balanced.”

Finally Palmer emphasised the team’s need to find a second driver for Croft, stating that negotiations are well under way with drivers looking to fill the second Q50 previously driven by Richard Hawken and Martin Donnelly.

“We need to have someone in the car for Croft,” said Palmer. “We’re looking for someone but it has to be someone that fits in with the team and obviously [they] need to bring a certain amount of budget. We have an obligation to TOCA, who have been very patient with us so far, to have two cars out there and we’re going to try our hardest to get two cars out there. We’re in negotiations today, last week and next week so as soon as we know we’ll get it out there and move forward with two cars.”