Power steering issues delay Michael Epps debut

Michael Epps will have to wait until second practice to sample his Team HARD Toyota Avensis after being forced to sit out the opening practice session of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship season at Brands Hatch.

Epps was the only driver not to take part in the first 40 minutes of track action for the season opener after Tony Gilham’s team discovered a power steering issue with his car; electing instead to keep the newly-built Avensis in the garage to rectify in the problem.

The former VW Cup racer should be able to take part in second practice as planned, providing him with the opportunity to turn some laps prior to qualifying.

“Michael’s car is pretty much a new build and we discovered an issue with the power steering so we elected to keep it in the garage and fix the problem rather than send him out,” team boss Gilham said.

“Given this will be his first time in the car, we didn’t want to send him out with a car that wasn’t right. As we are still working with the GPRM parts, we know how the steering should feel and we’ll have it sorted for the second session.”

The second of the team’s RCIB Insurance-backed cars in the hands of Jake Hill ended the session in 18th spot, with Chris Smiley’s TLC Racing entry in 24th.

“It was a solid start for Jake and Chris but we aren’t trying to reinvent the wheel,” Gilham added. “We aren’t quite there with the set-up for the conditions today but we’ll make some changes for FP2 and look to push on.”