Triple Eight boss again slams driving standards

Triple Eight team boss Ian Harrison has again hit out at driving standards in the BTCC after seeing both of his MG drivers caught up in on-track incidents at Knockhill.

Ash Sutton would fail to finish two of the three races as a result of contact on track, whilst Josh Cook was also forced out of race three having received a hit from one of his rivals that left him parked on the side of the circuit.

Just two weeks after criticising the standard of some of the drivers on the grid, Harrison was again left to rue performances elsewhere amongst the field in Scotland, and said he felt no lessons had been learned from the incidents that marred the sixth meeting of the campaign.

“Perhaps I shouldn’t have said anything to you last time out, and I guess I have to wait and see what penalties are handed out by the organisers, but the fact is that we have a 50 per cent finishing rate this weekend and it is because of other people driving into our cars,” he told TouringCarTimes. “I have yet to see someone get a yellow or a red card for their driving and nothing has changed; it’s exactly the same as it was at Snetterton.

“Teams and mechanics have worked hard to get cars ready for this weekend but there are some drivers on the grid who don’t seen to respect, or aren’t bothered, by that fact. Maybe it doesn’t interest them or they don’t see it as their problem; I don’t know.

“There is no consideration for the long game and they just seem to look for instant gratification that comes from overtaking someone in a position where they can’t overtake at this corner on this lap, rather than thinking ahead and planning their move.

“We knew coming here that it was a circuit that hasn’t been kind to our MG in the past, but the championship seems to be at the stage where if you aren’t inside the top ten, you are at serious risk of not finishing through no fault of your own. Going to Rockingham, we have to make sure we qualify well so that we are in a position where we can actually race with people.”

Sutton himself was also critical of the standards on track as he picked up just five points across the three races, whilst also seeing his lead in the Jack Sears Trophy cut to 24 points.

“It’s very frustrating but again they are incidents that are out of my control and it’s people driving into me,” he said. “It’s becoming a joke as this is meant to be the pinnacle of British motorsport and at the moment, it isn’t; we’re not putting on a good show.

“I will be the first person to hold my hands up and apologise if I do something wrong and am at fault, and will accept any penalty that comes my way, but there are people who are getting away with things that I have been penalised for and I don’t feel that is right. To get one DNF because of someone else is bad enough, but two is kick up the backside.”