Rob Austin confident of improved Handy showing

Rob Austin says he is expecting the Handy Motorsport team to produce an improved performance on track this weekend when the BTCC heads for Rockingham.

Austin failed to score last time out at Knockhill on a wretched weekend for the Toyota team, where he struggled for pace throughout and slipped outside the top ten in the championship standings.

Since the trip to Scotland, investigation work on his car has revealed a previously undiscovered issue that has now been resolved and which should see the 36-year-old back up to speed at a circuit where he has enjoyed podium success in the past.

“Knockhill was very unfortunate but since we’ve been back we found a problem with the car which was a result of contact at Snetterton, so that explains a lot,” he said. “Due to the tight turnaround between races we’d overlooked something, so we’ve learnt from that. We knew something had to be wrong – not being able to fight through from 23rd on the grid just wasn’t right.

“So, with everything back to how it should be I’m sure we’ll be back to top 10 pace at Rockingham and, obviously, I have a good history there – as does the Toyota actually.

“There’s only been one meeting this year where we haven’t had a car with the potential for podiums, and that was Knockhill because of the issue we found. I’m sure we’ll be competitive at Rockingham, we’re all very focused.”