AmD chasing points on MG debut

AmD boss Shaun Hollamby says he is hopeful of seeing the team’s newly acquired MG6 GTs challenge for points when the new BTCC season kicks off this weekend at Brands Hatch.

Having added a second Audi S3 last season, the team has now expanded further to a four-car team for 2018 after taking over the two MGs that were previously run by Triple Eight – and which are now entered on an Independent basis.

Although the two Audis were able to head for Spain to take part in a specially arranged group test before further testing back in the UK, the MGs have completed only limited running – with Tom Boardman getting three days behind the wheel and Rory Butcher only sampling his car for the first time on Media Day.

However, Hollamby said he was pleased with the way things had come together and felt the MG side of the AmD garage was in a good place heading into the season opener.

“Everything came together quite late with the MGs and the key thing when we first got the cars was to assess what we need to go to get them back into top condition,” he said. “There is a lot of work that had to go into them and thanks to the efforts of [team manager] Rob Tickner and the boys, the cars are probably in better condition than they have been for some time.

“Once we’d looked at what had to be done with the cars, we focused on the sponsors and the drivers and whilst we were lucky to be able to sign some really good backers in AutoAid and RCIB Insurance, the driver market proved to be quite volatile because of what happened at Honda.

“Gordon Shedden’s departure really mixed things up and deals there were on were suddenly off – it was quite tricky. However, to get the driver line-up we have in Rory and Tom is fantastic and I’m excited about what they can achieve together on track.”

Hollamby added that he was keeping expectations in check ahead of Brands Hatch, with points on the board being the initial aim for both Butcher and Boardman.

“The MGs have had less time on track than the Audis going to Brands Hatch and we have to be realistic given it is first time running the cars on a race weekend,” he said. “If we can score some good points then I’ll be happy with it. We know there is a top ten pace in the car from testing but I would expect some other teams to raise their game when it really matters and we’ll have to see where we line up.

“I have no doubt though that we’ll get quicker as we gain more knowledge of the car and will be able to push our way forwards.”