Maximum Motorsport comes out in force during the hottest weekend of the year
Maximum Motorsport expanded its presence in the 2021 Goodyear Touring Car Trophy incorporating TCR UK in association with Maximum Networks as the second half of the season got underway at Oulton Park in Cheshire on Saturday.
Now running four TCR machines for the rest of the year, the West Midlands based outfit was out to maximise its efforts to take home some good rewards however fell just short of that in one of the hottest racing days of the year so far.
As title challenger Max Hart took fourth place in race one and followed that up with a podium in race two, the young Irishman continues his charge to close the title gap down on the series leader with four races left to go.
Andy Wilmot made his return to the team as he got used to the CUPRA TCR he’ll be using for the rest of the season, having last raced in the series at Silverstone whilst Volkswagen Racing Cup sensation Jack Depper impressed with two top ten finishes on his debut in a TCR car.
Alex Kite returned to the fold after making his debut back at Castle Coombe, where for the second event in a row he drove an Astra, this time the teams newly acquired Opel Astra from Italy, however overheating issues plagued both of his races.
Meanwhile, the fifth member of the team, Finlay Lines was out in action in the Shenington Kart Super Prix incorporating the Motorsport E plate & SP plate as part of his 2021 campaign with Ambition Motorsport.
Finlay endured a challenging time in the Final where he qualified fifth but finished twelfth out of thirty-two drivers competing in the event, where he now lies in sixth place in the points.
Driver Quotes:
Max Hart #101 Maximum Motorsport Hyundai i30 N TCR – “Tough weekend for me, struggling with setup all weekend and having the ballast didn’t help either, racing in that type of weather is tough but I train very hard so was not a problem for me, happy to come away with good points and a podium.”
Andy Wilmot #21 Maximum Motorsport CUPRA TCR – “I enjoyed the first outing in my car and being out fighting in the mid pack. The aim now is to move forward but to do that I feel I need more testing to feel comfortable with the car running a much looser set up. The car felt very good and very planted, but it didn’t seem to rotate as much as I needed it to. More testing will help us get on the pace.”
Jack Depper #33 Maximum Motorsport Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR – “I had some fun which was the main thing. I had a great time battling with Andy (Wilmot) even if he did cross the line ahead of me in both races. My confidence is now 100% so for me it’s all about soaking up seat time now to get a better understanding of the car and extract more pace from it so that I can move up the grid.”
Alex Kite #97 Maximum Motorsport Opel Astra TCR – “Overall we had a good weekend in the Maximum Motorsport Opel Astra. The team worked really hard between sessions, finding some good pace. As this car is still in development, we were all really pleased with the lap times that we achieved during the races. Showing that the car and myself have very good potential with some more testing and development.”
Finlay Lines #94 Ambition Motorsport in association with Maximum Motorsport – “On Saturday I was on the pace and qualified fifth. On Sunday however my engine lacked pace & in the final I was pushed out wide, at Stratford Corner and 8 karts drove past me. When I rejoined, I had a really poor run onto the Runway straight. Was disappointed to finish P12 in the final. Dad says I need to be tougher out on track, so I will try my best to be tougher. Thanks to Ian Janes at Ambition Motorsport who runs my kart. “
The team now looks ahead to the next round of the 2021 Maximum Networks Volkswagen Racing Cup incorporating the Goodyear Touring Car Trophy and TCR UK, taking place at Anglesey circuit on 8th August.
