By Tarek Ramchani
Silverstone hosted the ninth round of the British Touring Car Championship. Rob Austin Racing were there entering their two Audi A4 NGTC cars. The weekend was one of awesome performances from the team.
The Silverstone weekend didn't start well for Rob Austin and Will Bratt. Extremely bad luck hit both Audis in the qualifying session. However in the races Rob Austin the driver/owner recovered very well. In race 1 he was able to improve from seventeenth on the grid to a sensational fifth place in the end. Race 2 was another great one for the #13 Audi driver. Fifth place in the end, equalling the result from race 1 after fantastic battles on track. Rob started race three with high hopes but yet again lady luck turned its back on the team. Whilst battling for second place a touch with the privateer Proton during the opening laps turn sent him to the back of the field. Once again he was able to make a comeback and finished in a convincing ninth.
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| Will Bratt - Audi A4 NGTC |
Unfortunately that was not the case for the sister #14 Audi A4. Will Bratt had a very hard weekend at Silverstone. Thirteenth in race 1 and a DNF in race two after contact with a MG car while battling to get into the tip ten. In race 3 he recovered to finish in fourteenth place.
Following race three it was announced that several competitors would received penalties and exclusions for driving standards. Rob Austin was unfortunately among the drivers listed. For his involvement in causing the incident between himself and the Proton he was excluded from race three. He was also allocated four penalty points. This dampened the day’s positive results, but Rob Austin will be back stronger than ever at the next round, he did apologise for his manoeuvre via his social media.
Despite the penalty Silverstone was a very positive weekend for Rob Austin Racing. Rob Austin again proved that the Audi A4 NGTC is one of the fastest cars in the BTCC field. The team proved yet again that despite the budget issues, on track, they could do even better with more resources and support. The next round is the finale at Brands Hatch.
Photo credit: Jakob Ebrey / Rob Austin Racing
More information:
Rob Austin Racing website
Rob Austin Racing on Facebook
