Rotek Racing Press Release
Fresh from the ADAC Zurich Nürburgring 24 Hours, Robb ‘Hollywood’ Holland and his Rotek Racing team are on maximum attack as the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) rolls into Croft Circuit in the North East of England (28-29 June).
Croft Circuit, which celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2014, hosts Rounds 13, 14 and 15 of Britain’s premier motor racing championship.
The charming 2.25mile circuit is situated near Darlington, North Yorkshire and has featured on the BTCC calendar every year since 1997.
Its layout is made up of an intoxicating blend of fast, flowing corners like the Jim Clark Esses and Barcroft, as well as the technical Complex and final Hairpin, and compliments the sort of high-octane, bumper-to-bumper racing action that the BTCC is famed for.
Holland, meanwhile, was on for a career-best 12th place finish in a rain-soaked third race at Oulton Park three weeks ago, until a swipe from a wayward rival caused severe rear-end damage to his Oakley Motorsports-backed Audi S3 saloon that ultimately resulted in a puncture and a separate, race-ending collision with the barriers.
Understandably disappointed to have been denied a solid points finish and, through no fault of his own, conclude yet another tumultuous weekend with more crash damage, the American and his Rotek Racing operation remains on maximum attack and is targeting top 16 results as the BTCC prepares for its lengthy mid-season break.
“In all honesty, I know nothing about Croft Circuit, but I’ll go into free practice having done some simulator work in the UK and, from watching video footage, it looks to be a very interesting and exciting track,” said Holland. “The goal here is to go into the mid-season break without damage and then get some testing done. I’d be happy if I crept into the top 16 because of the setbacks we had at start of season. We always knew it would be a tough fight and the team is still on maximum attack.
“The Audi S3 saloon definitely felt better as the Oulton Park weekend progressed and I raced as high as 12th before being taken out, which gives me confidence in the changes that Rotek Racing made to the car. The alterations were counterintuitive to what we would normally do, but we decided to experiment and it seemed to work out.”
Holland added: “This weekend is no different to the previous three, in that I’ve always had to learn my way around a new circuit. In addition, the team has come away from each race meeting with crash damage to repair, after being on the receiving end of contact, which has forced the cancellation of several tests where we would normally make all the necessary adjustments to the Audi S3 saloon. Instead, we have to learn each track while fettling the car’s setup during free practice on a Saturday, using the entire race weekends as tests with the view of making the car better in the long-term.”
Qualifying for Round 13 of the 2014 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) takes place from 15.45 on Saturday (28 June), while Sunday (29 June) begins with the pit lane walkabout driver autograph session.
This precedes Round 13 at 12.02, Round 14 at 14.39 and Round 15 at 17.06, all of which will be beamed live and in high definition on ITV4 and ITV4HD.
For more on Rotek Racing, visit the official www.rotekracing.com website, ‘like’ the team’s Facebook page or follow @rotekracing on Twitter.
Photo credit: Rotek Racing
