RICH ENERGY-BACKED ADRIAN FLUX WITH POWER MAXED RACING HAD A TOUGH WEEKEND IN NORFOLK AT THE LATEST KWIK FIT BRITISH TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND
Snetterton was the venue this weekend for rounds 4, 5, and 6 of the 2021 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship. The former World War II airfield in Norfolk is the longest circuit on the calendar at just short of 3 miles in length and a favourite of fans and spectators alike. RICH Energy-backed Adrian Flux with Power Maxed Racing duo, Jason Plato and Dan Lloyd were eager to get started after a successful opening meeting at Thruxton last month.
Carrying 56kg of 'success ballast' courtesy of his podium at Thruxton, it was a difficult qualifying session for Jason Plato who only managed 19th on the grid for Sunday's opening race. Teammate, Dan Lloyd, made it into the Top Ten Shootout to bag a 9th fastest time and a real chance for a podium battle.
Race 1 on Sunday morning was a hard battle for the experienced Plato, the success ballast hindering the former Champion who was unable to make the effective inroads into the cars ahead that he or his team would have liked as his 17th place finish was an improvement on Qualifying but not where Plato or the team hoped to be. Dan Lloyd fared better as he attacked the top ten with some vigour, pushing for a top 5 finish before a last-lap lunge on 5th saw Lloyd run wide allowing a chasing car to push through but with two corners left and no time to respond, Lloyd had to settle for 7th at the flag.
Starting 7th and 17th for the second outing of the day there were high hopes for both drivers, especially Plato, whose 'success ballast' had beed removed. Strong starts for both saw the drivers make reasonable ground before on-track incidents hindered their progress and at the flag is was 12th for Lloyd and 20th for Plato. The third and final race of the day carried on the trend of a tough weekend as Lloyd outpaced his vastly experienced teammate one more time to 12th as Jason Plato came home 18th.
Looking at the teams' social platforms it's clear they are always learning and although the weekend wasn't what they'd hoped, they have gleaned valuable data on the Vauxhall Astra that they are sure will help improve the package as the season unfolds.
Next time out for the PMR team is Brands Hatch Indy, 26th - 27th June.