SNETTERTON - ROUND 8 - RACE REPORT

Rounds 22, 23 & 24 of the 2006 British Touring Car Championship at Knockhill
September 2/3, 2006

No luck for Rob in Scotland

Ahead of the Knockhill rounds of the 2006 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship, Rob and team RAC made the switch from conventional unleaded fuel to a more environmentally friendly bio-ethanol mixture.

One good deed deserves another as they say, but there was no sign of any good luck heading Rob's way up in Scotland as he suffered another tricky weekend in the wet conditions.

Qualifying saw Rob ninth fastest with a time of 58.352s, but it was a case of what could have been on a drying track.

Rob said, "I went out on wet tyres and things were going well with the car feeling good. As the track started to dry we considered changing to a combination of slicks and wets. I could see that those cars with the same set-up improved on their times and I'm sure with a couple of extra laps and some more heat in the tyres I could have got a faster lap. I need to get a good start in the race tomorrow to be in with a chance of a podium, something I really want this weekend."

Race one

Rob was running well in the first race of the weekend, in sixth place when he was forced to retire early during the second of the safety car periods due to an electrical failure.

Rob said: "The car was handling really well and I was making good progress but then the battery light came on. I turned off my headlights and heated windscreen. The screen started to mist up and I was using the windscreen wipers as little as possible but it got to the stage where I just wasn't able to see. I tried to limp the car around the track to get a finish but the battery gave up."

Race two

If Rob didn't have bad luck, he wouldn't have any luck at all. Disappointed in the standards in driving, when he himself has received much criticism, it's seems that Rob was not destined for the podium despite running strongly. He was forced to retire after nine laps having been assisted into the gravel at Scotsman by Jason Plato.

Rob said: "Heading through the SEAT Curves I was conscious of keeping my line. I had my car in front heading to Scotsman when Jason caught me on the left-hander, sending me onto the grass and then back across the track into the barrier. At the moment I feel like I've a target on my car. There was far too much contact in that race and it's dangerous."

Race three

After starting 14th, Rob made good progress through the field to claim a seventh place finish, his best result of the weekend.

Rounds 25, 26 & 27 of the 2006 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship take place at Brand Hatch over the weekend of 23/24 September.