Ex VAT
Inc VAT
Menu

Austin tops BTCC testing

0 Comments

Austin tops BTCC testing

Rob Austin gave the new Alfa Romeo Giulietta a dream start to the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship by being fastest in the official pre-season test at Donington Park.

Austin, who wears a Stilo ST5 GT Carbon, recorded a best time of 1m10.074s in the DUO Motorsport with HMS Racing entered car, which was 0.164s faster than Tom Chilton in a Team Shredded Wheat Racing with Gallagher Ford Focus, while Colin Turkington showed the pace of the Team BMW 125i M Sport with third quickest time.

The competitiveness and calibre of the 2018 BTCC field was highlighted with the top 16 cars separated by less than a second and a huge number laps completed during the day by the full 32-car line-up.

The opening rounds of the 2018 BTCC take place at Brands Hatch on 7/8 April.

"There are a lot of common components in a touring car but I underestimated how different driving the Alfa Romeo would be,” said Austin. “It's a lot of work to try and figure out a new car. Trying to get the balance to match up that of the Toyota because we really had that car really nailed down. We are certainly getting there though and we seem to be getting good lap times. I think we are in the ballpark, but we won’t know exactly where we stand until we get to Brands Hatch qualifying – at the moment it's positive and our tails are in the air! I feel like a broken record as I have been a massive fan of the Alfa Romeo since I was a kid and to finally be getting the opportunity to be representing the brand in the BTCC is a dream.”