Rick Kerry declared himself pleased with the progress shown by the AFM Racing team after a solid display in qualifying for the latest rounds of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at
Oulton Park.
The only diesel powered team on the grid missed the last round of the season at
Croft to try and improve the competitiveness of the BMW 1 Series and were rewarded with an improved performance at the Cheshire venue, with Kerry finding the best of three seconds between the opening practice session and qualifying to secure the 23rd quickest time.
Although that still leaves Kerry on the back row of the grid, his time was some 2.8 seconds quicker than Jim Pocklington, who was suffering from a myriad of problems with the J Team
BMW, and less than a second behind Fiona Leggate, herself having a far from straightforward day in the Kartworld MG.
“We are really pleased,” Kerry admitted to
Crash.net “We have put a huge amount of work in to make the car more competitive and it is nice to be in a position where we are playing with suspension settings rather than making major changes to the car. We have thrown some settings at it and made it quicker through the day and while there is still a long way to go, we are going in the right direction. All I want to do is race with the field and to get a diesel in the pack on merit is what we are aiming to do.”
As for his aims for race day, Kerry said he would be happy to bring his car home away from the wooden spoon position.
“We have shown so far that we can get closer to the action,” he said. “I just hope it rains, 22 other drivers fall off and we get a win! Realistically, if it is dry I hope to stay with the back of the pack as we aren't four seconds a lap behind. So 17th or 18th would be good. I'd just love to have a race and not be half a lap behind the others.”
