Rick Kerry is hoping that a successful test session at Snetterton is a sign of things to come as the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship season draws to a close this weekend at
Thruxton.
The AFM Racing driver has endured a trying season with his diesel-powered
BMW 120 this year after making the step up to the BTCC for the first time and was forced to miss the last round at
Knockhill having been involved in the opening race accident at
Brands Hatch - an incident that did nothing for the team's already small budget.
However, having completed some solid running on his home circuit, Kerry told
Crash.net he was confident that improvements have been made to the first diesel-powered car to run in the BTCC.
"We had two tests last week, one at MIRA and then one at Snetterton," he said. "The MIRA test served its purpose as a bit of a shakedown of the car following the accident at Brands Hatch while the real test came at
Snetterton. We managed to get down into the 1min 15secs which was three seconds quicker than we managed on the race weekend - and that came on old tyres that were far from their best.
"We found an issue with one of the rear shocks which we have now solved, we worked with MIRA on the aerodynamics, have modified the fuel tank and have managed to lose some weight and it all helps to make the car quicker. We haven't done anything major, but have done lots of little bits which have helped. It would have been nice to drop a 3 litre diesel engine into it, but it just wasn't possible...”
Although he admits that the car is still early in its development, Kerry added that he hoped to take a step forward in the final rounds of the season, with his aim very much on challenging towards the lower end of the field.
"We know there is still a lot of work to be done, but we are finally showing some competitive lap-times, even if it will still leave us near the back of the grid," he said. "The car feels more like a touring car now rather than a modified road car although it is still early in its development.
"I think it will be better on its tyres than some of the others at Thruxton and if we can reliable and stay close to the pack then we could have a bit of a race. I'm looking to improve the lap-times through the weekend and put on a good show for potential sponsors. This is our last chance this season to show we are making progress and I feel that if we had the right budget, then we'd be able to push the car up the grid next year."
