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 A combination of blistering heat followed by monsoon conditions and the obligatory mechanical failures made this weekend, YRC’s most testing of the season!
The MK based crew are nearly half way through the British Touring Car Championship racing season with their Renault Clio Cup race car, and the latest rounds at Oulton Park in Cheshire last weekend were somewhat challenging.
Imagine this. You’ve taken your prized motor for a run out (you only take it for a spin every other weekend) and within the space of half an hour, you’ve suffered a starter motor failure, the clutch has failed and someone’s crashed into both sides of your shiny paintwork. Welcome to the world of competitive professional motor racing! Despite all this, the team had two good finishes this weekend even with all the on track shenanigans, technical failures and tricky-to-read weather conditions and currently sit sixth in the championship. With five further race weekends before the season finale at Brands Hatch in Kent, the team have a few things to get their heads around but their swift move up the ranks has made them pretty agile when it comes to mid-season improvements.
YRC’s driver, Fulvio Mussi, is arguably the most experienced racer in the Elf Renault Clio Cup but with two years of sports car racing behind him, adjusting to the dinky front wheel drive Clio has required a speedy adjustment. Speaking about the swap to Clio Fulvio said “The only similarity between sports car racing and Clio racing is that they both have four wheels. It’s extremely easy to overdrive a front wheel drive car and I’m having to re-learn every circuit we visit even though I’ve done hundreds if not thousands of laps at some of these places”.
Speaking about the challenge they face to claw their way up the rankings this season, Team Principle Hannah James said “We never have picked the route of least resistance. This is professional sport like any other and we’re a relatively new outfit competing against people who’ve been doing the same thing for years. The difference between them and us is that we take on a new challenge each season. Next year will be the same – we’re moving up the ladder yet again to compete in the British Touring Car headline event and the learning curve is very steep. Life wouldn’t be that much fun if we stood still all the time!”.
The team will be competing at Silverstone twice this summer and offer fans something a little different – your name and picture on their racing car. Visit their website to find out more about becoming a team member for just £25 at www.YourRacingCar.com
Next Stop: Croft North Yorkshire
19th and 20th June 2010
Live TV from 12pm on ITV4
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