Racing with Wera & Photon Group kept the heat on in the Jack Sears Trophy title race at a searing hot Snetterton for the second meeting of the Kwik-Fit British Touring Car Championship.
The Kent squad headed to Norfolk with a changed line-up as W Series driver and Aston Martin Formula 1 Driver Ambassador Jessica Hawkins joined Sam Osborne in the pair of Racing with Wera & Photon Group Ford Focus ST machines.
Having never driven the car before, Hawkins impressed in qualifying and was immediately on the pace and was unlucky not to net astounding top 10 result in qualifying, had she not be baulked on her flying lap. In the end, Hawkins qualified a credible 17th while Osborne was a tenth quicker in 14th position.
Faced with scoring temperatures on Sunday, the pair were hampered in their quest to move forward but it didn’t stop Osborne from netting a second in the Jack Sears Trophy after coming home in 19th position. Hawkins came home ahead of fellow BTCC rookies Rick Parfitt, Jade Edwards and Jack Butel to finish in 23rd position in race one.
Osborne held station in race two to finish 19th and third in the Jack Sears Trophy while Hawkins, boosted by a race under her belt, progressed to 21st position, finishing just three seconds adrift of two-time BTCC champion Jason Plato. The final race saw Osborne and Hawkins both showed strong pace but in the end had to settle for 20th and 23rd at the chequered flag. A trio of top three results in the Jack Sears Trophy sees Osborne firmly in the title race just 11 points behind points leader Dan Rowbottom, while Hawkins’ impressive speed proved she deserves a place on the BTCC grid.
Quotes
Jessica Hawkins:
“I’m proud of our pace I think three really bad starts on my behalf prevented
possible points but nevertheless it’s a good experience and I’m very pleased with our pace. I’m thankful for the opportunity and despite being a little disappointed with the results I am pleased overall. I’d like to see Andy return to be honest but I’m going to work hard to make sure I’m Andy’s teammate next year.”
Sam Osborne:
“We were just playing around scrubbing tyres and bits in free practice. Qualifying wasn’t great unfortunately. It just felt like we were falling backwards really this weekend.
We just can’t seem to make the tyre work for us properly at the moment. We seem to be good in a straight line but not around the corners so she’s a missile when I can get the drive out of the corner but we just lose so much time into and through the corner, it just kills us.
It is what it is we just have to come back to Brands and recoup and attack it harder and faster and stronger next time.”
The championship heads to the team’s home circuit Brands Hatch for the next round on June 26-27.
