Paul O’Neill will take over Tony Hughes‘ Speedworks Toyota Avensis for the second time this season at Knockhill.
O’Neill, who scored points in race three at Croft when he was last in the car, impressed the team both in Yorkshire and the test at Pembrey, where team boss Christian Dick hailed the progress the outfit made with the Avensis.
With Hughes unable to make the Saturday due to previous commitments, the experienced O’Neill was the obvious choice as his replacement.
The team are looking forward to pushing on in the second half of the season following Adam Morgan‘s impressive showing at Snetterton, where the Ginetta graduate qualified fifth and recovered to tenth for race three following an eventful day.
“Yeah, should be fun!” He told theCheckeredFlag.co.uk. “Looking forward to driving the car after Croft and the two-day test I was involved in.
“We have certainly made head way with it so should be looking at knocking on the door of the very competitive top 10.”
Morgan, Hughes and O’Neill are line astern in the championship standings in 22nd, 23rd and 24th place, but Dick shares his stand-in’s optimism that both drivers will be able to compete towards the sharp end of the grid in Scotland, after hoping for more following such a competitive Saturday in Norfolk.
“In hindsight yes,” he told theCheckeredFlag.co.uk when asked if the team were pleased to salvage something from the day, following incidents in races one and two. “Fifth in qualifying after a strong free practice one and two, and a top ten – if you’d have offered us that before the weekend we’d have probably accepted!
“I think we have got to [be aiming for the front]. We have proven the performance of the car and it’s obvious Adam is quick, so we just have to put it together on the Sundays now.”
