Robb Holland will make a return to the British Touring Car Championship this weekend at Snetterton, taking the wheel of the vacant second Team HARD Vauxhall Insignia.
The American racer will fill the void left by the departed Jame Cole in the RCIB Insurance Vauxhall Insignia at the Norfolk event this weekend (August 3/4), Holland returning to the series having been one of several drivers to have tested the NGTC car during the recent Dunlop test earlier in July.
The 45-year-old will therefore also return to the circuit at which he made his BTCC debut at last season, when he drove Team HARD boss Tony Gilham‘s S2000-specification Honda Civic for the meetings at both Snetterton and Knockhill, and says that he will cherish the opportunity to return to the grid once again.
“I’m really looking forward to returning to the BTCC at Snetterton and particularly so with my friend Tony Gilham’s Team HARD organisation”, said Holland. “[Snetterton] is a great track. I raced there last year year with Tony in his S2000 regulation car and while I had a bit of an up and down weekend, we both enjoyed the experience of working together and agreed that we’d do it again if we could.”
One of many drivers to have tested the NGTC Insignia at Snetterton – others including Warren Scott, Howard Fuller, Tom Barley and Joe Girling – Holland has further tested the car at Brands Hatch, and already feels at home with his new machine.
“Even though I only got a few laps in on the Thruxton compund tyres, it was enough to get a feel for the car. The Vauxhall Insignia is exciting to drive, quite unlike anything I’ve driven before and I loved it.”
Team boss Gilham meanwhile feels confident that his American recruit can deliver a strong performance at Snetterton, buoyed by the Insignia’s visible improvements in pace during the recent tests conducted at the Snetterton 300 circuit.
Gilham said: “We love working with Robb, and after a successful brief outing in the newly-built Insignia for the recent tyre test we have high hopes going into the next race weekend. Robb knowing the track from last year showed very strong pace in only the short run he had and together we’ll be looking to be fighting for some strong top 10 results.”
