Shaun Hollamby and the AmD Milltek team have been hard at work during the break in the 2010 British Touring Car Championship. TheCheckeredFlag.co.uk caught up with Shaun to find out what they’ve been up to.
In at the deep end would be an understatement to describe what Hollamby and the team have faced this year as they brought the VW Golf back to the BTCC for the first time since 1989.
With the first half of the season out of the way the team are looking to an improved performance for the rest of the year and have been working on some changes.
“After Croft we ran the car on the rolling road at AmD Essex and we only had 240 BHP.” says Hollamby. “This explained us being 10mph slower through the speed traps despite making huge improvements to the corner exit speeds over the Croft weekend.”
Following Croft the team set about with plans to reduce the deficit to the rest of the field: “We had the engine rebuilt and all is set for a remapping and set-up session on the rolling road before the BTCC Test Day at Snetterton next Thursday.”
In terms of performance from the engine the team have compromised with some performance rather than going all out. “We were hoping for an upgrade to the level of Tom Boardman’s SEAT but we have decided it would be better keep at the 265bhp level for now. This still leaves us 35bhp down on the front-runners but 25bhp up on our Croft BHP levels.”
The second half of the season kicks off at Snetterton in August and Hollamby is hopeful of getting the best out of the Golf.
“We have been working hard on improving the handling and reliability throughout the season and Croft saw a definite jump forward on both fronts. Lack of BHP is our biggest issue but this is out of our control until 2011 when the planned 2.0 turbo (NGTCE) rules should allow us to get our VW Golf near the top of the speed traps rather than the bottom.”
“I think that by the time we get to Brands Hatch Indy circuit in October for the final BTCC rounds we will be pushing for a points finish in the last race of the year.” added Hollamby.
