No.22 Tom Boardman
SEAT Leon
S2000 chassis, NGTC engine
Continuity for Boardman, back with STR for a second go at the BTCC.
The off-season was awash with speculation of as many as four Leons, but while the door is still open to drivers, the season begins with the team putting all their effort into Boardman's entry.
2010 was one of frustration for Boardman. Good points finishes followed by struggles and retirement and a season spent in the midfield, where contact was a case of if, not when, and the black SEAT was frequently the one to lose out.
Even when Boardman did get out front – the only time in 2010 – at Oulton Park he found himself savaged into retirement.
For 2011 he is pinning his hopes on the new powerplant offering, so he says, an extra 10k in straight line speed through circuit speed traps. Unfortunately, as he is enjoying this extra speed, so is everyone else.
Tom Boardman On…..The new engine
“Straight away you've got a turbo and it's more power. We've got a speed trap from last year and I'm a good 10kmph quicker straight away just out of the corner so it's a big improvement. If I had that last year, Christ, who know where I would've been and it's just frustrating but I'm in this situation where hopefully we're going to be competitive.”
Verdict: Deserves more than another season of frustration, but that's what he'll get.
