BTCC newcomer Chris James is ready for the first weekend of a season he admits will be a “continual learning curve” when he and his Team ES Racing take to the Brands Hatch Indy circuit for the first races of the year.
Driving a Chevrolet Lacetti James' final pre-season test ended on a high with a visit to the Kent venue in the week before the races.
“I was delighted with our final test of the season,” said James. “To begin with I was not happy with the balance of the car but throughout the day we made a number of minor changes which made the car feel so much better. We knocked over 2 seconds off of our lap times throughout the day, with the fastest lap being the last – on tyres that were 70 laps old!”
As almost certainly the smallest team on the grid that will take to the track James' pre-season testing has been less extensive than many of the other teams and so he plans to use the weekends practice sessions to continue to get used to the car and ex-RML engine before Sunday's three races.
“We are all so excited about the upcoming weekend,” said James “Our aim, as I’ve always said, is to keep the car clean, interact with the public & make some friends. Our goal every round will be to score points, but in our first ever BTCC outing I do not want to put too much pressure on the team to deliver this first time out”.
Saturday's qualifying session will be broadcast live on ITV.com from 3:40pm with a full day's live coverage of the racing on Sunday on ITV4.
The team are currently offering a number of sponsorship opportunities. Anyone interested can contact Chris James on [email protected].
