The Avensis driving independents had their best BTCC weekend of the season so far, Frank Wrathall finishing 13th in the second of the three races at Oulton Park, picking up a first point towards the Independents' championship.
The Dynojet driver record the finish despite starting the 18 lap race from 24th on the grid and despite the ever-changing Cheshire weather throwing more rain on the track when Wrathall had opted for slick front tyres.
“All the other cars around me were on wet tyres all round, and that made life very difficult,” explained the 24-year-old. “It was a question of managing with what I had and trying to stay out of trouble.”
“It was tough out there on those tyres,” he added, “and my brakes weren't ideally set up either, but all that aside it's great finally to get a decent result on the board.”
Speedworks Motorsport driver Tony Hughes also recorded his best finish of the season with a 14th in the same race, also recording 16th and 17th place finishes in a largely trouble free day for the Stockport based driver.
Wrathall was less fortunate as problems sandwiched his race two result. His poor start slot was caused by a power delivery problem (traced to the problem with the engine management) forcing a race once retirement.
His race three was also cut short after just a handful of laps, Wrathall pulling the orange Ginetta off at the bottom of Clay Hill. “We're still not sure where the problem lies,” said Frank. “I didn't have a great start because they held us for a long time on the grid and the engine was overheating a bit. After that things were going well until the fourth lap; I hit a kerb and noticed a vibration, and then there were oil pressure warning lights and it was best to pull off as a precaution. It's a disappointing end but we are taking positives from the weekend, in particular the car's performance in race two.”
