This weekends return to racing for the British Touring Car Championship opens the next chapter in AmD Milltek Racing.com's roller coaster season, with the series debut of new driver Martin Byford.
Byford's appointment as driver follows Shaun Hollamby's one-off return to driving at Croft, the final meeting before the seven-break that encompassed all of July.
“On one hand, the Golf is just another race car, but on the other,” said Byford, “this is British Touring Cars and I'm pumped up about being part of it.”
“I can't wait to get started and I'm watching the clock ticking down to the weekend,” said Byford. “I got on well with both the car and the team during the test at Brands Hatch and having tried a few things, we know what we need to do to get the VW more suited to my driving style. Of course, I know I have a bit to learn, but I'm just excited about the prospect of racing in the BTCC having spent the best part of ten years thinking and dreaming about it.”
As if making a debut in the BTCC wasn't daunting enough, but this weekend at Snetterton will also be the home event for the Suffolk-born, but Essex-based driver. Furthermore, the BTCC will be making it's first visit to the Norfolk track since a major redevelopment program that created the new '300' layout the championship will be racing on. The new circuit adds five corners and a mile to the track used in 2010.
“Snetterton is the perfect circuit on which to make my debut as it's my home track and there will be a lot of family, friends, work colleagues and sponsors coming along to cheer me on,” Byford said. “I knew the old layout like the back of my hand but with the revisions that have been made, it's a clean sheet of paper for everyone this weekend, which will also help me. I can't think of a better place to appear in the BTCC for the first time and I'm going out there to do the best job I can and hopefully challenge for points.”
Like many other teams on the grid AmD Milltek have been busy during the summer break, further honing the Golf that scored the team's first points earlier this season, and Hollamby, returning to his 2011 role of team manager is optimistic the team and Byford can add to that tally at Snetterton.
“[Martin] just hasn't had the chance in the past,” he said. “and now thanks to the support of Tesco Momentum 99 and Milltek Sport, we've been able to give him that chance. We've shown this season that the Golf is a package that can run in the top ten and Martin is a driver who is more than capable of coming away from the weekend having scored points on his debut.”
