British Touring Car Championship newcomer Martin Byford enjoyed a solid debut in the series at Snetterton with the AmD Milltek Racing team.
Martin began the weekend immediately on the pace, finishing both practice sessions in the top twelve in the team's Volkswagen Golf.
He had slipped down the order a bit in qualifying, taking 19th on the grid, but worked his way through to 14th in the first race. A broken gear linkage caused an early retirement in race two, but showed well in the third and final race when he came through from towards the back of the field to finish 16th.
“It was very hot and hectic, and I can't believe how quickly it's gone by,” Martin said. “After a solid start to race day, it was a real shame that we had to retire from the second race because a finish around twelfth there would have put us in a good position on the grid for race three. However, motorsport is full of 'ifs and buts'.
“Overall I feel we've made progress throughout the weekend and the car was more and more consistent as the weekend went on. We're getting the car more to my liking and I've been able to build my relationship with the team. Not scoring is the only downside to the weekend but people have noticed us and seen that I can do a job on the BTCC grid and compete with the pack. I'll learn more and get quicker at Knockhill, but it's going to seem like a long month until we go there!”
Team boss Shaun Hollamby was pleased with the weekend, but is hoping for more next time out.
“We've shown lots of potential this weekend and to be honest, we should have come away from the weekend with some points,” he said. “We didn't manage that, so we know there is work to do and that there are small tweaks that we can make to improve the car for Knockhill.
“Martin will also have more time in the car to get comfortable with his new surroundings but he's made a good start this weekend and shown people that he deserves his place on the BTCC grid.”
