Alex MacDowall (Photo Credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography)
With the British Touring Car season entering its twilight weekends Alex MacDowall has his hopes pinned on the penultimate round at Brands Hatch as he continues to search for a breakthrough win in the series.
The weekend – on the Grand Prix layout at the Kent track – should play into the hands of MacDowall and his Chevrolet Cruze, with handling through the fast corners of the GP loop all-important in good lap times.
“I think Brands Hatch GP should be our best track yet,” said MacDowall, “The GP loop requires a very stable chassis which is good on high speed corners and that's one of the Cruze's strong points. I've gone well at the track previously too – I out-qualified Jason [Plato] last year and won there in Clio Cup, so it's a place I enjoy and a track where I know we're quick.”
“I've got to have a high scoring weekend at Brands because Silverstone [which will host the BTCC season finale on October 15-16] will be the worst track for us. This is my last chance for a win this year and I don't want to get left behind, I need to get that monkey off my back. I'm going to Brands Hatch aiming for pole position and at least one win.”
After coming close to taking his first BTCC win in his debut season last year 20-year-old MacDowall has found his second campaign harder going. Several times this year the Silverline Chevrolet driver has been on the wrong end of contact, though aggressive driving of his own now leaves on the verge of a three month ban – after two penalty points on his competition license after the Rockingham meeting he is now just one point from a ban.
“I feel like I've been robbed once already this season from a pole position and I don't intend to let that happen again, I really feel like this could be our weekend”, he added, “I excel on high-speed corners and Brands Hatch GP is one of the fastest circuits on the calendar. There are no team orders either so I can go out there, do my own thing and focus on my driving.”
