Gough Racing had a tough initiation to the Euro Racecar NASCAR Touring Series, making their debut at Brands Hatch’s American SpeedFest.
The family run squad was plagued with mechanical issues throughout Saturday, with engine issues causing Ian Gough‘s retirement from the first Open Division race, while Stuart Gough managed to take the car to 13th in the Elite Division.
Further inspection showed that the engine issues were in fact caused by a problem with the gearbox, resulting in the team having to change not only the engine, but the gearbox as well.
Sunday was slightly more successful for the team and although Stuart could only manage 13th in the Elite race, Ian drove to a fourth placed finish in the Open race, but believed he could have had more.
“I just lacked confidence on cold tyres,” Ian told The Checkered Flag. “I slowed down a little too much in the melee at the end of the race, too, which allowed the guy behind to get through. I also started to get a lot of understeer at the end of the race, so I decided to just settle for fourth. A podium would have been nice but a top ten in our first weekend is a great result.
“I have to say thanks to the guys who got us out this weekend,” said the Brit, who first drove a Euro Racecar on Saturday. “It’s a fantastic series and it’s great to be able to interact with the fans like we did earlier. American racing series really have one up on us here in the UK and this is how we should run our events all the time.
“We’re definitely looking to come back again next year and we’re aiming to field a two-car team for the full 2014 season. We want to be the benchmark British team on the grid and we’d love to hear from any British drivers who are interested in joining the series.”
