Cameron Twynham arrived at Jerez aiming to build on his 100% points scoring record but was relieved to leave the Spanish circuit having claimed fifth place in race two after finishing out of the points in the opening race of the weekend.
The British driver was lucky to hold on to his fourth place in the EuroFormula Open championship as his Team West-Tec F3 outfit struggled for pace, qualifying down in fourteenth for race one. The race was no better, but he did make up a few places to finish just outside the points in eleventh.
The team made changes to the set-up of his car overnight with the hope the Briton could have an improved Sunday. A fifth place qualifying effort gave them hope, and with the team aiming for race pace over qualifying pace, it was hoped Twynham could challenge the drivers in front of him in the race. However it was not to be, and the Briton was lucky to retain his fifth place at the flag as he held off other drivers behind him.
Twynham felt despite the disappointing results, he could take some positives away from the weekend. He was not happy with his eleventh place in race one despite feeling he did all he could to get into the top ten and the points. Likewise, he was happy to be able to defend his fifth position in race two.
“It’s been a character-building weekend, that’s for sure, but in a strange way I actually feel alright,” said Twynham. “We didn’t score big but there were elements of both races that, although unseen to the outside world, I was pretty pleased with.
“I’m not used to finishing 11th and won’t be impressed if it happens again, but I was on the absolute limit to pick up three positions from where we started. My performance wasn’t rewarded with any points, but I was absolutely on it. Likewise on Sunday I spent most of the race keeping the guys behind me at bay. To come out on top in a scrap like that when you know the car shouldn’t really be there offers some consolation after an otherwise difficult event.”
The eighteen-year-old admits the team need to work out why they were off the pace in Jerez, but feels the RP Motorsport duo of Sandy Stuvik and Artur Janosz were in a race of their own in Spain.
“We need to get a handle on what’s going on with the car,” said Twynham. “We’ve got a couple of weeks before the next round and it’s imperative that we use the time wisely to make some positive changes. Having said that, we’ve got a lot to find if we’re going to catch the RP Motorsport drivers who seem like they’re in a different race at the moment.”
