Silverline Subaru BMR Racing team boss Warren Scott expects another strong weekend for the Japanese manufacturer in the fifth Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship meeting of the season at Croft.
Fresh from a maiden pole position and race victory for the team’s Levorg GT at Oulton Park, the BMR outfit again showed strong top-10 pace in Saturday’s free practice sessions at Croft.
Team boss Scott was quickest of all in the latter of the two 40-minute sessions in North Yorkshire after a late tyre switch, telling TCF that team-mates Colin Turkington and Jason Plato will again be in contention for pole in qualifying.
“I put a new set of rubber on during that session just as a bit of a practice run, so that made rather a difference for me but hopefully I’ll learn from that and it’ll put me in good shape for qualifying”, said Scott.
“I’m very happy because the car’s great. It’s a magic car and my pace bodes well for Jason and Colin in qualifying when they get some new rubber on their cars.”
Croft has been a happy hunting ground for those in RWD machinery over the past decade, but Scott did not rule out an attack from their FWD rivals in the battle for pole position.
“I think the cars are quick anywhere around here”, he added. “I think the FWD cars will give us a real battle in qualifying with their one-lap pace, but we’ll have the advantage in the races. The BMWs have still got a bit of weight on compared to us. We’ve got a bit more work to do, but hopefully we’ll get more weight on soon and be right back up there in the championship.”
Turkington’s victory and Plato’s triple podium at Oulton Park also allowed the Subaru team to discover how their Levorg handled the additional baggage of success ballast, something Scott was buoyed by.
“I think generally, we’re very pleased with how much we learned. Hopefully we’ll take that into the rest of the year and win some more races now”, he concluded.
“It’s a fantastic car, with a fantastic team and fantastic drivers. When it comes to a RWD circuit like this, it should be a good battle.”