Tom Boardman left disappointed after “disaster” race one in which he was forced to retire after heavy contact with Michael Caine.
The AmD with AutoAid/RCIB Insurance Racing driver was making up ground after qualifying 31st when the pair came together at the final chicane in the closing stages of the race.
The incident forced Boardman to retire with severe damage to the rear of his MG6 GT.
“Qualifying was difficult and then race one was a disaster,” he explained. “There was no need for the contact that put me out and it left us with a lot of work to do to repair the car for race two.
“We made a bit of progress in that race, but I wasn’t really happy with the car and we made some pretty big changes for race three. All of a sudden, I felt a lot more comfortable and I think it showed in the performance.”
Boardman couldn’t manage to put himself in the points, taking a best finish of 18th from the weekend, but believes there’s still something to learn from the Thruxton meeting.
“There is a lot we can take away from that race and I think that will give us a real chance to make some strong forward progress at Oulton Park.”
Caine was penalised for the incident, receiving two penalty points on his competition license and a verbal warning.
Boardman’s MG team-mate Rory Butcher also suffered a difficult start to the weekend with a crash in free practice, but was able to bounce back to take points from the final race of the weekend.
“It’s been a tough weekend for us after the accident in practice, which really put us on the back foot,” he said. “The guys did a great job to get the car out for qualifying and the focus on race day was to try and bring home some points.
“To end the weekend with some more points on the board is a real positive from where we were, and we will come out fighting at Oulton Park next time out.”
The weekend was the duo’s worst of the season so far, but team boss Shaun Hollamby is confident the team can return to the sharp end of the field at Oulton Park.
“It’s been the toughest weekend for us so far with the MGs but we’ve been around the BTCC long enough to know that you have to take the rough with the smooth.
“To end the weekend with a car in the points is good after a tough start and with the pace both drivers displayed in the final race, I think we can be hopeful of a return to form at Oulton Park.”
