Scots racer Newsham set for BTCC debutposted in BTCC30 | 03 | 2011

SCOTS RACER Dave Newsham, last year's Renault Clio Cup champ, will make his debut in the British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch this week. The Inverness-based driver will pilot an ex-Airwaves’ BMW 320is prepared by Geoff Steel Racing.

And Newsham heads into the opening triple-header satisfied with his pace. During the recent test at Silverstone, his times matched those set by both ‘Airwaves’ drivers Matt Jackson and Steven Kane in the same car last year.

“My best split times were just two-tenths of a second off Rob Collard who has been racing and winning in these BMWs for four years," Newsham explained.

"Rob is also racing with one of the finest teams in the world, WSR, so I'm relatively happy with my pace. I am just going to have to get used to not seeing my name at the top of the timesheets for at least a few races.

"I can't see me adding to my pole position record for a while, as a BMW hasn't qualified at the top of the timesheets for a few years due to the way they behave on new tyres.

"They do however have great race pace, so let's hope we can get some good race results. The final race of the day is a reverse grid for the top 4-9 cars; it's pulled out of a hat, so who knows, we could end up with an 'indirect' pole position. One thing I can promise you is I'll be giving my all.”

The BTCC — which comes to Knockhill on September 4 — gets blanket live coverage on ITV4 and ITV4 HD on Sunday from 11am till 6pm. In addition to the three BTCC races being shown live, all of the support races will be shown.

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Jim McGill