Tom Boardman endures tough weekend at Brands Hatch

Special Tuning Racing driver Tom Boardman had another tough weekend, with a best result of ninth not reflecting the true potential of the team’s SEAT León at the weekend, with another strong drive through the field in race two.

Boardman was set for a top ten finish in the first race of the day, before becoming the third driver to suffer a puncture in that race after the two Hondas, and had to work his way up through the field in race two, passing 13 cars to finish in 11th.

“It’s just unfortunate, the blow out in the first race,” said Boardman to TouringCarTimes.

“It’s not even running too much camber, it just ripped off the rim. Obviously Honda had the same problem, it’s a lot worse for them because of the situation they’re in. For me, I just wanted a good weekend.”

“In the second race, made my way up. Got my way up to 11th, which is a bit dissapointing as tenth would have been pole, so my luck again.”

In the final race of the day, Boardman was all set to finish in sixth position, before a recovering Andy Neate’s Ford Focus scuppered the result for Boardman, and also saw Rob Collard’s West Surrey Racing BMW stranded in the gravel.

“In the third race I was having a really good race. I got past a few on the start and was having a good race with Tom Onslow-Cole…and I’d seen Plato behind me and obviously I could see him coming but I thought he’d be thinking of the championship really, and then I’d seen Andy Neate go off into the gravel and thought nothing of it, so I’d come steaming down (to) take the corner and saw him slowly creeping back on to the circuit onto the racing line, and so I’ve had to make a move, went off into the gravel and that’s it, nightmare.”

With an average qualifying position of 14th, Boardman’s had to do all the work in the races to score points regularly this year, though achieving his career best results first with a podium at Thruxton and his first race victory at Knockhill.

“We can be at the front if we’re there. If I’d finished the first race without that blow-out in eighth, it would have been a good spot for the reversed grid. As soon as you have one issue in that first race it puts you back and you’ve got to build your way up again, it’s just frustrating.”