Photo: PSP Images

Frank Wrathall takes first Toyota win in 19 years

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Dynojet Racing driver Frank Wrathall took his first career win in the BTCC at the end of his second full season in the championship, and takes a landmark victory for Toyota, 19 years since their last at Knockhill in 1993 with Julian Bailey.

Wrathall was the first driver to enter the BTCC with a car fully built to the Championship’s new Next Generation Touring Car regulations last season, and took his first independents’ class win at Snetterton last year, his first overall pole at the same circuit early this year, and finishes the season with his first overall victory in very wet conditions at the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit.

“It’s just an incredible way to end the year really,” said Wrathall to TouringCarTimes. “As the race panned out, the car was mega, and once I was out on my own in the lead I was just really comfortable. It’s been a long time since I’ve even led a lap let alone won a race, so yeah to get out on my own and get into a rhythm, it just felt fantastic.”

Wrathall was slow off the line and came under threat from Jason Plato’s MG trying to go down the inside into Paddock Hill bend, but Wrathall was able to fend off the two-time champion and set after Mat Jackson’s Ford Focus, which soon retired with a throttle problem.

“I didn’t make the best getaway,” said Wrathall. “I sort of moved sideways too much instead of forwards off the line, and when Jason (Plato) came up my inside I thought I was going to get hung out to dry, so I just let off the brakes and hung on around the outside and actually carried a lot more corner speed than Jason. It meant I came out of Paddock Hill ahead of him.”

“I felt that we were a lot stronger around the Indy circuit than Mat and he had me around the back, so it might have made an interesting race, we’ll never know.”

Looking ahead to next season, Wrathall plans to be back again for a third season with the family run team, ending on a high at the end of 2012.

“So much work’s gone into the whole package, the chassis, the engine, all the team’s worked so hard. A lot of sweat and blood has gone into this and we’re improving all time, and even though the results in the second half of the year haven’t shown that, our pace has, and it’s been genuine pace, and I’m glad that I’ve been able to win to demonstrate what we’re capable of. We know what we’re doing this winter and hopefully we can come back stronger for 2013.”