Subaru boost levels criticised by the front runners after Knockhill

Drivers from Team Dynamics and West Surrey Racing have said they’re not happy with the performance advantage shown by the Subaru Team BMR Levorgs over the last two rounds, with WSR’s Rob Collard calling for an immediate recalculation.

The boost levels, which are not publicised by the championship organisers, are recalculated every three races, with Knockhill the first of a three-race cycle.

The Subarus, which had a strong weekend three weeks’ ago at Snetterton, were on song again at Knockhill, with Jason Plato securing his first pole position and victory in a year at the Scottish circuit. Team-mate Ash Sutton won Race 2, and has moved to second in the drivers’ championship, while West Surrey Racing and Team Dynamics had to settle for podium finishes in the day’s three races.

“When they smoked us at Snetterton, which was a front-wheel drive track, the writing was on the wall,” said Team Dynamics’ Matt Neal to TouringCarTImes. “They’ll do the same at (the next round at) Rockingham.

“(Shedden) was running with no weight, and on the soft tyres in the second race, and he was still half a second from the Subarus, and they were running on full weight,” he added. “We can’t fight with them at the moment, and the boost is now set for three rounds.”

Collard went as far as to call for an immediate recalcuation for the Subarus, with the rear-wheel drive, boxer-engined cars all running in the top ten in the second race at Knockhill.

“We’re lacking a bit of power at the moment, definitely compared to the Subarus,” said Collard to TouringCarTimes. “The Subarus are so, so strong – so I hope they do some new boost calculations – it’s two meetings on the trot now they’ve had this kind of pace, and they’ve supposedly turned them down? No way.”

Subaru driver James Cole, who had his strongest weekend of his career with three fifth-place finishes at Knockhill, explained no rash moves should be made to punish the team based on their results at a circuit which was always going to favour their car.

“Were there any issues at Thruxton when they had a bazillion Hondas at the front?” Cole told TouringCarTimes. “Each circuit has its own traits. Thruxton is a massively front-wheel drive circuit, (Knockhill) is a real-wheel drive circuit. It’s not just Subaru, but the BMWs are right up there as well.”