Rob Austin targets return to form

Rob Austin says he hopes that Silverstone will prove to be the weekend where Handy Motorsport returns to form after a run of misfortune saw him lose ground in the Independents’ points standings.

Austin has slipped to sixth in the points, and has dropped outside the top ten overall, having only picked up one points scoring finish – a 15th place at Silverstone – since the summer break.

The 36-year-old will now hope to find luck back on his side as he returns to a circuit where he finished on the podium last season, with confidence high of an improved showing on track.

“We obviously had podium pace at Silverstone last year and we’ll be looking to deliver the same sort of performance at the weekend,” he said. “I know we have a strong all-round package and the Toyota is slippery through the air, which is important at Silverstone with a lot of the lap being straight.

“We know we’re good in the quick corners, like Copse, so on paper we have a good opportunity to get back to the sharp end. We’ll have to see where we stand with the Subarus and Fords with top speed as they’ve been blessed with some extra boost, but we think we’ll be strong.

“We’ve had such a torrid time over the past few rounds and I know the boys have been working incredibly hard on the car. In race two at Rockingham, after we fitted the fresh tyre following the puncture, we were the quickest car on the circuit so we know the pace is there.

“I think we’ve got the car to be competitive at Silverstone and to get back where we should be.”