Onslow-Cole, who turned 21 on Friday, qualified on pole position and won twice – the second time with maximum success ballast in his Vauxhall Vectra VXR – at the high-speed Hampshire circuit.
The New Malden driver has comfortably scored more points in the last six rounds than any other driver and is now just 21 off team-mate and reigning champion Fabrizio Giovanardi who leads the standings and three ahead of his other fellow Vauxhall driver Matt Neal, a former double title-winner.
Considering he was 43 and 27 points behind them respectively six races ago – thanks chiefly to a big accident on the opening day of the season at Brands Hatch – the scale of his turn-around is extraordinary.
His Thruxton form followed from a strong Donington Park meeting two weeks earlier when he also qualified on pole and then took three podium finishes.
Onslow-Cole told BTCC.net: “You have to say that, yes, now I am in contention for the championship. Every driver wants to do as well as possible and I’d say I’ve got myself into a situation where it could happen.
“I’ve got three former champions around me in Fabrizio, Matt and Jason Plato and, although this is only my second season, I feel comfortable with that.
“I’ve had two fantastically high points-scoring weeks and believe I can maintain that form. I’ll be qualifying with success ballast at Croft for the first time but it’s only 27kgs – not the maximum 45kgs. Hopefully I can still be quick, although Croft might be more difficult to get the car working with added weight than at Thruxton.”
Onslow-Cole says he now feels more of a complete driver in the BTCC which he didn’t in his debut season of 2007. He also admits that a botched start at Thruxton may have ultimately helped him win the day’s second race. It came in dramatic circumstances when Giovanardi, leading him by about a second, suffered a punctured tyre with just one corner to go.
He said: “I’ll admit part of me didn’t mind taking the win for the team, but I was genuinely gutted inside for Fabrizio and the team as I knew instantly it had cost them points in the Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ championships.
And he added: “I’ve always been happy with my racecraft, but qualifying last year was a huge weakness of mine. But I’ve worked really hard on that since. I’m now working the tyres as they should be worked on the out lap so they are perfect to go for a flying lap. It also means you can save your tyres for the Sunday.
“But if I’d not fluffed my start in race two I might not have won it. I was down to fifth on the first lap, but then Matt and Darren Turner tangled – we were three abreast coming out of Allard and I thought ‘this doesn’t look good’ so backed out of it. They went off track and I got past them both. It was probably the defining moment in that race for me. Then I could see Colin (Turkington) starting to struggle with his tyres and got past him before the chicane and then I was up with Fabrizio. I thought that was as far as I was going to go and quite prepared to take second.
“He shouldn’t have lost the race like that – it was very cruel. I was genuinely gutted for him and the team, although part of me didn’t mind taking the win – that’s how they sometimes happen and you have take them when they come along. I suppose at least I’d ensured it was me who was in a position to benefit should something happen.
“I think what had had happened was that Colin had such blistering pace at the start he’d pushed Fabrizio really hard and maybe that had taken it out of the tyres, whereas my crap start meant I was just holding station, keeping off the kerbs and preserving my tyres for the first four laps. If I’d made a good start then maybe I’d have had to push my tyres that bit harder. Botching the start was probably a blessing in disguise… although I don’t want to make a habit of it!”
Source: www.btcc.net
Be First To Comment
Related Post
Leave Your Comments Below