Evans Halshaw Power Maxed Racing is seeking to close out the first half of the 2024 season in style this weekend (June 22-23) as the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship makes its annual visit to Oulton Park.
The Vauxhall Astra squad heads to the picturesque Cheshire venue looking to not only extend its unbeaten record in the Independents’ Championship - which currently stands at 12 wins from 12 races - but also make its mark towards the very front of the grid.
Árón Taylor-Smith and Mikey Doble enter what will be the fifth meeting of the campaign with momentum on their side too, having both established themselves as regular top-ten finishers in the UK’s premier motorsport series.
Irishman Taylor-Smith claimed a clean sweep of Independent wins last time out at Thruxton to extend his lead in the standings and with Oulton Park having been a happy hunting ground for him in the past, he’s eager to deliver a standout result.
Across the garage, Doble has been the cream of the crop in the coveted Jack Sears Trophy this season and heads to the 2.23-mile Island circuit looking to further build on his commanding advantage in the points.
After solely running the hard tyre at Thruxton, Oulton Park will see the return of the option tyre this weekend, with both the ‘soft’ and the ‘hard’ Goodyear compounds being available to all drivers.
Qualifying will be broadcast on the ITV Sport YouTube channel on Saturday from 15:35 before all three races are aired LIVE on ITV4 on Sunday. Race one is scheduled to begin at 12:25 ahead of race two at 14:40 and race three at 17:25.
Árón Taylor-Smith: “Oulton Park is a real drivers circuit; it’s got a great mix of high and slow speed corners, the barriers are super close and for me, it really suits my driving style. I’ve had a few wins there in the past so it’s certainly treated me well.
“I’m really looking forward to getting back onto the soft tyre this weekend because it suits the Astra so well. To say I’m excited at what we could achieve is an understatement; the aim is to go into the summer break on a high and with a big haul of points.”
Mikey Doble: “As a circuit, Oulton Park is somewhere that demands a lot out of the driver and the car, and I think with the improvements we’ve made this season we’ll see stronger results than we achieved 12 months ago.
“Finishing inside the top ten is where we want to be and if we can come away with more silverware in both the Independents’ and Jack Sears Trophy then that will be a great weekend for us.”
Martin Broadhurst, Team Manager: “It feels like only yesterday that we were starting the season and now here we are about to hit the halfway marker. It’s been a frenetic first half to the campaign, but one that has seen us make constant improvements.
“Going to Oulton Park we are optimistic that we can fight inside the top ten. The Vauxhall boasts a number of characteristics that suits the circuit and with the addition of the option tyres, we should be in a good place.”
Adam Weaver, Team Principal: “Oulton Park hasn’t always been the happiest of hunting grounds for us as a team but I’m hopeful that we can shake that this weekend and come away with a strong set of results.
“Thruxton saw both drivers outline that we’ve made a clear step forward with the chassis so the aim is to ensure that we can progress that further. Rolling out with a strong package will be key and then we can work forward from there.”
