Team Halfords faced their toughest challenge so far this year as the British Touring Car Championship visited the notoriously complex circuit of Mondello Park in Ireland. The circuit lived up to expectations, challenging drivers every step of the way, but Team Halfords fought valiantly and left the Emerald Isle with a trophy.

Qualifying on Saturday saw Dan Eaves excluded from the session after blowing an engine in an earlier test, meaning a two race relegation to the back of the grid for the number 5 coupe. Tim Harvey and Carl Breeze qualified 10th and 11th respectively for both Sprint and Feature races.

The Sprint race saw a great start for the two drivers who moved up several places in the first few laps. Breeze fixed himself close behind teammate Harvey and the two flying coupes continued to battle on, holding a firm 1st and 2nd for Team Halfords in the Independents Cup. But disaster hit Breeze as MG’s Warren Hughes tagged the rear of the coupe landing him in the gravel at Paddock corner only meters from the finish line. Tim Harvey battled on to the end of the race and deservedly finished 1st in the Independents cup and 7th overall for the Drivers Championship.

The Feature race, later in the afternoon, saw the changing weather conditions played havoc with tyre choices. A torrential downpour as the cars were sitting on the grid meant a quick change to wet tyres with only seconds to spare until the race formation lap.

Dan Eaves who’s run of bad luck continued, went out on lap 7 with electrical problems, leaving Breeze and Harvey to battle on. Carl Breeze made two pit stops, but raced on and finished 3rd in the Independents cup and 12th over all.

Tim Harvey drove a storming race and finished in 8th place overall, only to later be disqualified from the race for a tyre infringement issued to the team by the Championship’s governing body, TOCA, for not having all wheels four on the car within a five minute time restriction before the start of the race.

Harvey commented: ‘I thought I drove well to out manoeuvre the assembled forces of MG, Honda and Proton. I am really pleased to have won the Independents Cup in the Sprint race, but really needed two good results this weekend to move me up the driver’s table. Obviously I was very disappointed with the decision to disqualify me and felt it was slightly unfair.’

With the fifth round of the Championship completed, Team Halfords are lying 1st, 3rd and 7th in the Independents Cup for Harvey, Eaves and Breeze respectively, and are 4th in the BTC Touring Championship.