Barrow-upon-Humber racer Martyn Bell was full of praise for his team after a difficult weekend during the eighth round of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch.

The Team AllAboutProperty.com driver went into the weekend hoping to repeat the kind of form he displayed during the opening rounds of the season back in April, but unfortunately his pre-race predictions that there could well be some panel bashing during the meeting proved to be correct.

With a gear change problem affecting the car throughout the weekend, Martyn had to settle for 22nd on the grid but made his usual fine start as the field headed into Paddock Hill Bend at the start of race one, held in wet conditions after overnight rain at the Kent circuit.

However, further up the grid, Mat Jackson had spun coming out of the first corner and had been hit by Matt Neal, which in turn triggered a huge pile-up amongst the mid-field runners. Despite doing his best to get round the incident, Martyn was unable to avoid contact with the barrier on the run up to Druids, with his BMW 320i suffering heavy damage to the front.

As the carnage was cleared up by marshals, Martyn was able to bring the car back to the pits and stunning work from his pit crew, made up of his own hardy bunch of enthusiastic volunteers and members of the Geoff Steel Racing team, enabled him to take the restart. However, with the radiator having been damaged in the initial accident, he was later forced to retire.

Once again, the team worked hard to get the car ready for the second race, but it would end almost as soon as it started after contact from Matt Allison – who had jinked left to avoid a three car collision at the front of the field – saw Martyn forced off into the barriers and left the team with more to do for race three.

With the car repaired, Martyn was able to bring home a 14th place finish in the final race, with a spin after contact from John George having dropped him off the back of the pack.

“Carnage is the only word I can use to describe it,” Martyn explained at the end of the weekend. “We had a really poor day again in qualifying and we had no quick shift on the gears, which probably cost me about half a second a lap.

“I still got a blinding start in the opening race to get amongst them but going up to Druids, all hell let loose in front of me. I took to the grass to avoid it and I took a bit of a whack against the armco and wrecked the front end. Luckily enough, I limped it round to the pits and I have to pay tribute to my boys as they are just unbelievable. They are here to get me on the grid and it was quite moving when the Dunlop guys were applauding the work they had done as I went out to rejoin the race.

“They got the car straight for the second race but then at the start, Matt Allison gave me such a smack and I was in the armco again – and daft as it sounds it did more damage that in the first accident. The boys went up another gear to get me out once again and in the final race I thought I’d just see how it unfolded. We were just making sure everything was straight and I was getting in a groove and John George put me off at Surtees and I was spinning again. Once you get off the back of them it is very hard to catch up again and the shoulders do drop a little so I thought I’d just bring it home for a finish.

“I have to pay tribute to my guys for what they put in this weekend – and indeed what they have put in all year. They are the best, every single one of them and I don’t praise them enough. I just think that the last finish should be dedicated to them because they are fantastic.”

Martyn and the team will now work hard to try and ensure the BMW is able to make the trip to Knockhill for the next round of the season on the opening weekend of September.