Team sunshine.co.uk heads for Brands Hatch

Thu 2nd April 2009 Team sunshine.co.uk with Tech-Speed Motorsport will be chasing a points-scoring start to 2009 as the new HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship season gets underway this weekend at Brands Hatch.

Having purchased the ex-John Guest Racing Honda Integras over the winter, the team heads into the new season looking to make an impression on the Independents’ Championship having signed up former BTCC race winner Paul O’Neill to partner Barrow-upon-Humber’s Martyn Bell in one of the most popular pairings on the grid.

Unfortunately, a commitment in place before he signed up for his return to the series means O’Neill will be forced to sit out the opening round of the year, although the fans favourite should make his debut for the team in the second round of the season at Thruxton.

“It’s a shame I have to miss the weekend,” O’Neill said, “but the support we have seen so far has been great and I can’t wait to get out in the car and get back on track.”

It means Bell will run alone this weekend in the distinctively-liveried sunshine.co.uk Integra, which is being run by the same Tech-Speed outfit that campaigned his Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch last season under the Arkas Racing banner.

After a brief shakedown at Silverstone, Bell had his first real run in the Honda at the Rockingham Media Day, sharing the car with O’Neill before a mechanical issue ended the team’s running early.

However, the following BTCC group test at Brands Hatch saw Bell lapping quicker than he has done in the past around the Kent circuit, despite running on old tyres for the majority of the day.

“We’ve had a successful shakedown and brief testing programme and are happy with the progress we’ve made,” he said. “We have only used one set of new tyres during testing so most of our running has been on old rubber, but the lap-times have been quicker than in the Astra last season and I wasn’t too far away from the times that Mike Jordan had set in the car during the day at Brands.

“Looking at that test, I know that I need to be a bit braver into Paddock Hill Bend, but the exit speed from the corners is good as we were one of the quickest cars through the speed traps. It’s nice to be back in a right-hand drive car again and I am ready and raring to go for the new season. I have another year of experience under my belt and I’m going to be going out all guns blazing to do the best job I can.”

Heading back to Brands Hatch for the first three races of the year, Bell will now look to make an impression on his debut with the Honda, with his focus on picking up as many points as possible from the race weekend.

“The aim for the weekend has to be three solid finishes and it isn’t out of the question for those finishes to be in the top ten,” he said. “The Honda isn’t the newest car on the grid, but it is still a fantastic bit of kit, and I couldn’t hope for a better team than Tech-Speed to be running me.

“If I can break into the top ten in the second race then you never know what the reverse grid might throw up for race three, but our aim over the coming races will be to try and take the sunshine.co.uk cars towards the front.”