Nantwich-based MINI Challenge racer Rob Smith got his 2018 season moving in the right direction at Rockingham International Super Sportscar Circuit on Sunday, 29th April, with a pair of top five finishes during the second race meeting of the campaign.
Smith, who drives for the MINI UK VIP Customer Team, endured a very difficult start to his year at Oulton Park over Easter weekend – issues subsequently pinned down to damper problems with his No.37 MINI – but he bounced back well at Rockingham with a strong showing.
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Relishing the start of the new season on home ground, Nantwich-based Smith had his sights set on mounting a podium challenge at the very least but problems through testing, qualifying and in round one itself meant he ultimately had to settle for an uncharacteristic 15th place result in race one.
With the team having made changes to his MINI JCW ahead of round two later in the day, which it was hoped would make all the difference to the handling, worsening rain over the parkland track resulted in officials abandoning the meeting before the second contest could take place. Multiple MINI Challenge JCW race winner Rob Smith has officially confirmed his return to the hugely popular one-make championship for the 2018 season with just one goal in mind – winning the prestigious title.
The 25-year-old mounted a strong bid in the British GT Championship support category last season and at the midway point of the campaign he was well on course, vying for the MINI Challenge points lead. While securing two race victories, six other podiums and three pole positions in qualifying, Smith’s bid went awry during the second half of the season – largely as a result of incidents not of his making, with four non-finishes attributed to errors by other competitors. Ultimately, he was an unrepresentative fifth in the championship standings. Now, with just a week to go until the opening rounds of the 2018 championship over Easter weekend at Smith’s ‘home’ track, Oulton Park International Circuit, he is delighted to confirm his return to the MINI UK VIP Customer Team with his 265bhp MINI JCW. Race winning MINI Challenge driver Rob Smith has confirmed he is targeting a place on the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship grid ‘sooner rather than later’ after enjoying an extremely successful maiden touring car test at Snetterton 300 Circuit. Joining top BTCC squad Power Maxed Racing at the Norfolk track on 19th October to sample the Chevrolet Cruze which was piloted in the UK’s biggest championship this year by Hunter Abbott, 24-year-old Rob delivered an excellent account of himself.
Adapting to the touring car seamlessly from the 255bhp MINI he normally pilots in the one-make MINI Challenge, the Nantwich-based ‘tin top’ racer says his desire to graduate into the BTCC has only hastened since getting behind the wheel of the Cruze. “It was all I expected and more, it’s been a long held ambition of mine to drive a BTCC car”, said an elated Rob, “The day went superbly, it showed what a great job the guys at the MINI Challenge have done as it’s prepared me so well for the touring car. I was ready inside five laps, able to acclimatise to the car quickly and feel at home. It was a fantastic first test. “The lap times were good, I was very happy with the progress we made and the day went pretty much faultlessly. The team did a great job and made the transition even easier, everyone was so helpful. I really liked driving the Chevrolet and I definitely want to be on the BTCC grid sooner rather than later – we’ll be working hard to try and raise the sponsorship to run with a top team like PMR.” Through the links Power Maxed Racing has with the MINI Challenge, an opportunity for Rob to test with the team in one of its touring cars was a possibility for the official Dunlop tyre test mid-season at Snetterton. While the additional budget wasn’t available at that point, both parties stayed in touch and struck a deal for Rob to make his bow last week. “Rob performed in a very professional manner, settled into the car straight away and it quickly seemed a natural environment for him”, reflected Power Maxed Racing team manager Martin Broadhurst, “He followed all of the right procedures, behaved like a true professional should and made good gains throughout the test even though we were a bit unfortunate with the weather.” |
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