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Brands Hatch: Team sunshine.co.uk preview

SUNSHINE.CO.UK LOOKS TO MAINTAIN INDY ADVANTAGE Team sunshine.co.uk with Tech-Speed Motorsport will look to maintain its lead in Independents' Driver Trophy standings as the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship heads to Brands Hatch this ...

Published: Apr 30, 2010, 7:08 AM

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SUNSHINE.CO.UK LOOKS TO MAINTAIN INDY ADVANTAGE

Team sunshine.co.uk with Tech-Speed Motorsport will look to maintain its lead in Independents' Driver Trophy standings as the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship heads to Brands Hatch this weekend for the third round of the year.

A stunning second place finish in the final race at Rockingham -- which also marked the first Independents' victory for the team -- means Widnes-racer Paul O'Neill heads to the Kent circuit sitting proudly on top of the Independents' standings, two points ahead of Airwaves BMW driver Steven Kane.

With the fast and flowing Grand Prix layout at Brands Hatch set to be well suited to the sunshine.co.uk with Tech-Speed Honda Integra, Paul will head into the third round of the campaign seeking to maintain his advantage at the top of the Independents' standings and his fine fourth in the overall championship.

"On paper, the GP circuit at Brands Hatch should be just as strong for us, if not stronger, than Thruxton and Rockingham were," he said. "We will carry some ballast again thanks to our championship position, but there are no negatives for us to take into the weekend.

"Three solid finishes are the aim again, but instead of looking to get into the top six, we now have to be looking to get into the top three. We've had a third and second place so far, and if things go our way, maybe we could have a first win."

Paul will also be awarded the HiQ Champagne Moment during the Brands Hatch weekend, with fans having voted his drive to second place at Rockingham as their top moment from the second round of the year. It marks the second time Paul has been named as the Champagne Moment winner, having also taken the honour following his third place finish at Snetterton last season.

"The Champagne Moment is a great thing to win because it is voted for by the fans," he said. "You never know what peoples perceptions are of the job you are doing, so when the fans vote for you like this, it is a sign that they feel you have done well."

Team-mate John George showed encouraging pace on his second outing for the team at Rockingham, although bad luck on race day prevented the Guernsey-based racer from adding to the points he scored during the season opener at Thruxton.

Heading to Brands Hatch, John will now look to add to his championship tally and build on the performances shown to date this season.

"I'm really looking forward to it," he said. "I believe the circuit is one that will suit us and after the results Paul has been able to get in the first two rounds, it's clear we have a good car. My aim is to be back in the points and hopefully we'll have a nice dry weekend with no sign of rain for a change!"

As well as leading the Independents' Driver Trophy standings, sunshine.co.uk with Tech-Speed heads into the third round of the year sitting second in the Independents' Team Championship with Tech-Speed chief Marvin Humphries confident of another strong weekend.

"Brands Hatch GP should be a good circuit for us and if I'm being honest, I feel the car is much better suited to Brands that it was to Rockingham," he said. "With the races being back-to-back, it was important to come away from Rockingham unscathed and luckily we've only had some superficial damage to the cars to repair. Confidence is on a high and hopefully we'll be on the pace again this weekend."

Sunshine.co.uk MD Chris Brown is also hopeful of a strong showing at one of the most famous circuits in motorsport, and insisted that a third trip to the podium in as many meetings had to be the target.

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't think we'd be inside the top five this weekend," he said. "With the way things have gone so far, we have to target the podium again and it would be nice if it was a case of third time lucky and we managed to get a win. Paul and John are both doing a fantastic job and I'm sure that will continue at Brands Hatch."

-source: sunshine.co.uk

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