BTCC: Mondello Park: Team PSP preview

Team PSP ready for Mondello Park magic

With tails high after David Leslie's excellent third place in the Sprint race at Silverstone last time out, Team PSP is eagerly looking forward to their first foray to the Emerald Isle next week (June 22/23) racing at the superb Mondello Park, Ireland's only international motorsport venue. The PETRONAS-backed team also completed a' useful' BTCC test day at Donington (Tuesday 11 June) working through suspension set-up programmes.

David Leslie's fine third place in the action-packed Sprint Race at Silverstone earned him the Driver of the Day Award from TV commentators Vicky Butler-Henderson and Ben Edwards. Said Leslie:"Not only a trophy but two bottles of bubbly! That was a great race and underlines the potential in the Team PSP Proton Impian. It was a great result and a fine reward for excellent team-work."

At Donington, Leslie's best time was just over 0.7 seconds shy of timesheet-topper Muller's 1:41.026 final flyer. Leslie said:"This shows that we have made a big step forward consistent with the improvements at Silverstone. We're getting closer all the time to the established BTCC teams which is good news for us, the series and the spectators."

Phil Bennett's Donington day was dogged by electrical gremlins limiting his lapping and preventing representative times. He said:"It's frustrating but I know the lads will get to the bottom of the problem. We've had excellent reliability for a first season and David and I share a similar chassis setup philosophy so I'm confident I can put up a good performance at Mondello Park."

As the new circuit on the BTCC calendar, Mondello Park puts the less experienced teams on a more level footing with their rivals. The busy, twisty and narrow track could throw up a few surprises. It is also a fast circuit-- the outright record for the 2.268-mile track is under 51 seconds - with great sequences of demanding undulating corners.

Peter Gillitzer, Race Director, Team PSP said:" I'm pleased with the progress this new team is making and we're looking for another strong and sensible performance at Mondello Park. The competition at the front of the pack is really hotting up with the newcomers to BTCC putting the pressure on the established names. I hope Team PSP will be in the thick of it!"

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