Chris Smiley secured two top ten finishes at Oulton Park, battling at the front despite some teething issues with his new Civic Type R, which replaces the test car that was used at Snetterton and Croft.
The team took delivery of the new car just a few days before the race – as is seemingly becoming the norm for the team, which started 2022 the same way, and then this year, as it became the first team ever to run the new Civic, then the JAS Motorsport development car.
The team took delivery of its full-time car on the Monday before Oulton Park, and barely had time to shake it down before the race weekend.
The team showed good pace in qualifying, with Chris qualifying fourth on the grid, making some improvements late in the session.
In Race 1, Chris made a fantastic start and was almost challenging for the lead, until the two cars ahead lined up side-by-side into Turn 1 and prevented his progress.
He settled down in third, but soon dropped back to fourth where he started, where he ran a defensive race, keeping back the car behind him (who’d earned himself two track limits penalties trying to pass Chris), and secure the position.
From seventh on the reversed grid race, Chris continued to score useful points, keeping with the pack to finish in seventh, and keeps himself well-placed in the championship.
The team will aim to reset and get ready for the second leg of the season, with the next round a three-race event at the Knockhill circuit near Fife in Scotland on July 22-23.
Chris Smiley, #1 Restart Racing Honda Civic Type R FL5 TCR
“It’s been a challenging race meeting for us. We struggled with a misfire all weekend, but we managed to keep our position in both races and raced well all day, so there’s that to take as a positive.
“The new car’s not 100% yet but we’re working very hard. I’d like to say a big thanks to JAS Motorsport and Restart Racing for all their hard work and dedication. This weekend was all about damage limitation, and we’ve done that and scored good points all weekend.
“We have a bit of a break before Knockhill, where actually we’ll be working harder than ever to be ready for the final races.”
Photo Credit – Phil Laughton, Post Credit – Restart Racing
