Michael Crees couldn’t have asked for a better debut in the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship with Team HARD Racing.
On his debut in the series the Kent racer ended up scoring points in his first ever race in the series in front of his friends and family and earned him a legion of fans in doing so.
Speaking to Kent Sports News after the weekend, a delighted Crees, said: “Unbelievable!!! It’s still sinking in, but firstly I would like to thank my family, friends, fans and sponsors that came to my home race.
“It was overwhelming when I had a queue of people waiting for the signing, I really didn’t expect that.”
Speaking about race one Michael was clearly still absolutely buzzing with his performance and achieving more than he could have imagine in race one.
He added: “The plan was to finish in once in the top 20 all year and to do it twice in my first weekend was great for me and the sponsors. We had no expectations but over delivered from the off so everyone is very happy. To score four points in my first race, well you can’t make it up.”
Crees was one of the ones to take the slick tyre gamble for race one and boy did it pay off for Crees.
“Richard Owen my race engineer sent out the pits on slick and said see how you get on. I came on the radio on the way to the grid and said yes definitely slicks. So we stuck with it from the off.”
Race two didn’t quite go as planned for Michael but loved the racing and the battle to get back up the order.
He said: “We were on the medium tyre and we’re cruising behind Neal and Proctor then saw the BMW’s coming up fast in the mirror so I made a big mistake in BTCC and decided to let them pass so I could have a run at Proctor and made a small mistake then got hit by three or four cars and ended up in 27th, But drove back though the pack to finish 23rd which again I was very happy with.”
The final race of the weekend showed that Michael really does have what it takes to succeed in the BTCC finishing just outside of the points on the wrong tyre for the conditions.”
He added: “I was on the soft tyre which ran out after lap six so that made the 18th even better, but to be fair I did make a few places as race three everyone seemed to be even more friendly.”
We asked Michael what it was like to be racing alongside former BTCC champions and an ex F1 driver and whether he had to pinch himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming.
“Honestly when you are out there all that goes out the window, but when I watched it back and to see me fighting with Mark was a special moment for me, one I shared with my family.”
Finally we asked whether Michael is used to fans asking him for his autograph and if he can’t wait to get back on track.
He said: “I love it. I will always have time for this over anything. Also, I will be getting out in the crowd at the next few races to meet even more.
“Yes but to be fair, I am looking forward to the break as it was full on. I’m currently out in Spain with my family so it is nice to relax ahead of a jam packed Donnington.”
Images courtesy of www.pspimages.co.uk