It may not have been the best weekend on the track for Team HARD’s Simon Rudd but there were plenty of positives for him to reflect on in the latest round of the VW Cup.
With a tough qualifying due to an issue with the clutch in the VW Golf, it put him on the back foot for the races themselves, but he showed his talent and pace to finish 24th in race one and 16th in race two having started at the back of the grid.
Speaking exclusively to Kent Sports News after the dust settled on the weekend, Simon said: “I reflect on it as a disappointing weekend on the track, but an awesome weekend off it. It was great to have so many friends, family and sponsors around supporting me for the whole weekend.
Obviously Simon had the issue with the car and but for that he really could have been up there challenging for the top ten, although he hasn’t had many reliability issues.
He added: “If you do not get qualifying right in this Championship it really sets you off on the back foot for the weekend. With such a big grid, getting through the pack is not easy as all the drivers a good!”
One thing that Simon wasn’t lacking all weekend was good pace, and he showed that in both races moving past cars almost at will at times, finishing 24th in race one and 16th race two.
“That was a good result in the end as I didn’t get off the grid so ended up being 20 seconds or so behind straight away. I think that a top 20 would have been achievable without that issue.
“The top 15 was the target after my position in race 1 and we were so close to achieving that. However, from P31 to P16 in 2 races, I am pretty happy with that considering the circumstances”
There is just one round of the season left now for Simon and he is targeting the top ten when he takes to the track at Donington Park.
He said: “The top 10 is the aim definitely. Donington is a brand new track for me so I will have to learn the track quickly and get on the pace. People will be fighting for the championship and I will want to take full advantage of that.”
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