Kent’s Team Hard have had a solid start to the opening weekend of the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship last weekend.

Bobby Thompson having sat out last season was the teams standout performer as he returned with a trio of ten fifteen points paying finishes behind the wheel of the Cupra Leon.

He finished 12th in race one, 7th in race two and 10th in race three having started that race third on the grid. Which also netted him the Jack Sears Trophy win for the weekend.

There were also points finishes for teammate Aron Taylor-Smith as he finished 11th in races two and three and 13th in race one, for another solid points haul.

Nic Hamilton was back with Team Hard after a late deal saw him back on the grid this time in the third Cupra Leon. Race one saw a 19th place finish, race two he was 23rd and race three he was 24th, as he gained valuable track time behind the wheel of the Leon.

Rick Parfitt has also joined the team this season behind the wheel of an Infiniti, he had a five second time penalty for a false start which meant he finished 25th in race three. Race one he finished in 21st place and in race two he didn’t start the race due to a component failure, making it an interesting first weekend with the team.

Speaking after the weekend, Thompson said: “Great finish, three points finishes!

“I think that’s a proper base line for us for the whole year so now we know that’s where we should be, that 10th to 6th mark, roundabout there. If we exceed this, then we are laughing but any less then we have work to do.

“The hybrid was great. The second race I had it and my car was electric, you can just keep using it like it’s a free bit of boost. But race 3 when we went a little bit wrong on the setup or I’ve done something wrong in terms of driving it gets you out the problem and it gets you on the back of the boys in front of you. It’s a little safety button and I love it, it’s great. Now when you don’t use it you can’t believe how slow we used to go. When you’ve run out in a lap and you’re flat out it doesn’t feel anywhere near as fast.

“So yeah, I’m over the moon and it just shows from all of us how well the boys & girls have been doing over the winter on not just the cars but the team as a whole. A big thanks for them for helping make my return to the BTCC so memorable. Onwards and upwards!”

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