Tom Onslow-Cole was on the British Touring Car Championship podium on Sunday for the third time this season, and yet he is only just beginning to understand his car.
As well as his third place finish in the second race at Croft, the 26-year-old from New Malden also took a 10th and 12th place berth, leaving him ninth in the overall standings ahead of the trip to Snetterton in August.
Last weekend’s fifth round meeting at Croft was affected by damp conditions, something that played into Onslow-Cole’s hands behind the wheel of his VW Passat.
He said: “Those tricky damp conditions are a real leveller in terms of the car and it comes down to making the most of the tyres you’re on.
“It is just you and the four tyres. As the driver you have to find the right lines a lot better and it is who comes out of top of that, and that really plays into my hands.”
He added: “We have a good car and we’re beginning to understand it more and more.
“We have the pace at the start of a race but about half way through, that pace drops off a cliff and we cannot sustain it.
“I put it down to the car being too stiff in the roll. That puts too much weight on the tyres and causes the drop off in pace.
“But we’re still doing well with such a new car, and although we’re dealing in extremes, having finishes around nine or 10, and then a podium, and back to nine or 10, we’re taking the positives.
“We have time before Snetterton to work on maintaining that pace race in race out and I believe when it get it right, we’ll be getting on the podium more and more.”
The Snetterton meeting is set for August 4, and it is a circuit that Onslow-Cole is looking forward to taking on.
“Snetterton is not as technical as Croft or as sweeping as Thruxton, but rather a mixture of the two.
“There are a lot of corners, but it has been modified in the past couple of years which has extended the circuit, making it one I really like.”
Roll with it: Tom Onslow-Cole says the team is working hard to make his VW Passat less stiff in the roll to hopefully maintain pace throughout a race Picture: Gary Brind
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