Tom Onslow-Cole already has the answer to why he endured a frustrating weekend in the British Touring Car Championship.

After the sixth round meeting at Snetterton produced 12th, ninth and 17th place finishes, the New Malden man is ninth in the standings.

His first season behind the wheel of the VW Passatt CC has been a mixture of faster than expected progress, hindered by a never-ending battle to find the car’s ultimate performance set-up.

There is only three weeks before round seven at Knockhill, giving the Team Hard engineers little time to find that elusive perfection.

Onslow-Cole said: “We have had a good run with the car so far, and done so well, so Snetterton was like taking a step backwards.

“We are still very positive with the car, but we’ve been trying to get the balance sorted out and that nearly made it almost impossible to drive.

“It is all about the geometry of the car. We changed it to get more grip going through the front and that works well, but now we’re having to balance that out with the back.

“We don’t have time before Knockhill, but we need to have a good look at what is going on. We won’t get much testing in so it’s a case of looking at the data read-outs.”

Meanwhile, Onslow-Cole remains committed to a move away from BTCC in the next few years.

Having driven the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 for team Strata 21, pictured below, in round four of the MSA British Endurance Championships at Brands two weeks’ ago, Onslow-Cole said: “I am actively pursuing a future in GT racing.

“I am hoping to race in the GT and BTCC next season, with a view in a few years’ time to making a commitment to GT, and ultimately Le Mans.”

Your Local Guardian: Tom Onslow_Cole