Aiden Moffat just missed out on points
Aiden Moffat just missed out on points after a hero’s drive at Oulton Park on Sunday, when a tyre deflated on the final lap of the Race 3 thriller
Laser Tools Racing’s star Aiden Moffat missed out on points after a hero’s drive at Oulton Park, Cheshire, on Sunday, when a tyre deflated on the final lap of the final race.
Aiden’s Laser Tools Racing Mercedes-Benz A-Class had endured a tough weekend. Aiden had struggled to find clear track space in the all-important qualifying session and this condemned him to start 16th on the grid at a circuit at which overtaking is notoriously difficult. Aiden ran in the pack in the opener, hunting for a gap but with the narrow track, allied to the need to look after the car for races two and three, Aiden kept his nose clean to being the car home unscathed in 16th place.
Our driver was in bullish mood before the second 15-lap race, eager to gain ground around the first few corners, but on the exit of turn one, he was hit from behind by the Vauxhall Astra of Josh Cook which damaged the rear suspension of the Laser Tools Racing Mercedes. Worse was to come: as Aiden turned into the downhill left-hander at Cascades, coping with his damaged suspension, Aiden was harpooned by an out-of-control Dan Cammish (Honda Civic) who was on the grass at high speed! There was further contact forcing Aiden into retirement with damage and he would start the third race from 31st on the grid with lots of hard work to do. The car was damaged front and rear but the expert Laser Tools Racing technicians had it up and running again in time for Race 3.
A massive start-line accident forced a restart, but with the race duration reduced to 12 laps, meaning that Aiden had less time in which to gain places. All fired up, Aiden stormed through the opening corners and had picked up five places by turn three! More was to come with Aiden up to 15th from 31st on the grid, but on the last lap, there was drama:
“I turned into the first corner and the car felt funny,” commented Aiden. “Then it developed a vibration, and I knew I had a problem. I backed off and tried to nurse the car to the flag, but I was down to the rim at the last corner. That meant I fell to 20th, which is a real frustration, but it was a really good race. The car felt great because we had changed a few things to get a better set-up for the last race and it certainly worked. I am disappointed to miss out on points but really happy with how the car went.”
As Aiden crossed the finish line, the remains of the front left tyre came off the rim and he parked the car at the first corner. Once out of the car, Aiden spent the next half an hour posing for photographs with young fans, making their day on their first visit to a British Touring Car Championship event.
“We will fight back for Croft I am sure,” said Aiden. “The car was great in that last race so we take that set up and speed to Croft and will be back in the game. Bring it on!”
The next stop for the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship is at Croft, North Yorkshire, on June 23/24 with qualifying live on itv.com on Saturday June 23rd and a full day of race action live and exclusive on ITV4 on Sunday June 24th.
