Hockenheim was the venue for round two of the World Touring Car Series from World Series Racing and, with some round one penalties being dished out, Ryan and Chris found themselves at the back for of the grid. Tom couldn't make it to this round, and as it turned out that might not have been the worst outcome.
From the back of the grid in race one both Ryan and Chris started to cut through the grid with many off tracks and punts aplenty from other drivers. Foreshadowing. Unfortunately early on just before the Mercedes complex Chris got caught up in an accident and ended up having to pit for the quick repair. He ploughed on for a recovery drive and ended up in 45th (22nd in class).
Ryan on the other hand pushed hard and did some daring overtakes to just fall short of the magic 24th needed for a lucky draw for the grid. 8th in class was a good recovery from 53rd nonetheless.
Race two came and went in a flash. On the face of it, a better finish for Ryan, 6th in class. But it could have been so much more having held 2nd into the final complex of corners. Mistakes were made, but Chris dragged himself up to 30th, 12th in class. A very lucky draw saw Ryan on pole for Race 3.
Race 3..... A lot can be said about race 3, but it's best to say very little. Ryan finished 33rd and Chris 41st. That's 13th and 19th respectively in class.
Looking forward to Monza next week the team can only hope the driving standards improve in a series that is quickly becoming early 90's BTCC. "We're going for first" says Cleland.