Toyota Hopes High for Strong Mid-Season Showing

Toyota-driving BTCC independent Frank Wrathall and his Dynojet Racing team head for North Yorkshire this weekend (18/19 June) with high hopes for some solid results in the three races at the Croft circuit which will mark the mid point of the 2011 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship season.

Following the squad’s best-yet showing with the all-new Avensis ‘Next Generation Touring Car’, at Oulton Park earlier this month, and some encouraging between-meeting trials, 24-year-old Wrathall believes Croft could provide him with his best opportunity to show the true potential of the Toyota.

“We covered around 200 miles in the car one day last week,” said Lancashire-based Frank, “and there were no significant issues at all. It was a good day – our best yet – and though we are still not 100 per cent performance-wise, it gives me hope that we are in good shape for Croft. No predictions; I am just hoping to have a good run and three solid races.

“It would be nice to end the first half of the season on a high note, ahead of the long summer break, and I have always gone well at Croft – it has a good mix of corners and I like the layout.”

Wrathall’s Dynojet Racing Avensis will be the sole Toyota in action in Yorkshire, the Speedworks Motorsport team having opted out of running Tony Hughes’s car in favour of further development work away from the TV cameras.

The Croft BTCC meeting is the circuit’s biggest event of the year. Practice sessions and qualifying are scheduled for Saturday (18 June), with qualifying streamed live on itv.com. Sunday’s trio of races will be screened live in HD quality on ITV4.

Following Croft, Wrathall and his Toyota will join some exalted company at the world-famous Goodwood Festival of Speed (30 June-3 July); they have been invited by Toyota, a long-standing event supporter, to join a number of Toyota and Lexus road and competition cars on the famous hill course. These include the Gazoo Racing Lexus LFA, which will be fresh from competition in the Nürburgring 24 Hours; a Group B Celica, which will be driven by four-time World Rally Champion Juha Kankkunen; and the Toyota GT One Le Mans sports car with which Belgian former Grand Prix ace Thierry Boutsen will be reunited.

Frank is thrilled: “It’s another great opportunity for me to showcase Dynojet Racing and the BTCC, and I can’t wait to get the Avensis on to that famous hill climb course to see how it goes.”

ENDS