Thruxton in Hampshire was the venue for the latest round of the BARC Dunlop Motorsport News Saloon Car Championship, dubbed “The fastest circuit in the country” it was a daunting prospect for the diminutive Clubman (the only Mini entered and smallest capacity car by some distance). Despite the obvious disadvantage suffered by the Clubman on circuits of this nature the team was optimistic the Clubman could pick up some useful championship points nonetheless.

Qualifying

The Clubman headed out onto the circuit for the qualifying session as part of the eclectic DMN field looking to secure a good grid position. However, the Clubmans session and indeed weekend was dramatically cut short when it suffered a gearbox failure. The Clubman pulled off the circuit to safety and ended the qualifying session by the side of the circuit having set a respectable lap time despite the limited running.

With the car returned to the paddock the team was able to inspect the damage, unfortunately the damage sustained prevented the Clubman running in either of the DMN races. Fortunately for the Clubman its championship rivals failed to capitalise on the opportunity as they failed to win their classes. The team will now concentrate on preparing the Clubman for the next DMN round.