Racing ace Lea Wood declared himself pleased after a bruising weekend of BTCC action in Snetterton.
Hereford-based Wood, who competes for the Houseman Racing team, finished 21st in the opening outing and 19th twice in the action-packed second and third races.
Wood, who is sponsored by Morris Lubricants and qualified in 18th position, said: “It was a tough weekend, but a good weekend. We’ve got to take all the positives out of it. We had a good qualifying session. I think we were on for a better lap but I got caught up with a slower guy and went into the barriers.
“Then it was a case of knocking panels off in each race, I got caught up with a lot of people’s problems. It’s always a bit aggressive when it’s the first meeting back after the break. It’s always difficult.”
Wood was 16th and on track for championship points in the last race on a scorching day in Norfolk until a collision with Dave Newsham’s Ford Focus set him back.
Wood, 29, said: “I had a great start in the last race and managed to get through the field well but then Dave Newsham caught me in the back end as I took a pass down the inside and it turned me around on the grass.
“It’s one of things but we got going again and got back to 19th. We managed to pass four or five cars to get back into it so the car definitely had the pace in it, which is pleasing.”
Wood now has his eyes fixed on the next round of BTCC in Knockhill on August 23rd and 24th, when he will be hoping to build on his steady progress by forcing his way into the top half of the field.
“We are making subtle changes to the car all of the time,” said Wood, who competes in his Toyota Avensis. “We’ll look at the data again and aim to push on at Knockhill.”
Morris Lubricants is based in Shrewsbury and supply Wood with a high performance range of gear and transmission oils, brake fluids, greases and maintenance sprays to keep the car fully operational in the heat of British Touring Car Championship battle.