Photo by: FIA WTCC
Team Aon Ford Focus driver James Nash left the Shanghai International Circuit in China on Sunday night ruing his continuing run of ill fortune that saw him fail to finish the first of two World Touring Car Championship races and fail to even start the second.
Nash had said before the races that his aim was to get into the top ten and score Championship points despite only starting from 15th in the 28-car field.
Finding himself in the midst of a seven-car battle Nash though soon came under attack from all quarters and by lap five he had been literally pushed back down to 15th place with many of his rivals seemingly eager to destroy their own cars and everybody else’s too! Unfortunately, one heavy clash too many damaged the Team Aon Focus beyond a raceble condition and Nash was forced to pit with 6 laps remaining.
Despite the teams’ valiant efforts, it proved impossible to repair all of the damage inflicted in the 15 minutes allowed between the races and while Nash left the pits and tried to drive around various problems, he was forced to retire the car at the end of the Formation lap for race two.
James Nash: “ I’m massively disappointed that through no fault of my own that we’ve been forced to retire from both races. The team did a sterling job as ever but when the electrics shorted after the starter motor impacted with the oil cooler it was game over.”
“ I got a cracking start in race one and kept it clean while others seemingly lost their heads.
Later on though I got hit so many times that I lost count. It might have looked great on the TV, typical touring car action and all that but from where I was sat it wasn’t so much fun and isn’t the way I like to go racing.”
“ Qualifying was a good start to the weekend, it was tight but we managed to ring every last second out of the chassis and place it in 15th. Ultimately the weekend has been one of frustration though.
We didn’t get the two race finishes we were hoping for and despite being the top Ford Focus in Qualifying, we weren’t quick enough. Hopefully, our luck will change for the better when we get to Macau in two week’s time.”
Source: James Nash
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