Progress at last for Team Milltek Sport in the VW Racing Cup

The weekend of the 21st and 22nd June saw rounds 7 and 8 of the Milltek Sport Volkswagen Racing Cup played out at Snetterton under the beaming Norfolk sun. After a frustrating start to the season, the Milltek Sport team has worked tirelessly to resolve the engine reliability issues that had scuppered numerous good performances in the previous rounds. In the run up to the latest race, Milltek Sport’s engineers were confident they’d fixed the issues which provided some hope that the team’s driver, James Walker, would finally be able to demonstrate how well he and the Milltek Sport car could really perform…

Qualifying: Saturday 21st June 2014

Qualifying on Saturday was a perfect demonstration of how close the racing in the VW Cup is with all cars in the top 10 being separated by less than 1 second. Milltek’s James Walker secured a 10th position start and everyone looked forward to a good opportunity for race one. With the car running faultlessly, the entire team felt optimistic for the race which was scheduled for 5:30pm.

Race 1 (Round 7) Saturday 22nd June 2014

Walker got off to a strong start, but while exiting the first corner, was nudged off the track and dramatically spun around making contact with the barrier at around 80mph. The rear of the car took the brunt of the collision and damage to the suspension meant the car was forced to retire from the race.

Although frustrating, the team knew that the car had been running well and shifted their attention to repairing the car for Race 2 which wasn’t until the following day at 3pm. Unfortunately, due to the early retirement in the previous race, the Milltek Golf would be starting from the back of the 28 car grid.

Race 2: Sunday 22nd June 2014

Another sunny day on Sunday ensured that it would be a hot race. After the exciting build-up, the race began. Within the first lap, James Walker had made up 8 places and was continuing to move through the field. Within four more laps the car had moved up again gaining quickly on the front pack. James’s ability to push upwards was relentless and by two laps before the race end he had secured a 10th place position.

The pit lane team somewhat bemused by the progress were joking amongst themselves at the potential to finish in the top 10 just as James careered across the finish line comfortably in 7th place!

It was a truly astonishing drive where car and driver fused together to form an unstoppable force that made up twenty one places with apparent ease. The weekend didn't end with the podium finishes as hoped, but it did confirm that the Milltek Sport Team will be going to Spa Francorchamps in Belgium on the 12th July in high spirits and are hungry for that all important podium win.

Current Driver Standings