Tom Onslow-Cole hopes his run of top-drawer results at Snetterton will continue as he seeks to resurrect his push for the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship title.

After super-strong outings at Donington Park and Thruxton, Vauxhall driver Onslow-Cole was up to second in the standings but a miserable time at Croft just prior to the mid-season break saw him tumble back down to sixth.

But he has a proven past around Snetterton – last year he achieved his first victory in the BTCC there and before that a maiden win in T-Cars and ‘did the double’ in the Renault
Clio Cup.

“Snetterton is happy memories time for me – historically it’s been a very good circuit,” Onslow-Cole told BTCC.net.

“It’s very ‘exit-orientated’, a bit like Thruxton and Donington. It’s not about braking late and finding time into corners; more about smooth entry and high mid-corner and exit speeds.

“Those extra few kilometres per hour onto and down the long straights that follow make a big difference to your lap time."

The 21-year-old, though, says outright speed is no guarantee of success at Snetterton as shrugging off drivers behind is difficult.

He added: “It’s OK producing a good time in qualifying, but it’s still a very hard track to go and win on because of the tow effect the driver behind always benefits from. Even if you begin to edge clear through the corners they’ll suck back up to you down the straights because of the slipstream they’ll pick up from your car.

“It’s a smart-thinking driver’s circuit – even if you get in front it’s sometimes best not to necessarily screw your tyres in trying to break away and probably better to bide your time and push towards the end of a race.”

Tom Onslow-Cole believes Vauxhall’s Vectra VXR still has the beating of SEAT’s Leon TDI around Snetterton – despite the Spanish machine’s apparent dominance at the Norfolk track in testing ahead of the forthcoming HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship rounds there (Sunday 13 July).

SEAT pair Jason Plato and Darren Turner were 1-2 on both days of testing while Fabrizio Giovanardi set the fastest Vauxhall time – some half a second off Plato’s pace.

But even though he missed out on the test, Onslow-Cole – who took his first BTCC win at Snetterton 12 months ago – remains confident of his chances against the SEATs.

The 21-year-old told BTCC.net: “I still attended the test and went round the track to watch the behaviour of different cars and also took a good look at Fabrizio’s and Matt’s (Neal) data.

“Yes, the SEATs were a tad quick, weren’t they?! But I’m still confident the Vectra has the pace around there to beat them.

“I just need to get up to speed quickly – whereas all the other drivers have now tested there I’ll be going into Saturday’s two practice sessions ‘cold’.”

The Vauxhall youngster also believes that although he’s slumped from second to sixth in the standings team-mates Giovanardi and Neal who lead the standings are not out of sight yet as the BTCC prepares to enter the second half of its 2008 season.

Indeed, just as at Donington Park and Thruxton – where he was mighty with two pole positions and, at the latter, also two wins – his Vectra VXR will go into qualifying free from having to carry any success ballast.

Onslow-Cole added: “That’s a definite advantage and it’s important I capitalise on that and get back to where I was at Donington and Thruxton.

“My goal has to be to come away from Snetterton back up to third in the championship – I’m only five points off it. One way of doing that is not necessarily going all out to win every race but to be consistent and score the most points over the three races combined.

“It’s very much going to be about championship, championship, championship from now on. I don’t think Fabrizio and Matt are over the horizon and gone yet. I was challenging for the title after Thruxton but then suddenly I’m back down the sixth. It shows anything can and does happen.

“After a six week break, people are going to be very hungry to get started and make an impression – just like the very first round of a season. It could get quite frantic.”