Points and progress at Donington Park for Lea Wood

JWT Performance’s Lea Wood said his team made a lot of progress with their new Toyota Avensis at Donington Park, with two points finishes the reward for their hard work.

Wood’s weekend did not get off to an ideal start when a brake cylinder change restricted him to just two laps in opening practice.

But the second session brought better fortune as he was able to complete 19 laps and register the 26th best time, before qualifying 23rd on the 31-car grid.

Wood stayed out of trouble in the first of Sunday’s races to come home a solid 15th, to claim his first championship point of the season.

After an off at the start of the second race, Wood worked his way back through the pack to 17th, before the dry third race yielded his best result of the weekend in 14th, ahead of Fabrizio Giovanardi.

Wood said: “Overall this has to go down as a good weekend for us. We managed our first clutch start and wet running with the new car, got points on the board, and generally made a lot of progress.

“One of the most pleasing aspects was the car’s reliability. We missed most of first practice, but that was to change the brake cylinders rather than any kind of problem. On Saturday we focused on making the car more drivable, and that came good for the races. Securing three finishes, two of them in the points, was a great reward for the team’s hard work.

“While Brands was all about solving problems, here we were able to demonstrate what we can do and it was a big step forward. As the season goes on I hope that we can start showing our real potential and continue progressing up the order.”