Bathgate’s Paul Di Resta emphasised he intends taking the battle for the German Touring Car Championship right to the end of the season when he posted the second-quickest time in opening practice for this weekend’s race at Brands Hatch.
The 22-year-old Scot, currently seven points behind championship leader Timo Scheider, was the fastest Mercedes driver lapping the 1.2-mile Kent circuit in 43.07secs, 0.494s behind the German’s Audi. The Scot’s car was handicapped by a 10kg ballast penalty as a result of finishing second last time out at the Nurburgring.
“There’s a bit of a gap, but we know where we can make improvements ahead of Saturday’s qualifying,” Di Resta, already a race winner this season, said today.
“The championship is really tightening up and with only three races left after Brands Hatch, getting a good result this weekend is crucial. We’ve shown in the last few races how quick we are and I’m confident we can deliver again this weekend.
“We all know Timo is very consistent at scoring points and it would be helpful to my title hopes if he was to have a few problems. One thing’s for sure though, I’m certainly not giving up on the fight for the championship.”
JM