Craig Evans believes that continued improvements will be the key to success in the British Truck Racing Championship this year as he returns for what will be his fifth season in Division 2.
Having secured his place on what is shaping up to be another ultra-competitive grid in the UK’s biggest motorsport series, Evans will once again pilot his MAN TGX to what he hopes will be podiums, race wins and overall top honours.
Evans emerged as a regular fixture towards the front of the field last year and had it not been for some misfortunate moments – one of which happened at the penultimate round of the season – then he could have finished even higher than the fifth place he ultimately secured.
“We enjoyed getting back to it in 2022 after making some performance improvements over the previous winter,” he recalled. “These proved positive for the most part, however a couple of mechanical dramas including a DNS for qualifying at Pembrey in October put us on the back foot as far as points were concerned.
“For the past few years the whole field has been upping their game performance-wise, in both Division 1 and 2. This has helped bring closer, faster racing in both classes and a greater sense of achievement when earning valuable points versus a strong competitive field; I think we have cemented ourselves in Division 2 with our improvements over the past few years.”
Since the chequered flag fell last November the team have far from rested on their laurels, with a substantial amount of working going into their five-tonne machine to ensure they hit the ground running come Easter weekend.
“We have wasted almost no time since returning from Brands Hatch in November with the tear down of the truck, explained Evans. “We are extremely lucky to be supported by a group of devoted, local sponsors who have worked with us to achieve our winter development goals.
“The whole team have put in countless hours this winter, so we’re hoping our adjustments will pay dividends on circuit in April!”
Looking ahead to the 2023 season, he concluded: “Our development from new starters in 2019 has seen us compete through Covid in 2020, improving our race pace in 2021, and then having our best year yet in terms of on track results in 2022.
“This year we must continue where we left off. Improving our qualifying pace will be key to opening up the opportunities for race podiums and most importantly a good points haul at every event to drive our championship hopes.”
The 2023 British Truck Racing Championship season commences at Brands Hatch on April 8/9.