ROB Austin endured a difficult weekend at Snetterton for Swindon’s Handy Motorsport as the second half of the British Touring Car Championship season got underway.

Having qualified seventh fastest for race one, hopes of a push towards the podium in Sunday’s opener were ended when contact to the right-front of Austin’s car, as he made a clean bid for fourth on lap six, resulted in a damaged wheel assembly and suspension.

Fighting impressively in round 17 from 27th on the grid into the top 15, breaking into the overall points-paying positions, more contact in round 18 – this time on the opening lap when hit from behind at Oggies – brought a challenging weekend to a vexing conclusion.

“We were getting stronger as the race went on and it was only a matter of time before we gained more places and closed in on the podium, said Austin. “It’s gutting to come away with one point when we had a car capable of the podium.”

Opting to run the soft compound Dunlop tyres for race one on Sunday, Austin made an excellent launch from seventh to leap into sixth but the even faster starting rear-wheel drive BMW of Andrew Jordan managed to get ahead, meaning Austin was seventh again into the first corner.

Running behind the BMW throughout the infield section and onto Bentley Straight, Austin positioned the number 11 Toyota on the outside of Jordan for the left turn into the Esses and brilliantly sealed sixth through the subsequent right-hander on the exit.

Closing down the similar Avensis of Tom Ingram, which in turn ran tight behind the Honda Civic of Matt Neal, very little split the trio and a great battle was in prospect.

Getting alongside Ingram in his challenge for fourth going into a left-hander, as they turned for the apex, contact from the rival car led to a broken front-right suspension for Austin and retirement.

In race two, Austin managed to scythe his way from 27th to 15th, despite the safety car being out between laps three and five.

With hard work to do again in the final race of the weekend, Austin started on the eighth row of the grid and made a good getaway which hoisted the Handy Motorsport racer into the mix for the top 10, however, contact at the rear sent Austin across the grass and into the path of Ashley Sutton’s Subaru – both were forced to retire.