Eoin Murray will merge forces with fellow Alfa Romeo team A-Tech for Thruxton’s final Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship rounds in which he hopes three strong results will help him erase the memories of what has been a painful 2007 season. Murray’s Alfa 156 will still appear under its Quest Racing banner but, with several key staff working at a clashing race meeting, he has agreed a one-off deal to be Dave Pinkney’s A-Tech team-mate for the weekend. Pinkney is scheduled to race regular team-mate Richard Marsh’s car after his own was demolished in a major accident at Brands Hatch in August.

The Dubliner, one of a generation of up-and-coming ‘20somethings’ in the BTCC, feels frustrated that his championship position of 16th and nine points doesn’t reflect his driving which he believes has better than ever. Murray told BTCC.net: “It really annoys me that it’s not happened. Every driver has a bad season but when you have one like mine with lots of mechanical problems… I feel I’ve driven to the best of my ability but the results just don’t show that. It’s been frustrating.

“I think Snetterton showed just how competitive I can be when the car runs trouble-free – I wrung the maximum from the car and got a sixth – my best so far. I also qualified fifth at Rockingham but then didn’t start the races because of car problems. When things go wrong that just shouldn’t happen – not even on a tiny budget like ours – it’s very tough.
 

Aiding Murray’s preparations, he will shake down his car prior to Thruxton – the first opportunity he will have had all season to give his car a systems check prior to a race meeting. The 24-year-old added: “Every race meeting we’ve done we’ve had problems in practice so want to get a shakedown beforehand to try and eradicate that possibility. We should be better prepared and some of the Quest guys will still be working on my car at Thruxton – just in A-Tech’s awning, that’s all. It should work well between me and Pinkney.

“On paper the Alfa should be really, really fast at Thruxton. We went there last time expecting big things but had engine problems. But it’s got good aerodynamics, a good engine and is good through the high-speed corners – everything you need to be fast at Thruxton. I’m going to give it everything. It’s my last shot in 2007 of a podium. I really need to try and impress people so I can race next year.”