TEAM boss Christian Dick promised there is more to come from Speedworks Motorsport’s machine following a top 20 finish in Sunday’s first race at Silverstone.

Driver Tony Hughes, who had vowed to keep out of trouble before the start, kept to his word to cross the line in 19th position.

“We can be reasonably happy with that,” said Dick.

“But I believe Tony can go faster and mix it a bit more with the cars in front of him on the track.”

Hughes’ Avensis emerged unscathed from an opening lap skirmish that saw rivals Rob Austin (Rob Austin Racing Audi), Tony Gilham (Geoff Steel Racing BMW) and former champion James Thompson (Airwaves Racing Ford Focus) forced to retire.

He continued to progress through the 29-cars field, edging in to the top 20 when the challengers Martin Byford (AmD Milltek Racing.com Volkswagen Golf) and Tom Boardman (Special Tuning Racing SEAT Leon) succumbed in the closing stages.

However Hughes, 53, could not match his best lap time from qualifying yesterday, Saturday, due to a lack of grip.

“I had to be cautious, which is why I was around half a second slower,” he said.

He will start Sunday’s second race from – the penultimate battle of his debut season – from the ninth row of the grid.

Dick added: “He’s in the thick of the action there, which will be a test.

“I’ve told him not to come back to the pits unless there’s panel damage from him mixing it with the other cars!”

Hughes returns to the track from 2.35pm.

The action will be broadcast live on ITV4.