MARK Wakefield is optimistic his car will perform better when he races again this weekend after replacing an underperforming turbo.

The Northwich driver has been frustrated by a lack of power from the engine in his VW Golf during the first two rounds of the Volkswagen Racing Cup this season.

“I hope we’ve found a solution,” he told the Guardian.

“We haven’t had time to test it yet and we’ll only see if it’s made a big difference when I go to qualify on Saturday.

“But we’ve studied the data collected so far and it was a shock to see how far down the list we’ve been through the speed traps.

“The car handles brilliantly and is good going into and coming out of corners but it’s been pretty demoralising when guys have just glided past on the longer straights.”

Wakefield heads to Silverstone occupying fifth place in the standings after finishing inside the top six in three of four races to date.

READ > Volkswagen Racing Cup drivers' standings (after two rounds)

It’s an impressive feat given that a fluid leak forced him to retire early from the opening sprint of the campaign at Oulton Park his home circuit, at Easter.

A clutch failure during qualifying last time out at Snetterton forced him to start from the back of the grid but he surged forward to cross the line fifth in a race cut short by an accident involving two rivals.

He then matched that result in a second outing run in testing conditions.

“I’m expecting a tough weekend because Silverstone suits some of the other guys, particularly those in an Audi TT, with its long straights,” added the 21-year-old.

“With that in mind I’m aiming to just get through unscathed and put some more points on the board.

“The tracks we go to later are where we can use our strengths and so now it’s important to keep in touch with everybody else.”

Want to catch Mark in action this weekend? Here’s what you need to know:

Timetable

Volkswagen Racing Cup

Saturday, June 8

Qualifying 1115-1135

Sunday, June 9

Race one (20 minutes) 1000

Race two (20 minutes) 1740

Admission (Sunday, on the gate)

Adults £26, Under 15s Free

Or you can watch the action live on the Volkswagen Racing Cup’s YouTube channel here