Tarquini eyes Knockhill win

The Italian, who is supporting regular BTCC Honda drivers James Thompson and Peter Kox during the Knockhill rounds, outqualified his team-mates, and will start from third on the grid for the Sprint.

'It's going well,' the Italian STW driver said. 'The performance in the wet was not good, and we were off the pace, but in the dry our car can be competitive.

'If it's dry today, we'll be able to compete for the podium, I hope.'

Tarquini is driving the spare BTCC car, although he has brought two engineers and two mechanics from the STW Honda team to support the extra car.

Despite a chilly start in Scotland, especially compared to the temperatures of 40° last week in Misano, Tarquini is happy.

He added, 'I love the BTCC and it's a real pleasure to come back. The atmosphere here is completely different.

'The racing is the same anywhere, but the crowd and feeling is something else. I feel more at home here.

'Back in the STW, the Honda cars are struggling slightly compared to their Audi and Opel opponents.

'The Audi cars are very strong, but our car can be competitive, especially on slow tracks.'

For next year, there is a push for the German and Italian Super Touring championships to merge.

'There are not many cars in the Italian series, and the German numbers are down too,' Tarquini remarked.

'But my dream is to have a Euro Seires, with the best teams, tracks and drivers from the German, Italian and British Championships. That would really be good.'