Maidstone racer Adam Blair forced to settle for sixth-place finishes after tyre trouble in opening rounds of Audi TT Cup Racing Championship at Brands Hatch

Maidstone racer Adam Blair scored two sixth-placed finishes at Brands Hatch in the opening rounds of the Audi TT Cup Racing Championship.

Blair, a one-time junior star of Formula 3 and Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland, only recently returned to competitive motorsport after a long hiatus.

But after sampling - and winning in - the Audi last year, he joined with tuning and preparation specialists EST Performance for a new title campaign.

A capacity grid of 34 cars assembled for race one and, despite limited pre-season testing, Blair was immediately on the pace, qualifying in fifth.

A strong start saw him quickly make two places to sit on the leader’s tail, but as tyre temperatures heated, the Audi’s grip worsened.

“I was sitting comfortably in P3, then all of a sudden, I started to lose grip at the front,” said Blair. “Very quickly, I went from challenger to defender.

“The car couldn’t give me what I needed through and out of the corners, and my lap times were suffering.

“Cars behind were becoming ever more forceful in their attempts to pass, so I had to decide between finishing with decent points or potentially not finishing at all.”

Blair started race two from sixth on the grid and quickly climbed to third before his tyre demons struck again. He dropped four places before clawing one back to finish sixth once more.

“This wasn’t the weekend we wanted,” said Blair. “But it was more important to collect points than take risks.

“We’re fifth in the championship and that gives us something to build from.”

The next round takes place at Snetterton on May 18-19.