SIMON Belcher chalked up three more Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship race finishes during the penultimate event of 2014 at Silverstone National Circuit over the weekend.

The Swindon-based driver had hoped to battle for season’s-best finishes, but contact early on during the opening encounter on Sunday set the scene for a more challenging event.

Making a great start to race one from 25th on the grid, Belcher moved to the inside for Copse and looked set to gain places, but on the run to Becketts he was elbowed down to 29th position after contact.

With a mountain to climb, the Toyota Avensis driver pushed hard to try and recover some lost ground but a tangle on lap three with Daniel Welch – their second scrape in as many events – led to a further delay.

“I had hoped our fortunes would change at Silverstone but the race one contact really set us back unfortunately”, said a somewhat frustrated Belcher.

He did manage to pick up a few spots eventually finishing 25th.

“The championship finale will be at my favourite track, Brands Hatch GP circuit. I really hope we can get the car dialled in there and end our first BTCC season on a positive note,” he added.

In race two, on the ‘soft’ Dunlop tyres, the Handy Motorsport competitor ended the opening lap in 26th position.

With a couple of cars hitting trouble at mid-distance, Belcher profited and as the encounter entered its closing stages, he was up into 22nd place.

The Swindon driver was shunted back to 25th position on lap 18, struggling as the performance of his tyres dropped off.

The race was red-flagged three laps later following an awful collision involving Rob Collard and Jack Clarke. Officials took the race result back to the end of lap 20, meaning Belcher finished in 24th position.

The final encounter got underway with Belcher on row 12 on the grid. Racing fell under caution, though, almost immediately due to an opening-lap tangle involving James Cole and Robb Holland.

The safety car was deployed for several laps and when the round 27 action resumed Belcher held 23rd position.

In what was largely an uneventful race for the first-year BTCC driver, he finished in 22nd place.

Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit in Kent will host the final three rounds of the 2014 BTCC, over the weekend October 11-12.