REFRESHED and raring to go after a lengthy mid-summer break, Handy Motorsport are relishing the prospect of being back in action when the second half of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship 2016 season gets underway this weekend at Snetterton.

Having made marked progress so far in their third season in the BTCC, the Swindon team are committed to making greater strides still during the final five race meetings of the campaign.

Fan-favourite Rob Austin has performed strongly in his first season with Handy and his maiden campaign in front-wheel drive, achieving a string of best-ever team results during the first half of the championship.

Austin impressed in a Dunlop tyre test at Snetterton late last month and team principal Simon Belcher is quietly confident that rounds 16, 17 and 18 could provide the springboard needed to mount a sustained front-running challenge to the end of the season.

“We really are going into the second half of the season with a renewed confidence after such a successful couple of days during the tyre test,” said Belcher.

“Unfortunately, we made a few wrong choices with set-up direction during the first few events but we’ve worked hard to return to the performance we showed pre-season and we are certain we’re back where we should be.

“Obviously, we won’t know for sure until we get into qualifying at Snetterton, and that’s been one of the biggest challenges for us this year, but in the test, we were quick on merit and, most importantly, Rob was happy with the set-up and balance of the car.

“We’re aiming high for the rest of the year.”

Austin goes into the second half of the campaign sixth in the Independents Trophy standings with Handy also in the top-six of the Independents Team Trophy championship, as well as the top-12 in the outright HiQ Teams Championship.

The Handy rider said: “At the start of the season at Brands, we lost our way a little bit and made some wrong decisions.

“Since then, we’ve been on the back-foot but we now feel we’re on the right path. The car is good and I know we have some serious untapped potential.”