Charlie still fighting for US championship

NGK Ambassador Charlie Martin sits in third position in the 2022 Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America championship after claiming two fourth places in the latest round.

The Briton secured her third pole position of the campaign in race one of the fifth round of the championship at VIRginia International Raceway and got off to a strong start, however after battling the intense Virginia heat in the cockpit, she made a small error which resulted in a spin and her hitting the barrier sideways on.

Fortunately avoiding any serious damage, Charlie and teammate Jason Keats then drove brilliantly to make their way back through the field and took the chequered flag for a fourth-place finish.

In the second race of the weekend, Jason started the race from seventh and made fantastic progress and handed the car over to Charlie with them firmly locked in a battle for the podium places.

Charlie was battling hard with the leading drivers before a car in a separate class hit her from behind and put her off the track. She managed to catch up the leading cars and was running in third when she pulled off a strong move for second place.

However, the move was deemed unfair and Charlie was forced to serve a drive-through for the move, demoting her and the team back to fourth from which they took the chequered flag.

Charlie said: “This weekend was really tough, some of the toughest conditions I've ever had inside of a race car. I was really pleased to get my third pole position of the season but unfortunately my mistake in race one cost us a victory on Saturday.

“Jason drove a brilliant race on Sunday to get us in the podium places and I thought I had got us in a position to collect another podium. Unfortunately, we were hit with a drive through for my move, which is a bit disappointing but I'm still pleased with two fourth place finishes.

“We head to Portimao with a chance of winning the championship so that's the goal! Big thanks as always to Jason and all of the team for their amazing efforts this weekend."

NGK Spark Plugs (UK) Ltd, a leading supplier of original equipment (OE) spark plugs, glow plugs and NTK Lambda sensors, is a long-term supporter of Charlie.

Mark Hallam, Marketing Manager, NGK Spark Plugs (UK) Ltd, said: “Charlie continues to show incredible determination on the racetrack and I’m sure will be fighting hard right to the end to win the championship.”

Charlie and Jason, who trail the leaders by just eleven points can still become champions going into the World Final meeting held at Portimao on November 2-4.

For more information about NGK Spark Plugs (UK) Ltd and its products and services, please visit www.ngkntk.com/uk

About NGK SPARK PLUG:

Worldwide: NGK SPARK PLUG is one of the leading automotive and technical ceramics suppliers, with its corporate headquarters in Nagoya, Japan and sales organisations and production facilities all over the world. The automotive side of the company specialises in the fields of ignition and sensor technology, supplying Original Equipment customers across the globe. For the Aftermarket, its product portfolio comprises spark plugs, glow plugs, ignition coils and leads under the NGK Ignition Parts brand. Under the brand NTK Vehicle Electronics the company offers oxygen sensors (including NOx sensors), exhaust gas temperature sensors (EGTS), mass air flow (MAF) and manifold absolute/boost pressure (MAP) sensors as well as engine speed and position sensors. With around 16,400 employees, the company’s automotive and technical ceramics activities generate a total annual turnover of around 3.7 billion Euros worldwide. NGK SPARK PLUG’s EMEA sales represent 32% of this global turnover. NGK SPARK PLUG operates on all continents and has 60 group companies, 35 production plants, five Technical Centres and three Venture Labs.

Aftermarket EMEA: NGK SPARK PLUG has seen significant growth across the Aftermarket since expanding beyond motorcycle parts into the automotive sector in the 1970s. With an outstanding commitment to quality, technology and research & development the company has become the world’s number one in spark plugs and oxygen sensors, and a leading provider of glow plugs, ignition coils and leads as well as further sensor technology. Organisationally NGK SPARK PLUG’s regional headquarters in Ratingen, Germany serves the Aftermarket across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In the EMEA region the company has six regional companies and more than 1,000 employees, as well as two production plants in France and South Africa and a Technical Centre in Germany.

For more information please visit: www.ngkntk.com

For further information please contact:

Annika Lustig, Specialist PR & Communications, Aftermarket EMEA, NGK SPARK PLUG EUROPE GmbH
Harkortstr. 41, 40880 Ratingen, Germany, AG Duesseldorf HRB 43118
Tel: +49 (0)21 02 974 152 E-mail: a_lustig@ngkntk.de

UK & Ireland - For further information contact:

Andy Hurst

Hurst Media Services

Tel: +44 (0)1354 657253; Mobile: 0773 694 7803

Email: andyh.stonecross@binternet.com

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September 2022