MAX COATES is determined to get his Renault UK Clio Cup championship challenge back on track when he competes in his home round at Croft Circuit this weekend.

Coates, who hails from Scorton, is currently sitting in fourth position in the championship standings after experiencing mixed fortunes in the opening eight races.

The Ciceley Motorsport driver claimed a victory and a third-place finish at Donington Park in April, but was left frustrated after he could only finish in fifth and sixth at Oulton Park last time out.

He trails championship leader Mike Bushell by 86 points, and while the gap is far from insurmountable, he accepts there is very little room for error as he prepares to take to his home track.

“There’s one guy (Bushell) who hasn’t really done anything wrong yet, and that’s why he’s at the top of the championship,” said Coates. “The rest of us have had the odd disappointment along the way.

“We had a crash at Thruxton that wasn’t ideal, and then had a difficult qualifying session at Oulton where someone went into the back of me, and that affected things for the rest of the weekend. But then we also had Donington where we were fantastic, and unfortunate not to come away with two wins.

“We’re fourth overall so we’re in there fighting, but this has to be the weekend where we get things back on track. It’s all set up for me to really make a move back here at Croft – I just need to make sure I produce the goods on the track now.”

The early signs are positive, with Coates having performed impressively in free practice this morning ahead of tomorrow morning’s qualifying session. His performance there will have a major impact on his prospects in tomorrow afternoon’s opening race, with a second outing scheduled for Sunday.

“Practice went pretty well,” he said. “The pace was there. We were about half-a-second off in the first run, but we know what we need to work on and we’re not far off.

“Hopefully, we’ll go well in qualifying, and that will set us up nicely for the weekend. It should help being at Croft because it’s a circuit I obviously know very well.

“To be honest, when I was racing Ginettas, my record here wasn’t good and it felt like a bit of a bogey home track. That’s changed since I’ve moved into the Clio though, and my results in a Renault here have been pretty good.”

The 23-year-old will certainly not be lacking support this weekend, with around 130 friends and sponsors expected to be trackside over the two days of competition.

“It’s always special to race here,” said Coates. “I’ve lost track of the number of people who have been coming up to me and telling me they’re coming down, and it’ll be nice to see some familiar faces in and around the garage.

“It always means a bit more if you can do well on your home circuit, but whether it was Croft or wherever, we’d still be looking to be as competitive as we possibly could this weekend. If we want to stay in contention for the title, we have to do well this weekend.”