Pinkney opens A-Tech account.

Dave Pinkney gave the new A-Tech team its first points finish in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at Rockingham as he survived the carnage that hit race two at the Northamptonshire venue.

Pinkney and team-mate Richard Marsh only received the 2007 specification Alfa Romeo 156s just before the season opener at Brands Hatch, meaning the team was unable to do any testing prior to the start of the new campaign.

It led to a difficult opening weekend of the season, with the pair hopeful of improved form at Rockingham, the circuit making its return to the calendar for the first time since 2003. Although Marsh was out of luck and would fail to finish any of the three races, Pinkney was able to show the potential of the package as he secured the best finish yet for the new team.

Having qualified in 15th place, Pinkney was able to finish in 13th in race one, and then avoided the carnage of race two to bring the Alfa Romeo home in eighth place - a result that saw him take a place on the second row of the grid for race three.

A good start saw the Alfa Romeo head into turn two just ahead of front-row starters John George and Jason Hughes, before a spin relegated Pinkney to the back of the field. From there he came through the field to take the flag in twelfth place, setting some encouraging lap-times quicker than those of Mike Jordan and just three tenths behind the Vectra of double race winner Fabrizio Giovanardi.

However, while happy to get some points on the board, Pinkney admitted that there is still plenty to do with the cars, with the main problem being getting them set up correctly for the Dunlop tyres used in the BTCC.

"We made some significant improvements but we still have problems with the geometries of the car which we can work on," he told Crash.net. "It is just one of those things where you get your car late and it takes time to sort it - we just need more time.

"If you can test the car through November and December onwards, then you can start the season running but for us it had been tough. Lack of test days and lack of time with the cars has hit us and has made it difficult. They are great looking cars, have a great engine and great gearbox so there are all the right bits but at the moment, the geometry is set up for Yokohama tyres and being on Dunlops needs different suspension.

"Overall if you look at the situation, we led into the first corner of the last race so we are quite pleased. Obviously to come off on the first corner is annoying for anyone but we aren't going to win the championship this year, so we are fairly pleased."

Pinkney's points finish came after seeing his new acquisition, Luton Town football club, relegated to the third tier of English football, but he said he was looking forward to the challenges now faced both on the race track with A-Tech and on the football field with Luton.

"I'm really up for both," he said. "I love the excitement of both the football and the motorsport and there is a nice synergy between the pair. Who knows, we might even get some of the football sponsors involved in the motorsport and vice versa.

"We went to Derby on Friday and lost 1-0 which means we have gone down, but its onwards and upwards now."