TONY Hughes endured more frustration in the latest round of the 24H Series, with his car forced to retire less than halfway through Saturday’s race.

The Mobberley-based driver’s Ginetta G50, prepared by Northwich team Speedworks Motorsport, succumbed to a transmission problem at Zandvoort, in Holland.

“It's disappointing" said Hughes.

“We proved how quick the car can be – its pace in qualifying was unbeatable - but we've had some gremlins that have beaten us to it.”

Hughes shared driving duty with Ross Warburton and Ollie Jackson, who set the fastest lap during qualifying for the series’ SP3 class.

The former British Touring Car Championship regular led on track during the early stages of Friday’s three-hour race stint too, running as high as fifth overall.

Shortly after a change of tyres after it had started to rain, he returned to the pits.

The car stayed there overnight while Speedworks’ mechanics attempted to fix the Ginetta’s transmission woes.

Hughes started part two of the race from the pit-lane on Saturday morning, only for the problem to return again.

They were forced to end early their involvement during Warburton’s next stint shortly afterwards.

Hughes said: “I enjoyed my time behind the wheel on Saturday – I’ve never felt as comfortable in the car as I did then.

“We’ll regroup now and make the necessary updates to the car ready to be back out again in six weeks’ time.”

Speedworks battled a series of problems, including a gearing issue and a broken driveshaft, during the previous round in Italy.

The 24H Series resumes at Paul Ricard, in southern France, next month.