KIDDERMINSTER driver Nathan Freke will be hoping that the technical problems which beset him in the first round of the Indy Pro Series in Miami on Saturday can be ironed out for the next two rounds this weekend.

The 25-year-old's hopes of a strong start in the popular American series were dashed after problems with his Dallara car meant he could only finish in 20th place at the Miami Homestead Speedway oval track.

Freke will be more at home this weekend when he and team Michael Crawford Motorsport go to St Petersburg for two rounds of street circuit racing on Saturday and Sunday.

The 2006 Formula Ford champion and the team have spent the week testing the car at the Sebring International Raceway to fix the handling and engine problems.

Preparations for the first race in Miami were hampered when his final chance to get some practice on an oval lap stopped short after his car broke down.

Despite a new engine Freke suffered the same problem before the first test session at Homestead.

While it was fixed in time for the second and final session before qualifying, Freke did not like the car's set-up or the way it handled and struggled to find race pace and could only secure 17th place on the starting grid.

He suffered another set back during the start, after an error by one of the drivers blocked the second half of the grid from beginning the race.

Freke battled on but his frustrating day was completed when he was blocked by a car in front and slipped to 20th.

Now he will be aiming to bounce back on the streets of St Petersburg this weekend.

Father Clive Freke said: "The team have apologised for their mistakes and have acknowledged that it wasn't anything to do with Nathan.

"They got the set up of the car wrong and were also troubled by the car's understeering problems, so it was not an easy race for him.

"Still, he has two street races to look forward to and it's a matter of going upwards after a bad start. Hopefully the car will be more reliable and Nathan can show what he is really capable of."