Mat Jackson is encouraged by the developments to his Ford Focus ST racer as he prepares to get the 2012 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship campaign underway.
Brands Hatch in Kent will host the opening three races of the 2012 campaign in three weeks time, before the series heads all over the country visiting some of the finest circuits in the UK before concluding on the Grand Prix circuit at Brands Hatch in October.
Jackson, who secured four wins en route to fourth in the overall Championship in 2011, as well as leading the Championship for part of the season, has noticed an immediate improvement to the Ford Focus ST.
“We’ve now tested at Rockingham in Northamptonshire and Snetterton in Norfolk and its clear the team has made a lot of progress with the car over the winter,” explains the Henley-in-Arden driver. “The power and torque from the Mountune engine is legendary and a lot of effort has gone into the car to improve cornering stability. I don’t want to say too much or get too carried away because the other teams will undoubtedly have moved on, but so far so good.”
Jackson and the Motorbase Performance team have been testing at Brands Hatch today, and his first major duty of the 2012 campaign is the official media day on Monday, 19 March at Silverstone, Northamptonshire.
Speaking about the forthcoming media day, Jackson added: “It’s always a big day for the teams and sponsors on the grid with about 200 media present as well as an unbelievable number of fans who take the time of work to come and have a preview of the cars. It’s a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to seeing a few faces I haven’t seen for a few months.”
Away from his BTCC duties, Jackson has been out in Spain, continuing the development work on McLaren’s new supercar, the MP4-12C. He will be behind the wheel of the car at Goodwood this week, wowing members of the international media as part of the Media Day event for the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Media Day takes place on Monday, 19 March at Silverstone with fans able to attend for free, with the gates due to open at 12.30, while the first three races of the season take place over the 31 March/1 April at Brands Hatch, Kent – with live coverage on ITV4 on the Sunday.