Redstone Racing is all set for the long haul up to Scotland for rounds 19, 20 and 21 of the 2012 British Touring Car Championship, at the picturesque Knockhill circuit.
Snetterton saw a new era start for the Motorbase Performance run Redstone Racing squad as they unveiled their first ever self built race car; the new NGTC Ford Focus ST which Mat Jackson took to a trio of top eight finishes.
“We totally exceeded all expectations at Snetterton,” explained Jackson, who is sixth in the Championship heading to Scotland.
“ 48 hours before the event we still didn’t know if the car would make it but the whole team, and all our great sponsors totally over delivered and it goes to show yet again that we are the most determined and close-knit outfit in the pit lane.
“We can only get more competitive from here – it’s a learning process about how the new car works and that began at Brands mid-week. Again the car ran trouble-free and we learnt a lot. Knockhill is a very different kind of circuit to Snetterton so we need to keep our feet on the ground and mustn’t get too excited – for example it often rains there and this car hasn’t yet run in the wet. But after that comes a month’s break and I’m confident that by the time we get to Rockingham in late September we will be very competitive,” concluded the 18 times BTCC race winner.
Despite the short turnaround period between Snetterton and the trip to Fife, the team managed to get a test in at their local circuit of Brands Hatch.
Oly Collins is looking forward to the Knockhill weekend and is hopeful of strong results from both Jackson and team-mate Aron Smith, who once again will be in the S2000 Focus ST.
“We’re all really looking forward to Knockhill,” explains the Redstone Racing Team Manager.
“After a great debut for the new car and a great performance from both drivers I think we can really build on last weekend. The S2000 car should be really strong around Knockhill so I’m confident Aron will hit the ground running on Saturday and get some great results. The NGTC car will once again be venturing into a little of the unknown as the circuit is so different from Snetterton.
“We’ve been able to get some limited running between the two events at Brands and we’ve learnt more about the new car. So we’re hoping to put that into practice. It’s still very early for us with that car so we are trying to limit expectation but with the guys we have in this team I’m sure we can hope for some good results for both Aron & Mat,” concluded Collins.
Irishman Smith heads to Knockhill on the back of his best result to date in the BTCC, having secured a top seven finish in the final race at Snetterton.
Knockhill last year marked Smith’s BTCC debut and it is a circuit he likes and enjoys racing at.
“I love everything about Knockhill, it’s like no other track in the BTCC calendar and around here you can really test the car. The track itself is unbelievable to drive and I expect the Redstone S2000 car to go very well.
“Not a lot of teams go testing up there because of how far away it is so hopefully we’ll be able to hit the ground running from what the team learnt last year. Knockhill always provides great racing as it’s more like rally cross so hopefully we can put on a good show!”