Clarke continues to improve at Rockingham

Crabbies Racing driver Jack Clarke continued to improve in the British Touring Car Championship races at Rockingham, as the rookie scored his second batch of double points finishes of the season.

Clarke continued his momentum from Knockhill to claim an addition two points finishes at Rockingham, lifting him closer to a top 20 position in the championship standings.

After qualifying in 19^th position, Clarke found himself down in last position at the end of the opening lap of race one, having been contacted by a rival at Chapman Curve. The 26-year-old fought back on the soft tyre to 18^th by the end of the race to set up the best possible starting position for race two.

“It was a disappointing start to race day as unfortunately I was taken out on the first lap, which put me 40 metres off the back of the pack and it meant I had to come from 31^st,” said Clarke. “I just had to drive my way forward and make the most of the soft tyre and we ended up in 18th, which was a good performance considering we had to come through the field.”

Race two was much quieter for Clarke but still yieleded points as he finished in 15^th position. However race three brought more bad luck for Clarke, as he struggled to get off the line and dropped down to 22^nd by the end of the opening lap. Another determined drive then saw the Motorbase driver fight through the field to finish in 14^th position.

“We struggled in race two on the hard tyre and had a lot of understeer but I got my head down to break into the points which was pleasing.

“Come the final race, the stall at the start was a mistake by me and I was kicking myself, but to come through to 14th from the back was very rewarding and I was happy to collect a few more points.”

Clarke admits that he is buoyed by recent improvements in results and says he is pleased with his progress so far in an extremely competitive field.

“I am getting a kick out of improvements as the line on the graph keeps going up and in the right direction,” added Clarke. “The progress we are making makes the team, sponsors and I really motivated as we press forward.

“We couldn’t quite get the results that our pace deserved – it was just one of those ‘what could have been’ weekends. We know internally that we have made a big step forward and for Silverstone, Motorbase Performance have a good record there. The Ford Focus ST goes well on the National circuit so we could be on for a big marked improvement.”