Jack Goff admitted that, despite the frustration of missing out on some strong points finishes at Thruxton last time out, he heads to the next British Touring Car Championship meeting at Oulton Park next weekend buoyed by having less success ballast in his BMW 125i M-Sport.
Goff, who felt that his progress around the 2.4 mile Hampshire circuit was hampered by the last two races being shortened on safety grounds, had a coming together with defending champion Gordon Shedden into the final chicane in race three, ending his charge towards a third successive top eight finish that would have seen him place higher in the standings heading to Cheshire.
Regardless, the Team IHG Rewards Club driver heads to Oulton Park placed 6th overall in the Drivers Championship, sixteen points adrift of team-mate Rob Collard, who sits atop the standings with Honda’s Matt Neal. His other WSR comrade, Sam Tordoff, is just a single point behind in 7th.
The final race at Thruxton brought to an end Goff’s impressively consistent start to the new campaign, as he failed to finish a race inside the top eight for the first time since the opening round of the season at Brands Hatch in April.
The one-time race winner heads to Oulton Park having never stop on the podium at the Cheshire venue, but having a lighter car is set to benefit the former Clio Cup champion around the tight Island configuration of the circuit, and with overtaking opportunities at a premium the thirty-minute qualifying session on Saturday is set to be as important as ever.
“I think the BMW had the pace to put us on the podium twice if the races hadn’t been shortened,” reflected Goff.
“The strategy was to wait for the front-wheel-drive cars to use up their tyres and then pounce, but the shorter races meant that didn’t really happen.”
“Had it not been for the contact with Gordon [Shedden], which was a 50/50 incident in my opinion, I’d probably be second in the championship right now, but that would mean more ballast for Oulton Park, so actually, being P6 is pretty good and gives us a great chance to take another step in the championship fight.”
Goff has failed to qualify higher than eighth thus far this season, but looks as likely as ever to break that unwelcome streak as the circus heads to a circuit tipped to suit the rear-wheel drive BMW.
The three races at Oulton Park will get underway next weekend at 12:17, 14:45 and 16:57.