With a thirty-two point deficit to team-mate and championship leader Sam Tordoff to close, Rob Collard insists his mindset for the weekend is to attack ‘at every opportunity’ in a bid to reclaim lost ground.
Knockhill proved to be a frustrating triple-header for the series stalwart, with the Team JCT600 with GardX driver picking up a solitary points finish with a storming drive to fifth in the second contest, before contact with Colin Turkington in the final race left the BMW 125i M-Sport on the sidelines.
The trip to the 1.94 mile Rockingham Motor Speedway this coming weekend [27th-28th August] is set to answer a number of intriguing questions as the race for this season’s title narrows.
With Tordoff and second-placed Matt Neal already admitting the focus is on scoring consistently, rather than chasing outright honours, the opportunity for Collard or a host of rivals to close the gap at the top of the championship with a set of strong results could throw the title race back into question once again heading to Silverstone.
After a number of circuits where it is considered the weapon of choice, the BMW is expected to be less advantageous around the 12 corner International Sports layout, but nevertheless with a good balance, strong engine package and rear-wheel drive, there is every chance for Collard to claim the spoils, particularly if he sheds some of his success ballast in the first encounter.
Looking ahead to the weekend, Collard pointed to the changeable nature of the British Touring Car Championship as evidence of how quickly circumstances can change, something that puts him in a positive mindset approaching the weekend.
“I may be 32 points behind Sam in the championship, but that kind of gap can easily be eroded over the course of a BTCC weekend, so my philosophy is to attack at every opportunity and score every point I possibly can.” explained Collard.
He also pointed to the BMW being lighter relative to recent rounds as possible bonus for him in qualifying on Saturday afternoon; a session that this season has often seen the first three-quarters of the 31-strong field separated by a second or less.
“I’ll have 57kg in my BMW which makes it lighter than it has been for some time and could be very important in qualifying.”
He was also effusive in his praise for the circuit, citing the narrower sections of the track as advantageous for the BMW whilst also pointing out the layout encourages a strong standard of racing, with numerous overtaking opportunities on every lap.
“Rockingham is a unique track with its layout including bits of oval and infield, but it’s become one of the best places for racing in the BTCC with good overtaking spots and a couple of tight, twisty sections that should suit our car well.”
With nine races left to run in this season’s title race, Collard certainly stands as good a chance as any to stake his claim to a first ever crown with a feisty performance this weekend.