After a difficult qualifying session that sees Jack Goff start 17th for the opening British Touring Car Championship race of the weekend at Silverstone, the Team IHG Rewards Club driver is optimistic of securing a result in the final reverse grid contest.
The 1.64 mile National circuit at Silverstone has been unkind to the BMW 125i M-Sport package in recent seasons, minus Andy Priaulx’s race victory at the home of the British Grand Prix last campaign.
With three long straights and heavy braking zones, the inherent advantages of the BMW come to the fore less than other venues, which coupled with success ballast has seen all three of WSR’s machines qualifying lower than usual.
Speaking after the session, Goff admitted that Silverstone represented the biggest engineering challenge for the experienced title-winning outfit this season, and feels the straights are the biggest restraint on his chariot.
“Due to the nature of the Silverstone circuit, this was always going to be the most difficult track of the season on which to exploit the strengths of the BMW.” admitted Goff.
“Through the corners the car feels great, just as always, but as the straights dominate here, we knew the whole weekend was going to be a challenge.”
The BMW demonstrated blistering race pace after a similarly frustrating qualifying at Rockingham last time out, giving Goff confidence that the weekend is still set to turn in his favour.
The one-time race winner is optimistic he can work his way forwards and challenge for a strong result in race three, as a result.
“I’m sure tomorrow will come back towards us a bit because we’re always better in race trim. From where we are on the grid, the aim is just to climb as high as we possibly can in races one and two and then if we can get some luck with the reverse-grid drawer, who knows?”
The opening race of the weekend gets underway at 11:57.