Mat Jackson is pleased to head to Brands Hatch with a realistic chance of claiming a maiden British Touring Car Championship title, but the Motorbase Performance stalwart emphasized the need to arrive at their local circuit in top form if they are to challenge.
Jackson managed to salvage what could have been a decisive weekend in the championship race for the 35-year old, scoring a strong second place finish in the final race of the weekend after his earlier choice to use the softer Dunlop compound tyre unravelled his earlier running.
As a result, he heads into the final triple header of the campaign some twenty-one points adrift of standings leader Sam Tordoff, who is also chasing a maiden title.
The finale will also prove to be significant for Jackson in the Independents stakes, as he looks to overhaul a thirty-four point margin to team-mate Andrew Jordan whilst simultaneously pushing for overall honours. Motorbase have already provisionally wrapped up their maiden BTCC title with the Independent Teams Championship, sealed after Rockingham last month.
“We really struggled in qualifying and that put us on the back foot for race 1. Unfortunately we chose to run the soft -tyre for the opening race and it didn’t work for us at all.
“I think everybody learnt from us in the first race and adjusted their car accordingly. Thankfully we managed to rescue what was a bad start to the weekend with a decent result in the last race.” commented Jackson.
A disappointing weekend for the main championship contenders means Silverstone will ultimately go down as a partially wasted opportunity for Jackson to seize the initiative in the title race, though the man himself is pleased to head south-east still in with a shout.
“It’s a bit of a missed opportunity to have closed in on the championship lead but we still go to Brands in a couple of weeks in contention for the championship.
“To come away with a second in race three was a great result for us and our championship especially up against the Honda and BMW. We’ve got to deliver at Brands now. Anything can happen in the BTCC and there are a lot of people out there that are going to be desperate for the title so it’s going to be fun that’s for sure!”
The final three rounds of the season take place on the Grand Prix loop at Brands Hatch, Kent, over the weekend of 1st/2nd October 2016.