Laser Tools Racing’s Aiden Moffat says his victory in the final contest of the British Touring Car Championship at Silverstone was “all the more special” as he had to defend hard to win.
Moffat made the decision to run the harder compound Dunlop rubber in race one, and slipped back through the pack before progressing to seventh in race two.
He was drawn onto reverse-grid pole, and was the only driver in the top six to start on the optimal rubber, meaning he pulled away at the start.
The option tyre runners soon fell back and Moffat was forced to defend from charging title rivals Tom Ingram and Colin Turkington.
“I knew I was going to get away initially,” Moffat told TouringCars.Net. “I was very confident that [Tom] Ingram and [Colin] Turkington would be onto me by the end of the race but I didn’t expect them to be on me that early!
“That was a very, very hard race for us. But it makes it all the more special to win.”
Moffat likened the victory to his first win at Donington Park in 2017, but believes this one is more memorable by virtue of the fashion in which he achieved it.
“You never forget your first win – my win at Brands was amazing because we were like the guinea pig so to speak,” he said.
“It was a damp track on slicks and I was the guy that was testing it which made that special, but this was definitely the most memorable one under the circumstances.
“The two guys going for the championship – to have Turkington – a brilliant driver and the same with Tom as well. To hold them off for so long it makes it very special.”
The Scot built an early advantage which was then nullified by a safety car on lap nine, and despite making a good restart Ingram and Turkington were back on his tail within a lap of the 1.6-mile national layout.
“That was just my luck! Tom’s a brilliant driver so – there’s a lot of people you don’t want to see behind you – Tom and Turkington are top of the list!
“I saw them coming through and I knew it was going to be hard, but I just stayed focused.
“And I’m confident in myself, I know I can defend well so I just needed to keep my head, not make any mistakes and it was a very special win for me.”