Team BMW’s Tom Oliphant says he will be helping his West Surrey Racing team-mates in the trio of British Touring Car Championship races at Brands Hatch, but that he won’t “go out of his way” to do so.
Oliphant currently sits 11th in the overall standings – and only 11 points adrift of Jack Sears Trophy leader Rory Butcher – with both his WSR stablemates Colin Turkington and Andrew Jordan vying for the title today.
In qualifying, Oliphant was “really pleased” to secure a career-best result of fourth, and was particularly happy with the consistency of his pace even when track conditions worsened.
“Really, really pleased,” said Oliphant. “The session was a tricky one, no cars really did any running because of the conditions.
“We were kind of going into unknown, but the team did a great job by giving me a car which gave me a lot of confidence.
“I got a lap in nice and early, it wasn’t the ultimate lap I could have produced but it was hard-pushed. There was nine-tenths of it there, I just needed that banker and then the track got wetter.
“I was driving better and equalling my lap times, but the track wouldn’t have it.
“P4 tomorrow, starting ahead of Rory, right behind my two team-mates, four rear-wheel drives on the front four spots so the start tomorrow should be relatively comfortable for us.
“Wet or dry I think we’ll have a strong package.”
With Turkington scoring pole position yesterday and stablemate Jordan just ahead of him in third position, Oliphant admitted he won’t “hinder” their title hopes but admitted he is still aiming for a podium or “maybe a maiden win” across the trio of races in Kent.
“I’m the only member of our team that can’t win the title, and therefore I will be helping them. I’m not going to go out of my way to do it, but I’m not going to hinder them in any way,” he said.
“As long as a BMW wins the title, that’s all that matters. I’m focusing on trying to stay inside the top ten, trying to get a podium or maybe my maiden win.
“If I get a little bit of luck then the Jack Sears Trophy is on offer, if Rory [Butcher] has a clean weekend then I won’t win it so that requires something out of my control.
“I’m just going to enjoy the last three rounds, I’m letting the team think about all the important stuff in terms of championship positions and stuff so if I get a radio call I’ll have to make my decision in that moment.
“Dan Cammish has got Matt Neal in the same position as me, Rory’s got Mike Bushell, Josh Cook’s got Chris Smiley, so everyone vying for the championship has got a rear gunner.
“We’ll see how it all pans out, it’s going to be exciting.”
The opening race of the day on the iconic Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit is scheduled to get underway at 11:35 BST.