Wrotham based Motorbase Performance continued their good form in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at Rockingham last weekend. 

There was an excellent double podium for the team as well as two Independent race wins, meaning that they are right in the title chase as the season heads towards its climax.

Mat Jackson and Andrew Jordan shared the spoils of the Kent-based squad’s success with the Motorbase duo taking an outright podium and Independent win apiece during Sunday’s opening two contests –recording an Independent 1-2 in both.

A strong start to the weekend during Saturday morning’s free practice sessions translated into an excellent front row start for Jackson with the 35-year-old initially claiming pole before the session was red-flagged. Jackson eventually slotted into P2, narrowly missing out on the top spot by just 0.288 seconds. Despite topping the times in free practice 1, Jordan was unable to tie together the perfect lap and the Pirtek-backed racer was left disappointed in P14.

An accustomed fast start off the line from Jackson in race 1 saw the #7 Focus head into turn 1 side by side with race leader Shedden with Jordan also making up an impressive 3 places as the grid headed into the in-field. With a safety car deployment allowing the fast charging Subaru’s to catch the DUO-backed Focus, Jackson delivered yet another class act in defensive manoeuvres – holding off both works-backed cars  for the remaining 15 laps to take P2 at the chequered flag – marking his 75^th BTCC podium. A strong fight back from Jordan saw the Red Bull athlete take on the manufacturer Hondas, Subaru’s and MGs to take 7^th overall and the first 1-2 Independent finish of the day for Motorbase.

Race 2 started in similar fashion with the Motorbase pair charging into the race lead for a brief Motorbase 1-2 on the grid’s second tour of the oval circuit. With 66kg of ballast hampering Jackson’s pace, he was unable to hold off Tordoff and Collard’s lighter BMWs as the race progressed and he did well to bring the #7 Focus home in P4.  Jordan’s time to shine came in the final 4 laps when the Red Bull athlete moved past Jackson, fending off a final lap challenge from Collard to take 2^nd on his 50^th visit to the BTCC rostrum.

The reversed grid draw slotted Jackson and Jordan into 4^th and 6^th for the final race of the weekend. With both Focus STs running on the less-favoured hard compound tyre coupled with 48kg and 66kg of ballast, the pair had a tough fight to hold position. Jackson fared better and a gallant performance from the DUO-man was rewarded with a P5 finish, whilst Jordan struggled to keep the #77 Focus on-line and dropped down the order as the laps unfolded – eventually crossing the line in 12^th.

After another fantastic weekend performance, Motorbase Performance leaves Rockingham with an unassailable 136 point lead at the top of the Independent Teams’ Championship and the Wrotham-based outfit is on track to secure a historic maiden BTCC Title as the season heads into the penultimate meeting at Silverstone on September 17/18.

Speaking after the weekend, Jackson said: “Qualifying went to plan; we managed to pull together a fast lap in really tricky conditions to get us on the front row for race 1 which is always a big bonus here as it spreads out pretty quickly. Race 1 was yet another defensive drive with the Subaru’s for company for the whole race but we managed to keep them at bay, playing to our strengths through the corners and defending in the high speed straights.

“We struggled a bit more on overall pace with the extra weight on-board in race 2. We managed to get a great start to take the lead but ultimately the weight took its toll and moved us back down to 4^th which although disappointing, it did mean that we were lighter for the last race. Race 3 was tough with the hard tyre, but we got a good break early on and if it wasn’t for the safety car then I think we would have been on for another podium.

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