Wrotham based Motorbase Performance were back on form at the weekend in the latest round of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.
Having claimed a second consecutive qualifying pole and new lap record on Saturday, the Kent-based squad went on to secure pole for all three of Sunday’s races for the first time in the team’s history with Mat Jackson adding yet another new race lap record and outright win in the #4 mountune-powered Ford Focus ST. A career-best finish for James Cole rounded off the weekend for Motorbase, with the 26-year-old securing two top ten finishes in the #44 Focus ST.
Jackson started off race-day in perfect style for the Ford duo, collecting his second lights to flag victory of the season in race one, smashing the previous lap record in the process with a best time of 58.464s. Meanwhile Cole had a challenge battling back from 19th on the grid, but the Drivecool-backed racer made the most of the new race two grid rules, posting a superb 58.615s lap to claim a seventh place start for the second race of the day.
It was a case of what could have been for Jackson in race two. After a strong start from pole and in spite of the 34-year-old’s best defensive efforts, Priaulx’s lighter BMW eventually won out and the WSR man snatched the lead from the Ford. Despite having the full 75kg of ballast on-board, Jackson continued to push, keeping the pressure on the BMW before disaster struck in lap 15 with the #4 Focus picking up a puncture, forcing Jackson into the pits and ending his podium challenge.
Cole enjoyed his own on-track battles during the frenetic race, jostling for position with the WSR BMW’s of Collard and Tordoff before bringing the #44 Focus across the line in 10th place to record his career-best finish to date.
With the #44 Focus slotted into pole from the reversed grid draw, race three marked another new first for Motorbase, with David Bartrum’s squad starting from pole in all three races for the first time in its BTCC history.
Taking 9kg of success ballast into the race for the first time this season, Cole was inevitably beaten off the line by Collard’s fast-starting BMW and the 27-year old bravely held on to a top four position as the opening laps unfolded. An early safety car deployment calmed the field, regrettably allowing the pack to catch the front-runners before Cole was punted out of fourth by a typically aggressive move by Plato. Remarkably the Liverpudlian managed to recover well, fighting his way back to claim a new career-best finish of ninth.
A blistering performance from Jackson in the #4 Focus saw the Motorbase-man deliver arguably the best drive of the weekend. Starting from 23rd on the grid, Jackson had managed to work his way up into the top ten by lap eight before chasing down the race leaders in another of his trademark comeback drives, eventually bringing the Focus home in seventh place overall, along with another fastest lap accolade to add to the weekend’s successes.
The team now has a short two week break before heading to its home circuit, Brands Hatch, for the 2015 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship season finale on October 10/11.
Speaking after the weekend, race winner Jackson, said: “The car was awesome in race one. With no weight on-board we were able to control the race and the gap to the guys behind us, and it was great to get another race win under our belts. Having the maximum ballast for race two made the car a bit more of a handful but we got a good start and managed to lead a few laps until Priaulx came through. Even then we were holding on right up until the tyre failed, which was really frustrating.
“Race three was mega though; to come through from the back of the grid to seventh was a strong finish to the weekend and it was another good result for Motorbase with both cars ending up in the top ten. I think Brands will be another interesting weekend, the Focus is in the window and consistently performing well, so more of the same would be great.”
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