The AmDTuning.com team was left to wonder what might have been after missing out on the opportunity to score for the second successive Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship meeting at Oulton Park.The West Thurrock-based outfit made the trip north to Cheshire looking to build on an encouraging performance at Thruxton last month, where driver Ollie Jackson was able to bring his Audi S3 home in the points scoring positions for the first time this year.Qualifying saw Ollie produce one of his most competitive laps of the year to date, with a best time just 1.2 seconds away from pole. However, the highly competitive nature of the series meant that left him 26th on the grid for race one; sandwiched between Thruxton race winners Mat Jackson and Adam Morgan.With overtaking far from easy around the 2.2 mile circuit, Ollie would end the opening race in the same position he started, with damage to the front of his car from contact on track not helping his chances of progressing up the order towards the end.Race two however would see Ollie able to work his way forwards through the field as he stayed out of trouble; lapping quickly and consistently to take the chequered flag in 20th place and leave him well placed to push for a points scoring finish in race three.Running on the softer compound Dunlop tyre, Ollie was able to make up three places on the opening lap but his chances of adding to his Thruxton score would end on lap three when the bonnet on the Audi suddenly flew up across the windscreen – a legacy of contact earlier on that had broken the pins holding the bonnet in place.Forced into the pits to allow the team to tape the bonnet down, Ollie returned to action at the back of the field just ahead of the leaders but – having allowed the factory Hondas of Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden through – he was then able to produce some of his quickest laps of the weekend as followed the leaders to the finish, with his pace being a match for a number of drivers inside the top ten.“Race three was a case of what might have been with the pace we had showed, and it’s a shame we weren’t in that position earlier in the weekend,” Ollie said. “Qualifying where we did, it was always going to be difficult on race day given how tough it is to overtake around Oulton Park but by the end of race two, we were in a position where it looked like points were possible.“Unfortunately, a bit of contact on track was enough to break the bonnet pins and when it suddenly flew up in front of the windscreen, there was no way I could continue. After the pit stop, the pace in the car was really good which is encouraging, as we have had some problems getting the best out of the soft tyre so far this season.“The strides forwards we have taken this weekend aren’t reflected in the end results and we still have work to do, but there are positives to take out of the weekend as we head for Croft and the last meeting before the summer break.”Team boss Shaun Hollamby shared in Ollie’s disappointment at the missed opportunity to score points but vowed that the team would come back stronger.“The final race showed the kind of pace that we have in the car and that is something we have to look to build on through the remainder of the season,” he said. “Even though it is hard to pass at Oulton Park when you qualify in the pack, there were definitely points to be had this weekend so it’s a little frustrating that we come away from the weekend without any to our name.
"However, we’ll look to put that right in a few weeks time to make sure we go into the summer break on a high."
