Motorbase Performance is all set for the return of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship as the second half of the season gets underway at Norfolk’s Snetterton circuit this coming weekend (July 30/31).
It’s been a long six week break in the racing with the championship taking its annual mid-season summer hiatus and the Kent-based outfit is ready to do battle as the track action resumes on the ‘300’ circuit layout for rounds 16, 17 and 18.
Although things have been quiet on track, away from the circuit the Motorbase Performance squad has been kept busy with intense development work taking place on the Ford Focus STs at the squad’s Wrotham workshops. Andrew Jordan celebrated yet another win in the Pirtek Racing Focus at the end of June, marking Motorbase’s debut appearance at the world-famous Goodwood Festival of Speed with a resounding win in the inaugural BTCC hill climb shootout. The full team was also in action at Snetterton for Dunlop’s official BTCC tyre test with Mat Jackson one of 4 drivers running a full data-gathering programme to assist the championship title sponsor with its 2017 tyre compound developments.
Last time out at Croft delivered a strong set of results for Motorbase with five top ten finishes and five Independent class podiums secured on the North Yorkshire track. Jordan enjoyed a successful weekend that saw him increase his lead to 27 points at the top of the Independent Driver standings, whilst a last race gamble on slicks unfortunately resulted in a DNF for Jackson, incredibly his first since the Croft round in 2013 – showing the remarkable consistency of the Motorbase package.
“After a busy break we're now ready to embark on the second half of the season;” said Team Manager Oly Collins. “We've had a pretty busy few weeks since Croft with a great weekend at Goodwood Festival of Speed with Andrew winning the BTCC shootout followed by a good two day test at Snetterton which involved tyre testing with Dunlop as well as some development work on the Motorbase Focus and some great sponsor days out. All of this around a variety of work back at base means that we haven’t really stopped. Hopefully all of the hard work will stand us in good stead for the remaining rounds.”
The squad heads to Norfolk in good standing with a comfortable 55 point lead at the top of the Independent Teams’ Championship and in third place in the overall Championship. “Given the level of competition in the BTCC this season it’s great to be leading the Independents standings at the halfway point;” added Collins.
“We're currently sat just behind Honda in the overall title race and ahead of two Manufacturers but ultimately we want to be at the top and that is still our aim this year. It’s unbelievably tight at the top at every circuit we visit and harder than ever to get a win – that’s why it’s so rewarding when you do.”
Snetterton has been a good circuit for the team in the past with an array of race wins and podiums in recent years. Both Jackson and Jordan have taken multiple wins here during their BTCC careers and the circuit also has a special place in the team’s history with Sunday’s opening race marking the Kent-based squad’s 300th BTCC race as well as the anniversary of the unveiling of the first Motorbase in-house-built touring car back in 2012.
Rounds 16, 17 & 18 of the 2016 BTCC season take place at Snetterton circuit on July 30/31. Live coverage of Sunday's events will be shown on ITV4, itv.com and also in HD from 10:30 – 18:00; with itv.com featuring live streaming online of Saturday's qualifying session between 15:50 – 16:20.
Driver Quotes:
#7 Driver Mat Jackson: “The Focus performed well last time out at Croft, unfortunately we didn’t get the result in the last race that we needed but we showed that the pace was in the car. Looking forward to Snetterton this weekend - we had a two day test there with Dunlop a few weeks ago and we got a bit more of an understanding of the car and the areas that we needed to work on so hopefully the gains from those couple of days will hold us in good stead come race day on Sunday.”
#77 Driver Andrew Jordan: "Finally the break is nearly over and we can go racing again! In a way it's good to have the break so we can all catch our breath before going into the busy second half. We had a good test at Snetterton for the Dunlop tyre test and made some good progress with the car so I am very confident we can really hit the ground running at this weekend.“We really need to ramp up the pressure for the Championship now whilst remaining consistent which is the most important thing. I’m feeling very relaxed and confident and I am really up for the title fight for the remaining 5 race weekends. My aim for Snetterton is wins and podiums. I will go home disappointed if we don't achieve this."
