Motorbase ‘in a good place’ heading for Croft

Motorbase team leader Mat Jackson says he feels the Ford squad is ‘in a good place’ as the BTCC heads for Croft this weekend for the fifth meeting of the year.

The Shredded Wheat-backed team enjoyed it’s strongest weekend of the year to date at Oulton Park and has since enjoyed a successful test as it seeks to extract more performance from the Focus.

It means Jackson – who turns 36 this weekend – makes the trip to North Yorkshire in fighting mood with his aim being to try and return to the podium for the first time this season.

“We’ve put a lot of work in since Oulton Park and have definitely taken a step forward with the car,” he said. “We had a really productive test last week, worked through a number of changes on the Focus and I feel that we’re in a good place going into this weekend.

“Obviously the real test will be how we compare against the others at Croft, which favours the rear wheel drive, but the plan is to get back onto the podium this weekend; that’s what we need.”

Team manager Oly Collins meanwhile said he was hopeful that the team would impress at a circuit that has traditionally favoured rear wheel drive cars.

“We’re all looking forward to Croft this weekend;” said Team Manager Oly Collins. “We saw an improved performance for the Focus last time out at Oulton Park. Qualifying in particular was a step forward which is proving more important than ever this year, so being able to get that one fast lap out of the tyres is key to us having a successful weekend.

“We’ve been out testing since Oulton Park and we’re confident that we’ve made further improvements to the Motorbase cars. Hopefully those improvements will translate into results on the track this weekend.

“Croft has historically suited rear wheel drive cars because of the nature of the circuit with increased tyre wear. That being said; we’ll be going there aiming to buck that trend and get some good results for our championship campaign.”