Ricky Collard admits “I’d have liked a bit more” despite solid start

Ricky Collard said he would have “liked to do a bit better” despite lapping with a second of pole position in his first BTCC qualifying session.

Called up by West Surrey Racing to replace his injured father Rob, Collard went into the weekend on the back foot given a lack of seat time in his BMW 125i M Sport and the additional 45kg he is forced to carry as a new entrant.

Using the two practice sessions to get valuable track time under his belt, Collard then ran on new tyres for the first time in qualifying and posted the 26th best time in one of the closest sessions of the season.

That leaves the youngster just behind Jack Goff and Rob Austin on the grid and ahead of Matt Neal’s Honda Civic.

“As a racer, I’d have liked to do a bit better but I didn’t quite get a lap hooked up,” he said. “The weight has hampered me a bit today and it’s unfortunate that I have to run with that as a young driver coming into the championship but that is just the way it is and something I have to deal with.

“Driving the BTCC car is a lot different to what I am used to because the car is all about mechanical grip rather than aero grip which is something I need to get my head round and whilst we have a few changes to make, I think most of the time is going to come from me.

“We’ll have to see how race one goes tomorrow and then hopefully with the weight out, we can push towards the top ten in the second race and see where that leaves us.”