Ollie Jackson in the Thruxton rain - Photo: Bob Knightley
AmDtuning.com enjoyed a hat-trick of points finishes after a challenging weekend of the third round of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at Thruxton.
The West Thurrock-based team battled against the elements as the Hampshire circuit was battered by heavy rain and high winds on race day, making driving conditions treacherous.
Ollie Jackson went into the weekend eager to bounce back from the woes of Donington Park a fortnight ago. In qualifying he secured 13th place on the grid for Sunday's opening race.
Jackson proved the Golf had pace by posting the sixth quickest lap time of the first race where he crossed the line in twelfth place, where he started race two.
Matching similar pace in the second race of the day, Jackson's chances of a top ten finish were hampered by finding himself boxed behind the Honda of Jeff Smith. Jackson went skating off the track onto the grass which resulted in a pit stop, seeing him rejoin and finishing 15th scoring the final point.
Jackson said: “We were up against it in the conditions and it's a bit of a shame that we had such good race pace and didn't quite get the results to match it. Sadly when you are stuck behind a car that is quick in a straight line, it can be difficult to make a move stick even though we had more pace in the corners.”
Team boss Shaun Hollamby added: “It's slightly disappointing that the pace Ollie showed hasn't been converted into some top ten finishes but there are plenty of positives to take away from the weekend and the fact we showed top ten pace is definitely one of them.”
As the weather conditions improved slightly before the third and final race, the decision was made to go out on a combination of slicks on the front and wets on the rear of the VW Golf. Sadly, as the green flag lap came to a close, the rain started to fall which left Jackson with no option but to pit for wets all round.
The tyre change dropped Jackson to the back of the field, but he battled back up the order to fifteenth securing his third points finish of the day.
Jackson commented on the tyre choice: “The decision to go with the mix of slicks and wets seemed to be the right call in race three when we started the green flag lap but then it chucked it down and I had no option to pit. It was right to take the gamble though and we finished where we started, so we didn't lose anything by doing it.”
Despite the unwise tyre choices, Jackson stated a lot of positives can be taken away from the rain soaked weekend: “The race pace is the big positive that I can take away from the weekend, and I've also been able to learn a lot about driving a front-wheel drive car in those kind of conditions. They were the first real laps I'd had in the wet and they will also help with my car control in the dry. There are a lot of positives for us to take away.”
Hollamby added: “Oulton Park is next, which should suit the Golf, and there are a few things we plan to look at in the month before then to get more from the car.”
