A second win of the 2014 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship season for Mat Jackson arrived in the penultimate meeting of the season at Silverstone, and the former runner-up afterwards admitted that the Airwaves Racing squad are in their best shape in a long time.
The triumph arrived from fourth on the grid in race three, surpassing team-mate Fabrizio Giovanardi on the opening lap before sprinting clear to back up his Knockhill victory at a Silverstone national circuit he now holds five BTCC wins around.
Jackson’s race three victory backed up another fine weekend which saw the Ford driver clinch results of third and fourth in the opening pair of encounters, slotting him ahead of Andrew Jordan into fourth place in the championship standings and 34 behind Honda Yuasa Racing‘s Gordon Shedden in a bid for third spot.
“It was a great win”, Jackson hailed to The Checkered Flag after his race three success.
“We got a great start, managed to get into P2, then Fabrizio made a mistake and I could get underneath heading up towards the safety car.
“That from there was the race really done and dusted. Silverstone’s been great to us, and this year it’s been no different.”
The 20-time BTCC race winner has enjoyed a much more fruitful campaign in 2014 having banished a near two-season win drought in the in-house built Ford Focus ST, and Jackson could not hide his compassion for the job that the Kent-based Motorbase squad have done to return the car to race-winning potential.
He added: “It’s been great. The guys have worked so hard throughout the season to get the car to progress. We’re in a window now where the car is on fire, working well but just a little bit too late in the season for the championship.
“But most importantly, we’ve had a brilliant run this year. It puts us in a good place next year because we now understand the car that bit more.”
The spring in Jackson’s step sees him now looking towards third spot in the championship with one event to go, taking place at the Brands Hatch GP circuit on 11/12 October.
On a run of form that continued Jackson’s 100% finishing record and consistent spell that includes 12 top-five finishes in 2014, the Airwaves Racing man expects to once again be a contender for success at Brands Hatch in the season finale.
“Looking forward to Brands, we’re certainly in a very good place now and hopefully we can capitalise on that”, he concluded.
“P3 has got to be the target. It’s do-able, but we’re going to have to rely on Gordon [Shedden] having some not so great results also.
“That’s the beauty of the BTCC – it’s swings and roundabouts.”
Jackson’s early pass on Giovanardi was decisive to R3 victory (Photo: btcc.net)
