Fast Ford Magazine Issue

FAST FLEET Mat Jackson earned a hard-fought 2nd place at Rockingham and a points-scoring P10 at Silverstone MOTORBASE / FOCUS BTCC UPS AND DOWNS Mixed emotions for the Motorbase crew after confl icting results at Rockingham and Silverstone recently… Photos: Matt Sayle tyre in the fi rst race. Changeable weather conditions earn a P10 fi nish. But despite the Race 2 saw Mat starting from 7th, made it very tricky during Saturday’s tremendous efforts from the entire and another trademark fl ying start qualifying session, but an outstanding team and all three drivers, we still saw him move straight up to P4. start in Race 1 saw Mat leap from leave Silverstone with a distinct Another clean pass saw Mat slot in his P17 starting position to P9 by feeling of ‘what if…’ hanging over us. third before a reckless lunge from the end of lap 1. Mat fought hard, Still, there’s no time to ponder Josh Cook forced him off the track, eventually taking P5 from Turkington in motorsport – racing is racing. So having to take evasive action to and catching Matt Neal’s Honda. we’re dusting ourselves down and We headed to Rockingham lying avoid a race-ending accident! Having Unfortunately, heavy contact between getting ready to put on a strong second in the Independents dropped to fourth as a result, Mat the Civic and Focus resulted in Mat showing at the fi nal race of the year Championship, just 10 points off the was able to take full advantage when picking up a puncture that all but at Brands Hatch next time out… lead, so our goal for the weekend was Cook later collided with Matt Neale ended his race. clear – leave Rockingham in the lead! too, taking both cars out of the race Race 2 was a similar story, and And thanks to a stellar drive from the and promoting Mat to P2! A defensive despite starting from P24 as a result guys that’s exactly what we did! masterclass saw Mat keep the hard- of the disappointment from the fi rst Mat Jackson started Race 1 in P11 charging BMW of Colin Turkington race Mat soon found himself in P14 (despite posting a lap time less than behind him so he could claim second and setting the fastest lap at that half a second off the pole sitter’s best, spot and secure his 6th Indy win of point in the race! But a heavy shunt showing just how close the grid is the season. from behind ended his race and any these days) and a fantastic fl ying start These results, coupled with further hopes we had for a top 10 fi nish and saw the #3 Focus up into P8 by the points from Race 3, saw us leave possible reverse grid draw for Race 3. fi rst corner. A strong drive then saw Rockingham with a nine-point lead The third and fi nal race of the Mat eventually cross the line in P7, in the Indy Championship. But then, day was the most successful of with both Rory Butcher and Martin bad luck hit three weeks later at the weekend, with Mat fi ghting his Depper struggling with the harder Silverstone… way from the back of the fi eld to 90 FAST FORD.

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