Pace and Points for AmDTuning in the BTCC at Croft
Posted by CobraSportExhausts Admin
The Cobra Sport team and guests enjoyed a fantastic day of racing at Croft on Sunday witnessing a great day of touring car racing at the half-way stage of the BTCC season.
Ollie Jackson and the Cobra Sport sponsored AmdTuning team went into the weekend hoping to add to their points tally for the season on a track which would suit the set up of the Audi S3 Saloon.
It was great to see so many Cobra Sport hoodies, caps and polo shirts in the crowd at Croft on Sunday. Official Cobra Sport / AmDTuning team wear and merchandise will be available at all of the BTCC races this year from the Motorsports Photography Stall along with our own website.
The stall will also have body panels from the Audi S3 car signed by Ollie Jackson available for sale for those looking for a unique gift or souvenir!
The West Thurrock based team made the long trip to North Yorkshire keen to build on the pace displayed by its Audi S3 at Oulton Park two weeks earlier, where an unfortunate clash on-track in race three was all that prevented driver Ollie Jackson from a well deserved points finish.
Throughout practice the Audi showed good pace with Ollie lapping just a second away from the leaders. Putting together an excellent qualifying lap in difficult on track conditions Ollie was able to secure 22nd place on the grid for race one after a tightly-fought qualifying session that saw nearly the full field covered by just two seconds.
Electing to run Dunlop's hard compound tyre at the first opportunity, the first race proved to be a great spectacle with plenty of on track action and no fewer than 3 safety car periods.
By the end of the race Ollie had fought his way up the field but slipped back to 19th position by the finish of the race. Switching back to soft tyres for race two allowed Ollie Jackson in the AmDTuning car to battle his way up through the field from 19th on the grid to take the finish in 15th place and secure a well-earned point.
It was great to see the Audi S3 showing that it was able to compete much further up the field fending off many of the big names in the process and setting lap times comparable to the leaders.
The arrival of rain in the run-up to race three left teams in a quandary over which way to go with their tyres, with the team electing to stay on slicks in the hope that the shower would pass. Unfortunately, worsening conditions left Ollie with little option but to pit to change tyres, dropping him off the lead lap and resulting in a 26th place finish.
Despite the end however, Ollie declared himself pleased with the weekend as a whole.
“Overall, I think that was the best race day we have had so far this season", he said. “We made a transformational change to the car overnight which I'm delighted about as it transformed how it performed on track and I think that will benefit us for the remainder of the season".
"To score a points finish this weekend having raced our way into the top 15 was really pleasing and I think it was certainly worth us taking the gamble in race three as the end result would have been spectacular if it had gone our way. I've never been frightened of racing a car in damp conditions on slick tyres and we are only racing for individual results rather than a championship, so we took the decision to go for it. Unfortunately the weather took a turn for the worse but at least we gave it a go. Despite that, it was a good way to go into the summer break and I can't wait for Snetterton".
Team boss Shaun Hollamby was also pleased with Ollie's performance on-track, which provided a boost for the Audi squad going into the summer break.
“We wanted to pick up a points finish this weekend going into the break, so it's great that we managed to achieve our aim", he said. “This is a circuit where the racing is always close and we knew it wouldn't be easy, but Ollie produced his best drive of the season in race two and he was rewarded for it".
"To score points in this championship is one thing, but to score them on merit in that way is particularly pleasing and its unfortunate that we made the wrong call on tyres for the final race. Had the rain eased off as we thought it was going to, there is no doubt we'd have been on for a fantastic result but sadly it didn't go our way".
"However, this weekend has seen us make more progress and I think we're in good shape for the second half of the year".