Ton up for Mat Jackson at Motorbase Performance

The results on track were again not what he would have wanted, but Mat Jackson still had cause for celebration at Oulton Park as he clocked up his 100th race with Motorbase Performance.

The 32-year-old joked that he’d picked up a few grey hairs along the way with the Kent-based team, and was desperate to reward them with success.

Jackson qualified his Ford Focus in 11th and advanced to a strong seventh in the milestone first race, right on the tail of series leader Matt Neal.

But it went wrong in the second race when, on the penultimate lap, Jackson ran into Sam Tordoff’s Triple Eight MG and limped home 20th. Race three wasn’t any more successful, with a 19th placed finish, one lap down.

Speaking after his first, Jackson told TouringCarTimes: “Obviously starting P11 wasn’t ideal, but we have gone forward, and we were matching the pace of the Honda, which is a step in the right direction.

“There is a light that I can see flickering at the end now. Hopefully we can just eke in to the gap they have got.

“Qualifying hasn’t been our strength. We always seem to stay the same, where the other guys can find more time.

“We are working hard to understand it, and we are still using this as a test day.”

On his relationship with Motorbase, Jackson added: “I’ve got less hair since I started – and a few grey ones poking through as well!

“But it has been great. Dave [Bartrum] has been very good to me over the last four years. To be part of the team is fantastic.

“They are a great bunch of guys who are passionate about it, and we need to reward them with success.”