Motorbase Performance happy with peformance in Brands Hatch test

David Bartrum was delighted with the progress made at Brands Hatch as his Motorbase team hit the circuit to test its new Ecoboost engine, still aiming for a race debut at Snetterton.

Mat Jackson, who is entering his sixth successive year with Motorbase, and new team-mate James Cole took put the team’s pair of Ford Focus cars, powered by new Ecoboost engines, through a range of testing scenarios at the Kent circuit, including qualifying and race simulation runs.

“We had a great test on Friday with both BTCC cars in the full 2015 specification;” said Bartrum. “Mat and James worked through some set up work and engine work that we had planned which went extremely well. We also covered both qualifying and race run simulations with both cars and were very satisfied with the results.

“Mat and James work very well together, they have a very similar driving style which makes things easier from an engineering perspective as they both run similar set ups and benefit from each other’s progression. Mat was pleased with the developments since our last test earlier in the year, and though James is less familiar with the Motorbase Focus, he was delighted with the car’s performance and pace.”

Jackson shared his boss’ enthusiasm after the test, believing that the changes made had significantly improved the car, particularly with the addition of the new Ecoboost engine.

“The whole package is stronger,” said Jackson. “With the new Ecoboost engine and the chassis improvements that have been made we feel confident that we can challenge at the front. We’re not just looking to be in the mix when we do come back; we want to win races.”

The team are still aiming to make its race debut at Snetterton in August, having faced financial difficulties following the departure of long-time sponsor Airwaves.

“We’re still working on finding a financial solution so we can be out at Snetterton in August,” confirmed Bartrum. “We’re not there yet but Friday hopefully showed some interested parties that we’re ready and raring to go. We remain hopeful that we’ll be back on the grid come the second half.”