Mat Jackson refutes late season success is all about the engine

Motorbase Performance’s Mat Jackson said several elements have added up to make his Ford Focus ST the potent weapon it now is, following an outstanding final weekend of the season at Brands Hatch.

Finals days saw Jackson come very close to a clean sweep of pole and three wins, after dominant performances in Saturday’s qualifying and both of Sunday’s opening encounters.

Ultimately Jackson had to settle for second in the final race, but was nevertheless delighted with the progress made with the Focus during 2015.

“The car is in the window – we haven’t changed anything on it since we came back. That’s where it is,” said Jackson to TouringCarTimes.

“To win the first race was great, but to win the second race with ballast was even better, and to come through the field in the final race to finish behind Jason was great.”

The Kent track is one which traditionally rewards the better chassis on the grid, and Jackson pointed to several elements which are needed to make a car go fast as well as the much talked-about EcoBoost engine.

“To get a quick car isn’t about one single part. You’ve got to have the chassis, you’ve got to have the engine, you’ve got to have the reliability, you’ve got to have the driver and you’ve got to have the funding. That’s what makes a car go quickly,” said Jackson.

“If you’re missing one of those parts it doesn’t work. The guys have worked so hard to get this back on the track and it’s good to be in the seat rewarding them.

“If people use common sense – we’re coming in here with no ballast. It’s called success ballast and we’re not successful in the championship [because we missed half the season]. Maybe people should learn to keep their mouth shut.”

Looking ahead, Jackson said the team’s plan was unchanged for the 2016 season.

“We said this was preparation for next year and that’s still the plan. We’ve got the new RML kit coming in which is another learning curve we’ve got to go through,” said Jackson.

“We’re 100% focused on making this car even better and we need to come back next year and improve.”