Photo: PSP Images

Mat Jackson: We’ve shown we’re in the mix

Mat Jackson says he is pleased to have shown what Motorbase can do in the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship after opening his win account for the season at Donington Park.

Jackson, the form man over the second half of last year, headed into the event eager to bounce back from a tough end to the season opener at Brands Hatch – where he was unable to score in the final race of the weekend.

A fine start to the opening race saw Jackson blast past the two MGs on the front row to take a lead he would retain through the finish, before following it up with a second place finish in race two.

A 14th place finish on the soft compound tyre in race ensured that Jackson picked up three scores from the weekend and he admitted he was pleased with the way the Ford team had performed on track.

“The car was reasonably on the pace during the season opener and when we got to Donington, we showed that we have car that can challenge at the front,” he said. “We were able to fight back from the no score in race three at Brands and with more improvements to come, hopefully we can find even more pace in the car.

“Whilst we were struggling against the Swindon engine, which we can’t touch in a straight line, to take a race win and a second place shows we are right in the mix.”

Jackson’s win was the first for the Motorbase squad since switching to the RML control parts over the winter, and the 34-year-old admitted that the Focus was a changed car with the revised components in place.

“We knew it would be a learning curve in the early part of the season, as we knew where we were with the GPRM parts and now it’s a work in progress with the RML components,” he said. “The new kit has made a big difference in how it works, and we need to get our heads round it – which is what we are all working on.

“We’re happy with where we are the moment and hopefully when we get to Thruxton, we’ll be able to replicate the kind of results we secured at Donington.”