Qualifying vital for Jack Goff to avoid Rockingham repeat

Jack Goff admits that a strong qualifying performance for this weekend’s ninth round of the BTCC season at Silverstone will be key as he looks to avoid a repeat of the wretched luck that ruined his chances of success last time out at Rockingham.

Goff, like his fellow West Surrey Racing drivers, found himself towards the back of the grid after a tough qualifying session at Rockingham, and was then embroiled in incidents in all three races that left him with two DNFs and just four points from the weekend – his lowest scoring performance in more than two years.

The only positive for the 25-year-old is he will now carry less success ballast into this weekend’s Silverstone meeting, with just 9kg of extra weight on his IHG Rewards-backed car going into the all-important qualifying session.

A strong performance there should help the former Clio Cup champion put himself out of trouble for race day, with his ultimate goal being to challenge for what would be a first victory of the campaign.

“We’re into the final stages of the season now and now every result seems to matter that little bit more,” he said. “Rockingham was a disaster, but the best way to avoid being knocked off the track by some of the not-so-good drivers is to make sure you start well ahead of them.

“In this respect, qualifying will be absolutely vital and within WSR we’ll have to work together as a team on-track to help improve our positions. Team IHG Rewards Club won here last year – and I was right behind them – so I know victories are possible, but the aim will be for a good haul of points.”