Driver quotes from BTCC at Donington

The British Touring Car Championship race at Donington Park provided three entertaining races. James Thompson took two victories and Rob Collard one. But continuing in the championship lead is Vauxhall man Matt Neal after a solid performance. Here follow comments from a selection of the drivers.

Matt Neal, VX Racing:

“After qualifying, it was going to be a really tough day today, but the car was fantastic in the first race. The second race also went really well so I knew we had a good car in the wet and in the dry.

Unfortunately for the third race we got something in between. The car felt fantastic for the first five laps, and then as soon as I’d taken the edge off the front tyres I couldn’t really fight to keep position. It’s a shame but it’s a good weekend overall; I’ve had two podiums which I’m over the moon with.”

Andrew Jordan, VX Racing:

“I got a bit too much wheel spin off the start in race one and then was a bit too hot into the first corner and lost the back of the car which allowed James [Thompson] to get past me. Nevertheless, it was my best result in touring cars so far, so I was pleased with it.

In the second race I tried to follow Matt (Neal) as he made a pass through the hairpin but I made contact with the rear of Collard’s car on the exit. It was game over then because I had a problem with the left front, which was really disappointing.

“Race three was also frustrating because I had good pace in the car but I used my tyres up to quickly in the first part of the race. Once the tyres had gone off there was nothing else we could do. It was a very frustrating weekend in many ways, we seem to have one good race and then problems, the pole was fantastic and the podium in the first race was good, but we just need to have a weekend where we are consistently up there.”

Fabrizio Giovanardi, VX Racing:

“There was little I could do in the first race, I was caught up in everyone else’s battles and lost time in the middle of a bunch of drivers who were fighting for nothing. Even though I finished third in race two I was disappointed as I couldn’t catch Matt [Neal] and James [Thompson] who were both running with ballast.

Race three could have been a really good result, but I lost out again, and I’m not happy about the move that Vaulkhard made, it ruined both our races.”

Rob Collard, Airwaves BMW:

“What a great way to finish the day. The car was tremendous all weekend, a lot of credit has to go to our engineers for doing such a superb job under difficult conditions today. Race one was good for me, race two was a bit unfortunate, but we showed the strength of this team by bouncing back and doing a great job in the last race.

I got away so well and I pushed really hard over the first part of the race to try and build up a really good lead. When the track started drying out I just went looking for water on the wet line all the time, and that helped me keep the tyres in good enough shape to maintain my lead. I was a bit worried when I started seeing back markers, but I got past them ok and I knew I could produce a bit more pace if I needed to over the last few laps. This weekend has put me right back in the title hunt so I can’t ask for any more.”

Jonathan Adam, Airwaves BMW:

“Despite taking two top ten results it’s been a really frustrating day. I’ve been put out of contention after being in really good positions and I think if it hadn’t been for that I could’ve been right up there. The car felt really strong throughout and I felt I drove well, but just didn’t have any luck at all.

In the third race I got a great start and managed to grab second behind Rob. Then at the next corner I just got a massive hit from behind and was pushed off. There was no just no way back after that as I was on wets and the track was drying fast. To be honest I’m pretty gutted not to have come away with a lot more points today, but we’ve shown the Airwaves BMW 320si is a really strong package this year and we will be able to push for really good results for the rest of the season.”

James Thompson, Team Dynamics:

“Winning race one in the wet without any previous wet running was really good. This time was the first time we’d run the car with maximum success ballast so was a bit of an unkown. I just concentrated on keeping Matt far enough behind to put him off having a go at passing me.”

Harry Vaulkhard, Tempus Sport

“I’m very happy about this weekend’s performance. The team worked brilliantly and the car was fantastic. There was a lot of action on track but I gave as good as I got, as you can’t back down in these situations. It was great to be racing at the front and I think we showed we can mix it with the big boys. I am disappointed that we didn’t get a podium but if we can keep this pace I don’t think we’ll have to wait long before we get one.”

Colin Turkington, Team RAC

“We knew we would be quick if the conditions were favourable, but everyone started on wet tyres in the final race and I wasn’t expecting just how much pace we would have as the track dried.”

Stephen Jelley, Team RAC:

“Obviously it’s disappointing to have only completed four racing laps at my home circuit. The Donington circuit is always slick and the heavy rain didn’t help us. We were doing a good job keeping the car in a straight line, but I got a tap from behind and ended up in the wall.

“I was fastest in practice on Saturday, and in race two Colin showed just how fast the BMW was on a dry track. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the chance to compete, as I’m sure we would have been up there.”

Tom Chilton, Team Aon

“I’m really happy for the team. I know how much effort has been put in and it’s nice to be able to have some points to show for it. It might only be ninth place, but there’s been a lot of progress and if we make the same gains between now and the next rounds we could be looking at a podium finish quite soon. We got the set-up spot on for this race and the car did exactly what I wanted it to.”

Nick Leason, Team AFM Racing

“It’s been a very frustrating and disappointing weekend for us all and I feel for the team who have worked so hard over the weekend. All we wanted to achieve has not been done this weekend which is a great shame to move us forward. This is however Touring car racing at its best and you must except this is what can happen unfortunately during the race season. We are just wishing for a bit of luck at the moment so we can move forward with our progress and start racing. I hope things do turn around for us soon…”