Driver and team quotes from Snetterton

Two wins for Fabrizio Giovanardi put the reigning BTCC champion firmly back into the hunt for his third series crown. However a win for Colin Turkington in race three helps keep him at the top of the standings.

As the dust settles on Round Seven of the BTCC, with three incident packed races at Snetterton to reflect upon, here is a round-up of who, has said what.

Fabrizio Giovanardi
“I’ve made up ground on Turkington and overtaken Matt in the Drivers’ Championship, so it has been a good weekend for me. The car is amazing; we’ve resolved the problems we had earlier in the season with running in hot weather and it’s been great to drive all day. In the third race I think we could have taken Turkington if I had had a few more corners. I’m confident for the future now with the improvements we’ve made.”

Colin Turkington
“To hit the podium twice is very pleasing considering the start we had to the day. There was a real chance of a win in race one but the coming together with Plato set us back a bit.

“The Team RAC BMW gave us a platform for strong performances in races two and three. The racing was very intense so we’re pleased to come away with a good points haul.”

Matt Neal
“If only I had the car I had in the third race all weekend. We changed the engine after the second race and it was a completely different car. I equalled my qualifying time on the penultimate lap of the third race, even with a damaged car and worn tyres, it was frustrating then, as I thought I could have had a win, but just got bottled up behind Fabrizio and I didn’t want to try anything stupid and hang him out.

“The third race was a little consolation but this weekend hasn’t been good for our points haul, but there are four more rounds and plenty of points available, still a long way to go.”

Stephen Jelley
“The day started well but once again that little bit of luck was absent. The car was quick and a sixth place finish in the first race was a good result having started tenth.

“I was going well in race two but got a tap from behind at high speed which sent me off the track and out of contention. We got a great start in the final race and a podium was a real possibility but the collision with Collard’s car was really unfortunate. Hopefully luck will improve at Knockhill.”

Dick Bennetts, WSR Team Principal
“Overall it was a good weekend for the WSR prepared Team RAC BMW’s with Colin maintaining his lead in the Drivers’ Championship and the team increasing the gap at the top of the Independents’ standings.

“The BMW’s were quick all weekend, but both drivers were the innocent victims of other competitors’ actions, with Stephen coming out of it worse than Colin. We’ve only got a week to turn the cars round before heading off to Knockhill, so the team will once again be putting in some long hours.”

Dave Bartrum, Airwaves BMW Team Principal
“I really don’t know what to say after that. It was so disappointing as we have gone from a strong position coming into this round to a really difficult one after today. Rob really deserved a win in that last race and Jonny took three points finishes, and could’ve had more, so we were really competitive out there. The overall results have effectively ended our championship hopes though. However, as always we will fight all the way and try and win races at the remaining rounds. We’ve had some good results at the tracks that are still to come and everyone is looking forward to Knockhill, which will be a big one for us seeing as it is Jonny’s home round.”

Jonathan Adam
“Obviously I’m glad to have managed three points finishes. I’ve been looking for consistency and that is a step in the right direction. It was a wee bit disappointing though because the car was good and I ran in the podium positions in all three races, but just didn’t manage to nail one. The third race was especially disappointing as I ran straight into a patch of oil and it sent me off, there was just nothing I could do about it. I’m really looking forward to the next round at Knockhill though. I know it well and I will hopefully have a really big support there, so I’m confident of being in the hunt for some good results again.”

Andrew Jordan
“The final race of the day produced our best result, although I still didn’t have the ultimate pace at the start to go with the others. In the second race we had overheating and engine problems and something wrong with the rear of the car, so we ended up having to sort those problems out for the third race. I’m looking forward for us getting the car back and having a good look at it, strip it down, as we didn’t have the pace we had yesterday. I think maybe we lost our way a bit today after a disappointing first race, but it’s been a bit frustrating. We won’t look backwards now though, we’ll focus on the next round.”