Alex MacDowall surprised by penalty

Alex MacDowall has been hit with a further two point endorsement on his racing licence and a reprimand after contact with Rob Collard in race two.

The pair were battling for seventh place in race two, when MacDowall made contact with the rear of Collard’s West Surrey Racing BMW heading into the Club chicane on lap nine, spinning the BMW around. Collard rejoined and went on to finish in 14th position, whilst MacDowall kept seventh place, but has been given a further two points on his racing licence for the incident and a reprimand.

“He seemed to lose the back going into the chicane,” explained MacDowall to TouringCarTimes.

“I was right up his bumper, which kind of cost him speed, which allowed me to just get my bumper just alongside his, then all of a sudden he just starts to turn in. I can’t stop the car anymore. The Clerk couldn’t even explain how I could possibly have avoided it, but they penalised me anyway.”

“This can’t keep happening, as I can’t afford any more points,” added MacDowall, who picked up seven at the opening round at Brands Hatch, and is now only three points away from a three-month ban.

Collard was quite aggravated straight after the incident, believing the 20-year-old Silverline Chevrolet driver to be firmly at fault.

“The BMW’s vulnerable,” said Collard.

“It gets hit on the rear and it spins around, and what Alex has done he just did on purpose again. It’s just spun me around and put me out of a very good position for race three.”

“I went side-by-side with Paul O’Neill in race one out the back, no incidents. I went side-by-side with Tom Boardman without making contact. That’s what you call good driving.”

Coincidentally, Tech-Speed driver Paul O’Neill was given the same penalty as MacDowall for an incident at the last round at Donington Park with Rob Collard. The investigation had been held off until this weekend.