Jackson relying on Honda & Chevrolet meltdown

Motorbase Performance’s Mat Jackson rules his Championship chance as “90% impossible” coming from 36 points back going into the final race weekend of the year, but believes any trouble at Honda & Chevrolet could play into his hands this weekend as well as help from new team-mate James Thompson.

Jackson, who finished as runner up in the British Touring Car Championship to Fabrizio Giovanardi whilst racing with his own team in 2008 is 36 points down with 52 to play for at Silverstone, but is also just 17 points behind James Nash in the independents’ trophy with 45 points remaining, a title which has surprisingly eluded Jackson. Colin Turkington picked up the 2008 independents’ trophy due to the separate scoring system for that award, despite Jackson being the highest placed independent driver in the overall standings.

“I’d say it’s 90 per cent impossible but while there’s still a tiny chance I will absolutely not give up,” said Jackson on his overall title chances. “It’s common knowledge there’s some aggro between the Honda drivers Neal and Shedden and Plato in the Chevrolet. With feelings running so high who knows what they might do one another. I just need to get on with it with the Motorbase team who run the Airwaves cars, make sure we get the absolute maximum out of the car in qualifying and all three races and see where we end up.”

Motorbase Performance are also just 15 points behind Triple Eight in the independent teams’ trophy, with neither team having won in this category before (though Triple Eight have won the overall teams’ trophy six times with manufacturer backing from Vauxhall). To aid Motorbase’s chances in all the Championships, the Wrotham-based team have recruited 2002 and 2004 Champion James Thompson to drive the #6 Ford Focus ST this weekend, who replaces Michael Caine.

Thompson got his hands on the car for the first time in a test today at Brands Hatch, ahead of his first BTCC meeting in a competitive capacity since August 2009. Thompson will be allocated maximum ballast for the weekend of 45kg, which will make him the joint-heaviest car along with Championship leader Matt Neal’s Honda Civic in qualifying and race one, with Thompson also made to carry the weight through races two and three.