Photo: PSP Images

Mat Jackson rescues top ten with hastily repaired Ford

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Independents’ points leader Mat Jackson made it out in qualifying just in time after a heavy off in the second free practice session, with the Motorbase Performance driver able to secure tenth on the grid in his Ford Focus ST.

Jackson, who leads the independents’ standings by just one point over Eurotech Honda driver Andrew Jordan, was second fastest in the wet first practice session at Oulton Park, but crashed out as Cascades early on in the second session, bringing out the red flag and causing heavy damage to the Ford Focus ST.

The Motorbase Performance team were able to get the car sufficiently repaired to take part in the session, where he was able to set the tenth fastest time and was the fastest of the three Ford drivers.

“It’s all my own fault, we had an off in FP2 and unfortunately the damage we sustained in that has hurt us in qualifying,” said Jackson to TouringCarTimes. “We got two laps in qualifying, at the time it was good enough for P5 so I think we certainly would have gone quicker.”

Jackson took solace in his qualifying position, since at one point it seemed possible that the damage was too severe to repair in the 1hr30 break between FP2 and qualifying.

“To be honest, we didn’t think we were going to be out in qualifying, so it’s a bonus that we are tenth on the grid, for sure it’s going to make for an exciting race tomorrow.”

Jackson was also hands on in the repair of his car, working with the Motorbase mechanics over what was meant to be the day’s lunch break to repair the front and rear damage, saying “I caused the damage, so I’ll help fix it.”

Looking ahead to tomorrow, Jackson’s still confident the team can bounce back from Saturday’s set backs to do well on race day.

“I think we’ve got a car that’s capable, we’ve certainly got more pace in the car than what we were able to show in qualifying. It’s going to be one of those races coming from the mid-pack, you’ve got to stay out of trouble early on. I’m sure race one will be a little bit nail-biting, but as long as we can get through then I’m sure we can have a good weekend.”