Pace, points and protests at Thruxton for Jack Goff

A dramatic weekend for Team BMR’s Jack Goff ended in a long Sunday night in the stewards’ office, following a strong day where the former Clio Cup champion made strong forward progress.

Goff was one of a clutch of drivers fighting for a podium in the final race, eventually having to settle for sixth at the flag in his Vauxhall Insignia.

This became fifth after the stewards ruled that Honda Racing Team’s Gordon Shedden had passed him under yellow flags at Church, and reversed the positions.

Goff’s team also protested incidents with the Motorbase Performance pair of Mat Jackson and Fabrizio Giovanardi, but no action was taken on either of these incidents.

The final race topped off a weekend where Goff had qualified 11th, finished 11th in the first race, and moved forward to ninth in the second.

Speaking to TouringCarTimes before the stewards’ investigation, Goff said: “We had three incidents which were touch-and-go. I’m 100 per cent sure we’ll get one place back, 75 per cent sure the second one, and the other one I don’t know.

“Me and Giovanardi got together in the chicane. I was on the inside of him, he was in the gravel, but it was probably a racing incident. Neither of us were giving any room.

“The Jackson one, he got the run on me under double yellows, and in my mind, you’re supposed to back off under double yellows.”

Goff was also confident his overall pace will continue to improve as his team learns more about setting up the Insignia.

He said: “We struggled on Saturday, but the problem is, we haven’t got the setup knowledge that Honda and MG have. So we come into every weekend with a base setup, and every session we improve it.

“So by the end of the weekend we’re somewhere near it – but it would be nice to start the weekend off from that place. But we will get there sooner or later.”