Poleman Mat Jackson full of praise for car and team

Mat Jackson was full of praise for his Motorbase Performance team and the new Mountune motor in his Ford Focus ST after taking the first ever pole for David Bartrum’s squad at Rockingham

Jackson took his first pole since heading the grid for RML at Silverstone in 2009, and set a new lap record at the Corby circuit to boot.

And while he conceded he doesn’t have the level of understanding of the tyres of his front-running rivals for Sunday’s races, Jackson said he would be going all out for his first win of the season.

Assessing his day, Jackson told TouringCarTimes: “We knew the car has got the pace but it hasn’t been the easiest of mornings – FP1 was pretty much a write off and FP2 there was a big mix of new and used tyres out there.

“Going into qualifying it was again a little bit into the unknown. We know the car is good and capable, so to seal that pole is great. Having the red flag at the end is Alan [Gow’s] latest trick!

“It’s obviously great – we’ve been trying for a long time. We’ve seen a lot of rule changes and we’ve come very close. At Silverstone every year we’re challenging for pole and seem to get pipped at the last minute.”

The new Mountune-developed Ford EcoBoost engine has been a major plus-point for the team, and Jackson said it was key to be able to compete on equal terms with the Swindon-engined cars.

He said: “We knew we struggled with the old engine and the new motor Mountune have developed has patched a lot of those holes in the areas we struggled against the likes of the Swindon engine. It’s great that we’re now on an equal footing to the Swindon motor and can fight at the same level.

“We’re in a good place now and the car is very good. The boys have worked very hard to get the NGTC package where we want it, and combined with the Mountune motor, it works very well.

“It’s not been an easy journey with NGTC but the motor is where it needs to be and the chassis is where it needs to be. Tomorrow’s a different day, but we start in the right place.

“We obviously lack the knowledge on the tyre that the likes of BMR have with four cars. But we’ll fight to the end – we’re aiming for that win.”