Aron Smith planning his own race but will help if called on

Team BMR’s Aron Smith is planning to run his own race in the opening encounter at Brands Hatch today – but says he will help team-mates Jason Plato and Colin Turkington in their championship battles if he is called upon.

Smith qualified on the front row in his Volkswagen CC yesterday, just over a tenth behind the similarly ballast-free Ford Focus ST of Motorbase Performance’s Mat Jackson.

The Irishman says the destiny of his race will depend on whether there are cars between him and his team-mates, but he will be concentrating on pulling away at the front.

“I’m going to focus on my own race. If they’re directly behind me I will certainly help, but if I can keep cars between us then it’s my own race and I’ll drive with my head down,” said Smith to TouringCarTimes.

“To put it on P2 is unreal for me. I did the best I could and I am delighted to have landed where we have. That’s as good as a pole for me. Motorbase did a great job and Mat’s a great driver so they were always going to be at the front.”

Assessing his tactics for race one, Smith added: “Me and Mat work really well together. We did at Rockingham. I’ll have a chat with him – we’ll both get our heads down as there’s no point throwing away a race for either of us.

“The two of us just want to win races and finish on the podium. I really respect Mat and we’ll race well. If I get ahead at turn one we’ll work together, if he gets ahead at turn one I’ll work with him.”