Mat Jackson expects qualifying gap to close on race day

Mat Jackson says he’s confident the gap between him and the ultimate pace setters will close on race day at Snetterton, after qualifying fifth for Motorbase Performance’s 300th race in the BTCC.

Jackson’s Ford Focus ST was just over 0.4s slower than the pace-setting Honda Civic Type-R of Gordon Shedden, with the Team BMR Subaru of Colin Turkington and the Ciceley Racing Mercedes of Adam Morgan a similar distance ahead.

But the 35-year-old believes he has the race pace to compete at the front, and close the gap to the championship leaders after a disappointing round at Croft.

“We’re at the right end of the grid and we’re within striking distance of the front. Clearly it’s very close, so hopefully we can get off the line well and be in the mix,” said Jackson to TouringCarTimes.

“Qualifying’s one thing and racing’s another, and one thing’s for sure is that they won’t be doing that pace in the race. I think we can, so we’re in a good place.

“The car’s consistent, we haven’t got a huge amount of weight on board so we should be looking good.”

Jackson said it was crucial to make up ground in the championship, after dropping to eighth in the standings at the final round before the summer break.

“We’ve got to [close the gap]. We dropped out of it at Croft and it’s so close. Clearly it’s all to play for, and we’ve got to capitalise on this,” added Jackson.

There is an added for Jackson to perform well in race one today, as it marks the Kent-based Motorbase team’s 300th start in the BTCC.

“It’s a huge amount – no wonder David [Bartrum] is completely grey! I’ve been here for about 50 per cent of the races and hopefully the 300 mark is just the start of many more,” said Jackson.