Lucky escape for Rob Collard after early technical problem

Rob Collard secured his best grid position of the season in qualifying at Knockhill, despite missing most of the session after a technical issue early on, which saw him spend most of qualifying in the pit lane.

The West Surrey Racing BMW driver was back in the pits after early signs of a problem became clear, with smoke bellowing within the cabin as he pulled up, with the team then desperately working to resolve the problem.

With the session red flagged twice, both times because a Dunlop sponsorship board had been knocked over, the team had extra time to resolve the issue, sending him out with five minutes to go on slick tyres, and he was able put the car fourth on the grid, one spot behind team-mate Colin Turkington.

“It was really bizarre, as we had some sort of an issue,” said Collard. “I could hear something wasn’t right, and as I stopped in the pits and the car just filled up with smoke. I thought at that point it was game over, but the team changed what they needed to change and we were right back on it.

“The car was fantastic. We had just three flying laps to build the heat in the tyres, we found some space on the track and we were able to deliver and come in P4.

“If we didn’t have the red flags we’d have been absolutely KO’d there, so thankfully Knockhill with tricky conditions and a couple of people caused some red flags and that’s played into our hands. I’ve been on the other side of that and it’s cost us a good lap, but not this time.”

Turkington felt more was possible from the BMW 125i M Sport, but admitted in those conditions, it was key to balance caution and speed in order to get a good result.

“You always feel like there’s the potential for more, but it’s so easy to overstep the mark on your last lap and slide off the track,” said Turkington. “The goal was to be at the sharp end, I wasn’t expecting to be on pole position with the success ballast we’re carrying, so all things considered I’m really pleased.”