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Mat Jackson says it’s come as no surprise to him to see his team
fighting for the lead of this year’s HiQ MSA British Touring Car
Championship.
Jackson took a race win and oh so
nearly the championship lead last time out at Rockingham – poised to
move past Fabrizio Giovanardi on points he ran off the road into
retirement after contact with Colin Turkington.
The Henley-in-Arden driver will therefore go into his home rounds at
Donington Park this weekend second in the standings – still a
remarkable achievement considering he and his BMW Dealer Team UK squad
only arrived in the BTCC last season. He and his outfit also lead the
Independent Drivers’ and Teams’ championships respectively.
Jackson
told BTCC.net: “I hate sounding big-headed and sometimes might appear a
bit guarded in responding to a few questions, but personally I am not
surprised we are where we are.
“Last year was a
learning curve but everything we learnt, any mistakes we made – we used
that experience to our advantage. We spent all of last year working
towards what you see now and the results are starting to show… I guess
we just get on with it.
“Fabrizio said before the
season he thought we’d be quick. He joked to me after race two at
Rockingham that would be my last win of 2008… we’ll see about that! I’m
up for the fight. I can’t wait for Donington. But it’s way too early to
start thinking too much about championships and so on.”
Jackson
reckons he can continue his stunning start to the season at Donington,
although the success ballast his BMW 320si will carry in qualifying and
the first of Sunday’s three races – an extra 36kgs by dint of his
second place in the points table – could hamper him in qualifying.
The
26-year-old added: “At Rockingham it affected us and we were only ninth
– although we knew it should have been fifth. Donington is a different
lay-out but it will still have an effect. About half the track, from
Old Hairpin to Coppice, is constantly going uphill and we have to lug
that weight up there.
“On saying that, I had my
best qualifying result of 2007 at Donington – fourth – and this year
we’ve got a much better qualifying strategy. We’ll only really know how
we’re going to cope with the weight after Saturday’s two practice
sessions.
“I suspect the SEATs will be at their
strongest yet at Donington – their diesel engines provide greater
torque and a circuit like Donington should show that up. If they do
come good at Donington then they are likely to make it even tighter at
the top…”
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