BTCC Driver Interviews
Motorbase Performance mid-season review
Rob Collard
There is no question that the opening weekends of the 2008 HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship were tough for Rob Collard, but he's now facing the second half of the season bubbling with confidence, determined to chase podiums and maybe even a race win.
Returning to the BTCC after a sabbatical, Rob had a real chance with the Motorbase Performance BMW 320i to remind everyone that he was previously a BTCC race winner and title contender. But things move on fast in motor racing, and he had another mountain to climb in re-establishing himself.
With no chance to do any real pre-season testing, Rob and the team were on the back foot to begin with, and over the opening races he suffered badly at the hands of others.
"Rob came to us with a bit of a reputation," admitted team boss David Bartrum. "But I've been really pleased with him. We found that he was the victim not the aggressor, as other people managed to drive into him at regular intervals."
Several non-finishes, including a torrid weekend at Donington when the action of others knocked him out of two races, didn't help Rob or the team make the sort of progress they were looking for, and a troubled weekend followed at Thruxton.
However, everyone dug deep and worked hard in the two-week gap before Croft, the mid-season point in the BTCC schedule. "When I left Thruxton my chin was firmly on the ground, but Croft showed that we have the speed and the racecraft," said Rob, after showing race-winning pace at the North Yorkshire track.
"We worked very hard after Thruxton to get the car better and we found a lot of time. To come through and get a fifth place in the daunting conditions of the first race at Croft was really good," said Rob after a weekend that was the turning point of his season.
"A fourth and a fifth at Croft was really good for the team. I led the third race for a couple of laps and I think I could have got a second or a third, but Adam Jones came in too fast and spun me round." Although rightly disappointed at being tipped out of the race, Rob was elated to be showing great form.
Now, he can't wait for the next three races when the season resumes at Snetterton on 12/13 July after the six-week mid-year break. "Snetterton should really suit the car, and it should be good. We should come back strong at Snetterton," said Rob.
Steven Kane
"After Croft, everything is positive," said Steven Kane as he looked ahead to the second half of the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship season. "We've made a real difference to the cars and it certainly seems to be working," said Steven during the six-week mid-season break in the BTCC schedule.
Right from the start of the season, Steven has been a contender in his Motorbase Performance BMW 320i and showed his pace as early as the opening weekend of the season at Brands Hatch.
But Steven and the team then entered a hectic period of four race meetings in seven weekends and it was not until the Croft event that things really started to come together. "The work we did after Thruxton really seemed to work at Croft; we had fastest lap and Rob was obviously quick, so we can see the way it is going."
Now, Steven is heading into the second half of the season, starting at Snetterton on 12/13 July, in confident mood. "I've got realistic hopes for a podium over the second half of the season," he said. "If we can keep the development going well, I can see a podium coming. Everything we do is really starting to make sense and our season really starts at Snetterton."
Both Motorbase drivers were able to take part in the two-day BTCC tyre test at Snetterton in late June and used the time to push through a major workload. "Until then we'd been using the race weekends to test," said Steven.
"Snetterton is a brilliant place; I love it. In fact, then we go to two more of my favourite tracks at Oulton Park and Knockhill. I always knew it would be the second half of the season when we really started to get it together!"
