Motorbase Performance enjoyed a ‘good marker’ of their performance when the majority of the British Touring Car Championship field took part in a two-day tyre test at Snetterton last week, with Mat Jackson ending up with the tenth best time.
Jackson posted his best time in Wednesday morning’s first session, which ended up being just under nine tenths slower than the fastest time posted by Subaru’s Ash Sutton on Thursday morning.
“To get the chance to have a two day test at the next circuit on the calendar is an opportunity which we cannot afford to miss,” explained Team Manager Oly Collins. “Add in the fact that all our competitors are also present means that you have a perfect testing situation.
“Whilst our competitors are there, we tend to concentrate on our own test program, but you always have half an eye on the time sheets to see where you are. It was nice to be quickest in the first morning session with Mat when everyone had set representative times. It was a good marker.
“The programme is a great chance to try things which normally you don’t get to try in 2 x 40 minute practice sessions on a race weekend. A lot of them don’t make the car go faster, but often that’s as valuable as finding the things which do work.”
“We covered over 1,000 km over the two days and ran in wet and dry conditions so it was ideal for data.
“The work now continues back at Motorbase where we’ll analyse all of the data and start preparing for the race meeting in a few weeks’ time.”
Joining Jackson in the test on Wednesday was regular team-mate Martin Depper, but it was former Motorbase GT driver Rory Butcher who stood in on the Thursday, as Depper had business commitments which prevented him from completing the full two days.
The Scot managed to post the tenth best time in the morning before the heavens opening in the afternoon and limited the team’s ability to get meaningful data.
“It was fantastic to get my hands on the Focus for the first time at Snetterton and it didn’t disappoint” said Butcher. “It certainly kept me on my toes as I learned how to combat a FWD car.
“It was a new challenge but I enjoyed the learning curve and everyone was really supportive including Mat and Martin.
“Working with Motorbase guys once again was really cool. It just felt right!”