Rob Collard is optimistic that he can repeat past successes at Brands Hatch this weekend as the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship gets underway.
Collard, who won the opening round of the championship last season, has re-forged his long-term relationship with 2014 champions West Surrey Racing for another campaign and returns alongside fellow race winners Sam Tordoff and Jack Goff.
Collard also believes that the circuit is ideally suited to the characteristics of the BMW 125i M-Sport and expects the car to be a bit kinder to it’s Dunlop Sport Maxx tyres than some of his closest rivals.
“The Brands Hatch Indy Circuit has always been a great track for me and I’d love to repeat last year’s success of winning the first race of the season,” he commented.
“The rear-wheel-drive BMW seems ideally suited to the track; it’s probably the best car in the BTCC in terms of traction and is very kind to the tyres so you can usually coax some good speed out of it at the end of a race when some of the other drivers are struggling a bit.”
Looking ahead to the season in general, Collard underlined his race-winning ambitions and is looking to further his already impressive CV this year.
“Race wins are certainly the aim for this season and I’d like to think that the improvements made to the car should make us a serious contender this year.”
The opening round of the season gets underway on Sunday morning and will be televised live on ITV4 and in HD.