Airwaves Racing returned to the top step of the podium at Knockhill over the bank holiday weekend (23/24 August) with a commanding win in round 20 of the 2014 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.
Having arrived at the Fife circuit on the crest of a wave after a successful weekend at Snetterton earlier in the month, the Motorbase-run outfit further stamped its mark on the championship with Mat Jackson claiming the squad’s first win of the season in ‘The Gary B’ Mountune-powered Ford Focus ST.
In-between torrential showers Saturday’s qualifying session produced an interesting set of results for the Airwaves driver. Racing against the inclement weather, Mat secured a strong P7 for Sunday’s opening race.
Sunday’s first race opened up well for Mat who worked his way through the tightly packed field. Despite coming under constant pressure from a charging Turkington in the BMW as the duo battled for position with Plato’s MG, Jackson pressed forward pushing former BTCC champion Shedden hard to bring the #6 Focus home in P4, narrowly missing out on podium finish.
The decision to run both Airwaves cars on the soft compound Dunlop tyre proved a prudent move during another frenetic action-packed race two. With the leading order embroiled in a tangle during the opening lap, Mat took full advantage to close the gap on race leader Matt Neal. As the Airwaves man prepared to mount his challenge on the Honda, Neal was given a drive through penalty thus handing the lead position to Mat. The #6 Focus remained untroubled for the remainder of the race and the Airwaves Racing team was rewarded with a long overdue maiden race win of the season with a commanding 1.6 second lead.
The weekend also brought further cause for celebration for David Bartrum’s Kent based squad with customer team AMD celebrating their first podium in the Motorbase built Ford Focus ST. Inverness based AMD driver Dave Newsham delighted the home crowd with two top ten finishes and a second place in the final race of the day.
With Mat Jackson being the second highest points scorer of the weekend, the results see the Airwaves man move into second place in the Independents drivers’ standings and sixth overall. A healthy haul of points also means Airwaves Racing maintains its fourth place position in the overall teams' whilst moving up into second in the Independent teams' standings. The championship now has a short two week break before reconvening at Rockingham for round 8 on September 6/7.
Team Manager Oly Collins said:
“An absolutely fantastic win for Mat in race two and a great reward for the whole team. It‘s been far too long since we’ve had that winning feeling, but it’s hugely satisfying for everyone involved. Mat’s been really on it all weekend again and continued to show his class. The team was also hugely proud of AMD’s result with Motorbase’s first customer car podium.”
Airwaves Racing driver Mat Jackson said:
“We’ve had a bit of a lean spell and come very close a number of times so to finally round it off with a win in race two, and a convincing win at that, is mega. Overall we’re very happy. The team has done an awesome job with the car; it’s been fantastic all weekend.
“I’m very much looking forward to getting to Rockingham and getting back into the top 4 of the championship. We’re close now, we’ve just got to be consistent and keep plugging away. The car seems to be in a good window at the moment so hopefully we’ll move forward again at Rockingham and be in a good place for more wins. That’s what we’ve got to target now.”
