Despite securing his first win of the season,
Mat Jackson was left to reflect on an opportunity lost after missing out on the chance to take the lead of the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship at Rockingham.
The
BMW Dealer Team driver went into the weekend just two points shy of Fabrizio Gioavanardi in the championship standings and after following the Italian home in sixth place in race one, he came out on top of a huge battle between the pair to win race two – closing to within a point of the Vauxhall driver in the standings in the process.
In the final race however, held in treacherous conditions after torrential rain hit the Northamptonshire circuit, Jackson found himself forced into retirement when a little nudge from
Colin Turkington at Tarzan saw him beached in the gravel, meaning Giovanardi was able to extend his lead back to seven points ahead of the next round at
Donington Park in three weeks time.
“I feel great frustration at what happened,” he said. “I actually wasn't even making an attempt to pass Colin. He braked very early and I didn't want to run into the back of him so moved left and came up alongside him slightly. He moved over, contact was made and I was on the grass and in the gravel.
“Had there not been any contact I certainly wouldn't have gone off the track. It was annoying at the time to get caught in a wrong place, wrong time situation. I think it was avoidable.
“But I'm not downhearted about it. We had a lot to come away happy about. We won race two and we seem to be at about the same pace as the Vauxhall with similar levels of success ballast. Also, the BMW was probably stronger than I thought it would be in wet conditions. It was tricky with rear-wheel-drive in those conditions, but it was controllable.”
Team principal Chris Tees admitted that final race had been a disappointing way to finish the weekend, but said it was just one of those things that happens in motorsport.
