THE AmDTuning.com team has its sights set on points as the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship heads for Donington Park this weekend for the second meeting of the 2016 season.
The West Thurrock-based team heads for the East Midlands circuit seeking to open its account for the campaign after a challenging season opener at Brands Hatch earlier this month.
There, Tamworth-based driver Ollie Jackson looked well set to celebrate his return to the team with a top 15 finish in the opening race of the weekend only for on-track contact to force him into retirement; leaving him on the back foot for races two and three.
Depsite that, Ollie showed an impressive turn on speed on what was his race debut at the wheel of AmDTuning.com’s Audi S3, and his first outing in the BTCC for the best part of 18 months.
Ollie now returns to the scene of his maiden outing in the Audi, having climbed behind the wheel for the first time during the annual season launch at Donington last month.
The 31-year-old showed no signs of rustiness that day as he posted the 15th quickest time, less than eight tenths of a second off the pace, and returns in confident mood as he looks to break into the points for the first time since the 2013 season finale.
"Obviously we wanted to try and score points at Brands Hatch and while we didn’t quite manage it, we showed that we certainly have the potential to," Ollie said. "I’m heading for Donington Park feeling quite confident about what is possible given the way we performed in the season opener, and the fact I have already driven the Audi at the circuit can only help when it comes to trying to hit the ground running.
"Although you never know what people are doing during testing, the fact we finished the Media Day session inside the top 15 is something that is encouraging as we go into the weekend, and is hopefully a sign of where we can hope to be when it really matters.
"If we can get ourselves into a decent position in qualifying, then hopefully we can push for some points on race day and open our account for the season."
Team boss Shaun Hollamby meanwhile shared Ollie’s optimism about the weekend ahead and the possibility of scoring points for the first time this season.
"Brands Hatch showed how competitive the BTCC is going to be again this season, but it also showed that we have a package that is more than capable of pushing for points finishes," he said. "Had it not been for contact in the first race, I have no doubt we would have points on the board already going into this weekend but I’m confident we can put that right and pick up our first top 15 finish with the Audi.
"Having returned to the AmD fold, it hasn’t taken long for Ollie to gel with the team again and hopefully that will be reflected in the results on track this weekend. If we can take the pace we showed at the start of race day at Brands Hatch and build on it, we’ll be in good shape."
