Following a difficult Qualifying session on Saturday, the Beavis Morgan sponsored MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square team knuckled down to storm to an excellent victory in Sunday’s final race – the team and Motorbase Performance’s second victory in seven days.
Race 1
- Lining up P17 and P22 on the grid for the first race of the day, the team’s plan of attack was to progress up the order
- Both cars made good starts and quickly gained positions, with Ollie gaining four places and Jake rising by three – despite carrying 66kg of success ballast
- By lap three, Ollie had climbed to P13 and Jake P19
- As plenty of battles emerged out on track, the pair pushed on and took advantage to continue to gain places
- By the end of the race, Ollie had climbed to finish an impressive P13 with Jake making progress to P21 – caught in a late race battle with Tom Chilton & Jack Goff
Race 2
- With no ballast on either car, expectations were high for race two with both cars aiming to progress further through the field
- Both Jake and Ollie made similarly good starts as race one and were quick to ascend the order once again
- Before long, both cars had broken into the points-paying positions
- Unfortunately, Ollie was caught by another car and subsequently dropped to P20
- Meanwhile, Jake was able to command his Ford Focus ST to P10 and in the mix for the reverse grid draw
Race 3
- As a result of the draw, Jake lined up P3 on the grid for the final race of the day with Ollie looking ahead to another charge through the field from P19
- A thrilling opening few laps saw Jake quickly jump to second place
- Fast-starting Ollie once again put on a display as he climbed four places on the opening tour alone
- By lap seven, the #48 had risen nine places at Ollie’s hands and Jake was harassing the Vauxhall Astra of Dan Lloyd for the lead
- On lap 11, Jake seized his chance to squeeze his way past Lloyd through the inside of Copse corner
- From there, Jake held the lead with all his might to record the team’s second win in seven days and his third overall career victory
- The team also recorded a double top-ten finish with Ollie completing a remarkable comeback to P10
Quotes
Jake Hill – #24 MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square:
“I’d like to start by saying a huge thank you to everyone in the team and at Motorbase Performance. If you’d told me on Saturday we’d be here with a race win and fastest lap I would’ve snapped your hand off. The team knew exactly what we needed to do to turn it around and we really made the most of it. I’m thrilled for everyone, we’ve all worked so hard so it’s great to see our work being rewarded.”
Ollie Jackson – #48 MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square:
“It was quite a day and I’m really happy to end the weekend inside the top ten. We worked very hard Saturday evening and Sunday morning to find a bit more pace in the car and that allowed us to climb our way up the order. It’s a shame race two panned out the way it did as we would’ve been in the mix for the reverse grid draw but that’s just the way it is. It was good fun coming through the field and that will give us a boost heading to Donington Park.”
Mark Blundell – Sporting Director, MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square:
“Congratulations to all of the team – they worked their socks off over the past 24 hours to turn what was a very difficult qualifying into a great race day. They should all be very proud of their efforts – particularly in a double header and can all enjoy a short rest with yet more silverware for the cabinet. Well done to all.”
Next up, Donington Park – 9/10 October – Rounds 25, 26 & 27. For more information, visit: https://www.btcc.net/calendar/donington/