SNETTERTON - ROUND 7 - RACE REPORT

Rounds 19, 20 & 21 of the 2006 British Touring Car Championship at Snetterton
August 12/13, 2006

Hard knocks hinder Collard at Snetterton

A heavy downpour ahead of the first race at Snetterton made tyre selection a tricky issue for Team RAC. Rob opted for wets all round on his MG ZS, with the wet track still proving slippery, despite the rain having stopped.

Starting 10th on the grid, Rob was up to ninth at the first corner. An early battle developed between Rob and Tom Chilton, but ultimately the wet weather setup on Rob's MG hindered his chances of a strong result. He ended the race in 11th position.

Following the race, Rob said, "We made a decision for a wet weather set-up and tyre choice as the weather conditions have been so changeable this morning. The opening laps were great and I managed to make up a few places running in eighth at one point. But as the track dried out the others began to catch me and I just couldn't do anything in response."

Race two brought the highlight of the weekend for Rob, with a powerful performance seeing him climb from 11th on the grid to fifth by the end of the race.

The dark clouds threatened once again before the race, but the rain held off this time around, although an early safety car period broke up the action during the opening laps. Following the restart, Rob led a battle for eighth position that included James Kaye, Mike Jordan and his Team RAC teammate, Colin Turkington.

Rob continued to make strong progress throughout the race, despite having to take evasive action to avoid the wayward Team Halfords Integra of Gareth Howell not long after the halfway mark. Rob secured fifth at the chequered flag, and an assault on fourth placed Mike Jordan was not far off.

Rob commented, "I'm pleased with my finishing position and with the speed we've got in the car but there were a few hairy moments where I had to just sit back and not get involved. I was also conscious of Colin's position and we got the right result for Team RAC. The car is back in one piece and I've got a good solid result."

After the high of race two came the low of race three. It was a short race for Rob, which was ended by contact with Gordon Shedden in the Team Halfords Integra on lap three.

Rob takes up the commentary: "I got a great start and made it into P3 and was hunting down the cars in front. At the same time I was having to defend quite hard from Shedden. As we were heading into Sear, Shedden got a bit of a run on me and then absolutely side swiped me. These standards are just completely unacceptable and it reminds me more of my stock car days. I've received some harsh criticism myself but this is serious impact and in my opinion dangerous driving."

It was an unfortunate end to a promising weekend. Rob will be looking to put recent misfortunes behind him when the 2006 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship heads north of the border to Knockhill in Scotland. Rounds 22, 23 & 24 take place over the weekend of 2-3 September.