BRANDS HATCH - ROUND 10 - RACE REPORT

Rounds 28, 29 & 30 of the 2006 British Touring Car Championship at Silverstone
October 14/15, 2006

Three top-tens to end the season

The final three rounds of the 2006 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship took place at Silverstone over the weekend of 14/15 October. With three top ten finishes, Rob Collard improved his position to finish the Drivers' Championship in ninth place overall and fourth in the Independents Trophy.

Starting fthe first race in tenth, Rob enjoyed a mid battle with Jason Plato and Mike Jordan to take the chequered flag in tenth. Keen to help his team-mate Colin Turkington, Rob put the pressure on the SEAT driver but was conscious of keeping it clean.

Rob said: "It's really comes down to a team game today and I want to assist Colin is getting the runner-up spot in the Championship. I really wanted to have a go at Plato and get passed him but after the incident earlier in the season at Brands Hatch I was also mindful of avoiding any contact."

The second race of the day was full of action with both of the Team RAC cars on the receiving end of damage. Firstly, Colin Turkington was forced to retire after receiving a substantial knock to the rear when challenging for first place.

Rob was also forced to make a pit stop to remove a damaged rear bumper following contact from SEAT's Jason Plato. Rob said: "I got a really good start and was chasing down Howell and then Plato hooked on the back of me and spun me around. He later retired with damaged steering which I can only assume was the result of the contact."

However, in a twist of fate in Colin's favour, a racing incident on lap three caused Thompson, Plato, Chilton and Jordan to retire with the race eventually being red flagged to attend to the injured Jordan. The Team RAC mechanics pulled off the un-imaginable to repair Colin's car in time for it to join the back of the field for the 14-lap race restart and claimed an 11th place finish.

Rob restarted the race on the last row of the grid and drove solidly taking fifth overall. On the restart Rob added: "Again I got a good start and managed to get through a few of the back markers quite quickly. I'm pleased with the fifth place finish and hopefully the reverse grid will work in my favour."

Starting from fifth on the grid for race three, Rob got a great getaway and was placed nicely behind race leader and fellow bio-fuel driver Paul O'Neill. Looking comfortable for a podium finish Rob was sent into slide by Team Halfords' Gareth Howell.

Rob explained: "I was sure of gaining a podium from that race and I was on course to achieve it and finish my season with Team RAC on a high. I got hit by Gareth and recovered as best as I could. Once again I've been on the receiving end of some unacceptable driving standards and it's disappointing to say the least."

Summarising on the day's racing as the season comes to an end, Dick Bennetts, team principal said: "We've got two podiums today and Colin had a storming drive in the final race. The car has been very reliable once again although it's a shame that we've been on the receiving end of some aggressive driving once again. Rob was running well in both the second and third races before being punted off the circuit. We've once again shown the potential for bio-fuel and I have to say a huge thank you to RAC for their support this season. I'm very much looking forward to next season."

Having completed their first season of touring cars Shaun Meadows, RAC marketing director, added: "We're over the moon with the team's performance this year and particularly proud of the podiums we've achieved since the switch to bio-fuel. Congratulations to Rob and also to Colin for achieving third place in the Championship. It's been a great team effort."