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MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square enjoyed a positive start to the 2021 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship at the official season launch at a sun-drenched Silverstone circuit, with both Ollie Jackson and Jake Hill working their way through comprehensive testing programmes throughout the day.
After much anticipation, the curtain was lifted on the new season at the Home of British Motorsport as the 2021 BTCC grid was revealed in its entirety and MB Motorsport took to the track for their first official running with Ollie and Jake piloting the team’s pair of Ford Focus ST’s.
Once the grid had completed their media tracking laps and official grid photos, the pit lane went live for the morning session. Both with pre-planned formal programmes to work to, Ollie and Jake began their work prioritising longer race runs throughout the initial three-hour period.
At the close of the morning session, a 57.726 was enough to earn Jake P11, while a 57.928 placed Ollie in P19 at the halfway mark of the day. Most importantly, the MB Motorsport duo had racked up 99 laps between them as the pair continued to gain valuable insight throughout the morning.
Following the lunch break, Ollie continued to rack up the laps and work his way through his scheduled programme lapping with excellent consistency. Unfortunately for Jake, his afternoon running was cut short by a technical issue which meant the Kent-based driver was restricted to a limited amount of running.
As 17:00 rolled around at the home of British Motorsport, Ollie’s fastest time of the afternoon was clocked as a 57.658 to place him in P11 at the close of play as he completed a mammoth 128 laps over the course of the day. Jake had to settle for P26 in the afternoon after he could only manage 21 laps in the afternoon.
Ollie Jackson - #48 MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square:
“I’m really pleased with the work that we have gotten through today. For us, today was about working through the programme we had planned and we’ve learnt an awful lot - this can only put us in a good position heading into the opener in a couple of weeks. All in all, it’s been a really positive pre-season period - now I just can’t wait to get to Thruxton for the real fun to begin!”
Jake Hill - #24 MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square:
“Today has been an up and down day for me admittedly. We came into the day with a clear picture of what we wanted to run and to achieve. We managed all of that in the morning perfectly but the afternoon was a bit frustrating as there was nothing we could do about the issue which hampered our running time. Despite that, I’m loving the feel of this Ford Focus ST and am confident that we will be well in the fight come Thruxton weekend.”
Mark Blundell - Sporting Director, MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square:
“After much anticipation, it was great to get the first official running of the season in the books today at Silverstone. On the whole, the pre-season has been a really positive one for both Ollie and Jake and we are all heading into the opening weekend in confident mood. It’s also been great over the last two days to unveil our refreshed look with the new Focus’ - so a huge thank you as always to our partners for their support and to Motorbase Performance for their continued efforts.”
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