Henley-in-Arden's Mat Jackson returns to the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent this weekend for his latest rounds in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship. It was at Brands Hatch back in April where Mat made a stunning BTCC debut.
The 26-year-old took a third place alongside reigning champion Matt Neal and Vauxhall's Italian superstar Fabrizio Giovanardi. He has continued that form ever since, the pinnacle so far being a first race victory in the BTCC at Oulton Park in June. Mat is currently sixth in the championship in his family-run Jacksons MSport BMW 320si ahead of many drivers in teams with greater experience and bigger budgets.
Mat, driving his #48 BMW, will be in action in the BTCC's latest three rounds at Brands Hatch on Sunday. The three races will all be shown in full - two of them live - on ITV4 and then ITV1 (see details below). "I can't wait to get started," says Mat. "We've moved on so much since that first meeting in April, although so have all of our rivals. But we were close to victory again last time out at Snetterton and Brands Hatch offers us another good opportunity.
"Qualifying well on Saturday for race one's starting grid will be crucial. Because the lap is short then times are incredibly close around there so we'll have to be on top of our game. It's also one of the more difficult places to overtake people so ideally we need to be on the first few rows.
"On saying that, we showed in April that overtaking is possible - even with success ballast on the car. In race two I started at the back and think I overtook 15 cars to finish eighth. And in the third race we showed our pace again with that third place and the fastest lap time."
In the overall championship, Mat is just two points behind fifth-placed Colin Turkington who races a near-identical BMW for Team RAC. Also he is chasing the Independents title for privateer teams and drivers at his first attempt. Three strong results at Snetterton have seen him move to within five points of leader Mike Jordan in his Honda. Jacksons MSport are also only five points off Jordan's second-placed Eurotech team in the Independent teams championship.
"I want to end the season as the top BMW driver and win that Independent drivers title," adds Mat. "But it will be tough as there are four of us - Jordan, Turkingon and Onslow-Cole - all close together. If we can get that second place in the teams points as well, that would be a really big bonus and a great reward for everyone who's supported us in this first season."
Mat on TV at Brands Hatch: Sunday August 19th: ITV4 at 12.30pm-2.30pm (race 1 full re-run, race 2 LIVE) Sunday August 19th: ITV1 at 2.50pm-4.20pm (races 1&2 re-cap, race 3 LIVE) Sunday August 19th: 9pm-10.30pm Setanta Sports 1 (race day highlights)
Mat's Brands Hatch timetable: Saturday August 18th: 9.30am-10.10am BTCC free practice 1 & 12.15pm-12.55pm BTCC free practice 2 Saturday August 18th: 3.25pm-3.55pm BTCC qualifying Sunday August 19th: 10.50am race 1 (BTCC round 22), 24 laps Sunday August 19th: 12.45pm-1.10pm Pit Lane Walkabout Autograph Session Sunday August 19th: 1.35pm race 2 (BTCC round 23), 24 laps Sunday August 19th: 3.40pm race 3 (BTCC round 24), 24 laps
