Team BMW increased their lead at the head of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship as the series resumed with a thrilling day of racing at Snetterton.
Rob Collard took two excellent podium finishes to close in on the lead of the Drivers’ Championship and help BMW extend their advantage in the Manufacturers’ points race.
From 10th on the Race One grid, Hampshire racer Rob finished ninth in his WSR-run BMW 125i M Sport and then added third and second places later in the day to maintain his record as the only driver to score points in every race and finish on the podium at every event in 2017.
Rob lies third in the Drivers’ Championship, just four points from the series lead.
The BTCC continues north of the border with a trip to Knockhill, Scotland, on August 12-13.
Rob Collard said: “I’m very pleased with the weekend. I’ve more than halved the gap to the lead of the championship and I’m now only four points behind, which is nothing really. My strategy today was to take whatever points I could with the weight on the car in Race One and then put the hammer down in Race Two. The BMW was just superb today; I’ve been able to put it exactly where I wanted and I’ve come away with a second and a third, which maintains my record of a podium at every round and puts me in a very strong position for Knockhill next month.”
Dick Bennetts, Team Principal, said: “It’s been a very good day for Team BMW. There’s not much more we could have asked for. As usual, we didn’t have the out-and-out fastest car this weekend, but we used some of the data gathered here in testing to good effect and that's definitely helped us this weekend. We leave Snetterton in good shape.”