Collard - We were on the track at the wrong time

Sat 3rd April 2010 West Surrey Racing’s Rob Collard qualified 12th on the grid for the first round of the 2010 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship but feels the tricky conditions hampered his efforts.

By Matt Lamprell

"The car is good", said Collard. "It feels quick, but we just didn't get out at the right time in qualifying. If we'd had a couple more laps at the end of the session then I think it would have been a different story."

There was rain during much of 30-minute qualifying session, with a heavy downpour mid-way through. The forecast for Sunday is currently dry, which would leave all the teams on the back foot, given the unique Dunlop slick that is used at Thruxton.

Collard continued: "We haven't been able to do much dry running today, so we haven't got a lot of data. Some of the front-wheel drive cars have had punctures today, so I think it could be quite interesting if it's dry tomorrow."

Collard is no stranger to BMWs after spending the past two seasons with Motorbase Performance. However, the WSR machine is far from identical in its handling.

"The WSR BMW is very different to the car I've driven at Motorbase for the past two years. The WSR car is very soft and smooth to drive, whereas I'm used to driving something much harder. We're just trying to find a setup that works for me at the moment."

Perhaps the biggest change to all of the BMWs on the grid in 2010 concerns their first gear, which has been lengthened in order to reduce the rear-wheel drive advantage away from the line. Sunday's first race will provide the first opportunity to see just how much of an impact this will have.

Rob said: "We've done a bit of work on starts with the new first gear and at the moment it looks like we're two or three tenths down on last year, so it looks like it's having the desired effect. It's hard to know though until we get to a track that's dry and has some rubber down on it."