Hilton Independents Cup leader Rob Collard left Snetterton with another win and a second place under his belt, extending his points lead to 18. He does not expect to have things all his own way in the last six races of the season however: “Carl Breeze was very quick today, and it was good to have a close race. He will take a lot of beating in the championship for the rest of the year. And when Gareth [Howell] gets going, he’s going to be every bit as quick. It’s a hard old championship now!”

Collard was disappointed with his qualifying performance at Snetterton, but as has been the norm this year, he made an impressive start to both races, making up a number of places during the opening moments of the first lap. Starting on the inside of the seventh row for round 13, Collard found himself bearing down on the carnage that unfolded at the front once the red lights went out. However, he was able to avoid the stranded cars and debris on the track – perhaps finding the situation reminiscent of his short track hot-rod days, where observation is the key to staying in the race.

In the second race of the day, he once again made a great get-away. Starting from eighth, he was up on the tail of third placed Yvan Muller before the first corner. Michael Bentwood has also been a quick starter in the Production class this year, but his BMW 320i has the advantage of rear-wheel drive. Collard has no such luxury, yet has consistently been quick out of the blocks.

With five class wins already this year, the Collard Racing team is developing a taste for spending race weekends in the luxury of Hilton Hotels. Collard commented, “We’ll be back in the Hilton for Brands. It’s good actually, because out of all the tracks, that’s probably one of the best Hiltons! Hopefully we’ll have another good weekend!”

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