Collard gets reward for storming Oulton drive

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Sat 13th June 2009 Airwaves BMW star Rob Collard received a special surprise at Croft Circuit when he was handed an award from his team for his stunning drive in the previous round at Oulton Park.

The Hampshireman started race three at Oulton from the back of the grid having suffered a broken propshaft in the preceding race, but produced a superb performance in the final outing of the day to charge through the field and only narrowly miss out on a podium.

Having commented after the race that winning a trophy for his efforts would’ve capped his day, team principal David Bartrum decided to have a special award made for the Airwaves BMW ace.

Bartrum handed over the silverware, inscribed with ‘Zero to Hero Award, Oulton Park 2009’, to the stunned Collard as he stepped out of his BMW 320si following second practice on Saturday.

Airwaves BMW Team Principal David Bartrum said: “It was one of the best drives I have ever seen in racing. To go from 20th to fourth and finishing just a fraction off the podium, passing some of the hardest-charging drivers in the BTCC and not touching another car along the way, was a fantastic achievement. It also just underlines how good a driver Rob Collard is and the quality of the man’s character. We’re very proud to have him in our team.”

Airwaves BMW Team driver Rob Collard said: “I’m absolutely delighted and honoured that David and the team think so much of me that they went to the effort of getting me a trophy for race three at Oulton Park. As much as I enjoyed the race it wouldn’t have been possible without the team behind me, as they worked hard to give me a brilliantly setup car that was capable of doing the job. This trophy will definitely be taking pride of place on my mantelpiece.”