THE AmDTuning.com team was left licking its wounds after a challenging weekend at Snetterton saw the battle for the 2016 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship resume.

The West Thurrock team went into the weekend buoyed by a strong testing performance at the circuit earlier in the summer, where driver Ollie Jackson had put his Audi S3 inside the top 10 on the timesheets.

Jackson went into race day in confident mood and a solid 19th place in race one left him well placed going into the second race of the weekend.

A strong start saw Jackson quickly making up places off the line, but his charge towards the points would end in dramatic fashion half way round the opening lap after he was forced wide on the grass heading onto the Bentley Straight.

Contact to the rear of the Audi sent him spinning into the barriers on the inside of the circuit where he was collected by the Chevrolet of Hunter Abbott, who was trying to take avoiding action.

Despite severe damage to the front of the car, hard work from the team allowed Jackson to take his place on the grid for race three, but contact ahead at the start saw him forced to take to the grass to try and avoid a collision.

Unfortunately, Abbott’s Chevrolet was tipped into a roll in front of the Audi and with nowhere to go, contact between the pair again put Jackson into retirement.

“I can’t put into words how disappointed I feel with how this weekend has panned out, and there is no way that the team has deserved what has happened to us on track,” said Jackson. “We came to Snetterton in confident mood following the test at the end of June, and there was clearly potential in the car that we haven’t been able to realise through no fault of our own.

“Having stayed out of trouble in race one, I got a really good start in race two and was making up places, but going onto the back straight, Dan Welch forced me wide onto the grass when he had room on the inside and we touched. The next thing I know is that I’ve been hit in the rear and the car suddenly turns right. Hunter had nowhere to go but into me, and it did a lot of damage.

“The boys did an outstanding job to get the car fixed for race three so for it to end before we’d even got to the start line was just devastating, although the important thing is that no-one was injured.

“I wouldn’t say this has been my worst weekend in the championship but it’s right up there. We have to just forget it quickly and move on.”