MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square score second consecutive front-row start at Croft

STORY OF THE DAY

• Fresh from their podium performance at Thruxton, MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square arrived at Croft in confident mood
• After a productive morning in Free Practice, both Jake Hill and Ollie Jackson entered Qualifying looking to place their Motorbase Performance-run Ford Focus STs inside the top-ten
• Both cars took to the track early in the session but found their rhythm disrupted as Rory Butcher’s Toyota ground to a halt, deploying the first red flag of the session
• After a short delay, the session resumed but both drivers took their initial laps with caution owing to the extensive amounts of oil left on the circuit by Butcher
• The session was then disrupted again shortly after following an accident for Nic Hamilton
• With ten minutes of the session to go, the green flag was shown once again and Jake wasted little time in climbing the order - jumping to provisional pole before being pipped by BMW’s Colin Turkington
• Similarly, Ollie settled into a rhythm to set a lap time worthy of the top ten but found himself relegated to 11th at the chequered flag
• Saturday’s running means MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square claims its second consecutive front-row start whilst Jake Hill takes the lead of the Goodyear Wingfoot qualifying award

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Ollie Jackson - #48 MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square:
“I'm pleased with how our day has gone. Throughout Free Practice it looked like we were in for a difficult day but I could feel the balance of the car coming to me as we progressed through the day. We had a very stop-start Qualifying session which can ruin your rhythm but we really found a groove towards the end, entering the top ten. We're in a good position to make some gains tomorrow, I'm looking forward to it.

Jake Hill - #24 MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square:
“Whilst it's gutting to miss out on pole by just four-hundredths of a second, we can be really happy with our performance to get two front-row starts in two weekends. We knew entering the weekend that we had the potential to be up there and the car felt very good from the first laps this morning. We gave it everything we had in Qualifying and it looked good for a few moments but Aiden just pipped us. We're set up nicely for a good day tomorrow and I can't wait to get started!"

Mark Blundell - Sporting Director, MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square:
“Well done to the team and everyone at Motorbase for another excellent qualifying performance. The Ford Focus STs are nicely balanced around here and Jake and Ollie proved that today with two very good results. They're in prime position to capitalise tomorrow and I'm sure they'll give it their all.”