Motorbase say victory is realistic

Rob Collard finished second in the final race at Knockhill last weekend in his BMW 320si, equalling the team's best ever result - scored by Steven Kane at Snetterton a month earlier.

When asked by autosport.com whether wins are likely in the near future, team principal Dave Bartrum said: "Yes, absolutely they're our aim.

"The year started badly because we were on a limited budget, but Croft was the turning point and if we'd been a bit less conservative then we could have had a podium there, but since then we've had Steven's podium at Snetterton and now Rob (at Knockhill).

"It's very important for us to finish the season on a high and put ourselves in the shop window for next season."

Bartrum added that the main problem for the team this season has been qualifying. Kane has managed only two top-ten spots on the grid, while Collard has never qualified better than 13th.

"We've switched from running SEATs to BMWs this year, so we've got no baseline data for the cars, so we have to gather that in free practice. If we can just get it done to the extent that we can have a good qualifying, then that would do us a power of good," he said.

Rookie tin-top driver Kane and former race-winner Collard lie fourth and fifth in the Independents' championship and 12th and 11th in the overall standings.