Jubilant Jelley looks to keep up winning form

AFTER claiming a dominant victory last time out, British Touring Car Championship driver Stephen Jelley hopes to continue his upswing in form as the series travels to Croft, in Yorkshire, this weekend.

Jelley, right, from Leicester, won the third and final race at the Oulton Park meeting earlier this month putting behind him struggles earlier in the season.

The Team BMW driver battled the loss of his hybrid power but pressed on resolutely, with his determination paying off as he started from pole and did not look back to claim his fourth series victory.

Jelley has had mixed success at the 2.13-mile Croft circuit but the team enjoyed good speed and performance there in pre-season testing.

Jelley, 40, has stood on the podium there three times previously, as well as adding a further four top 10 finishes in 21 BTCC appearances at the track.

He and his West Surrey Racing team-mates face a busy few days behind the wheel as they head to the Goodwood Festival of Speed, taking cars up the famous hill climb today before travelling north for the race weekend.

They will have two 40-minute free practice sessions at 9.30am and 12.05pm on Saturday, with qualifying at 3.20pm.

After a 10.30am pit walk and autograph session the following day, the 15-lap races are set to get under way at 12.05pm, 2.35pm and 5.05pm, with live coverage of all three contests returning to ITV4. Jelley, who is currently 12th in the championship standings with 53 points, said: “We were quick in pre-season testing at Croft, which bodes well for the races this weekend.

“The last few circuits we’ve raced at, we hadn’t visited pre-season, so it’s nice to go somewhere where we’ve done a bit of work on the car.

“It’s always been a fast track for BMW, so fingers crossed we should be on for another good weekend.

“The championship is still immensely tough but it’s great to have that momentum on our side going to circuits that we know we should be strong at.”