‘Lots of positivity’ for Jelley in tough opener
LEICESTER DRIVER SCORES POINTS AS TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP BEGINS
STEPHEN Jelley opened the 2021 British Touring Car Championship with a pair of point-scoring finishes on a tricky weekend at Thruxton as he made his racing return with Team BMW and West Surrey Racing in his BMW 330i M Sport.
With the circuit drying after a wet morning, the quickest times in qualifying on Saturday afternoon were set in the closing moments of the session as drivers switched to slick tyres.
Unfortunately, Jelley suffered a gear linkage problem which necessitated a trip to the pit lane, costing him a chance of a slick-shod lap time and leaving him in 18th position for race one.
Making his almost customary lightning getaway, the Leicester driver made up a remarkable ten places on the opening lap and was running well before the technical issue from qualifying meant he was forced to retire.
That then left him starting from 27th on the grid for race two, but he drove superbly, making up 16 places to finish 11th, not only scoring points but then being rewarded with pole position for race three after the reverse grid draw.
With rain falling just ahead of the final contest, tyres became a gamble, with the team opting to stay on wets with the forecast calling for more wet weather. That looked to be the right move as Jelley got off the line well, before slipping back to third when Ash Sutton muscled past and
team-mate Colin Turkington also nipped through.
However, the rain held off in the middle stages, allowing those on slicks to seize the advantage and causing those on wets to lose the tread of their tyres, before the rain returned to make it a difficult finish for everyone. With his rear left tyre well past its best, Jelley held on as best he could to take 10th place, bagging a second points finish for himself, Team BMW in the Teams’ Championship, and BMW in the Manufacturers’ standings.
Jelley said: “We were unlucky with a few little niggles which meant we lost the back half of qualifying, then race one, but there are a lot of positives to take from the weekend too.
“We’ve had the toughest conditions you could have and have been fighting for a podium, so there’s lots of positivity for the rest of the season, and I have no doubt in my mind that we are going to win races this year.”
Jelley and Team BMW will return to action in the BTCC on the weekend of June 11-12 when the series travels to Snetterton in Norfolk.