The eBay Motors team secured a return to the podium with Colin Turkington enjoying a second and third place finish as the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship season resumed at Oulton Park after a five-week spring break.Alongside the strong outing on-track, eBay Motors also enjoyed a successful weekend away from the circuit following the debut of the eBay Motors Hub Livea new interactive zone allowing race fans to get closer to both the team and the sport with a special four-person simulator, Q&A sessions with the drivers, trophy photo opportunity, download terminal for the eBay Motors app and the chance to collect a free eBay Motors Team cap.Paul O'Neil, local lad and winner of Oulton Park in 2002, hosted the drivers in Hub Live and entertained the crowds, with the drivers answering his questions and being on the receiving end of his fun jokes.Having worked to make improvements to its NGTC-spec BMW 125i M-Sports in a series of tests during the break, the team was able to add to its collection of silverware, with 2009 title winner Colin Turkington bringing home a brace of top three finishes.Colin led the eBay Motors challenge in qualifying to put his car seventh on the grid, with team-mates Rob Collard and Nick Foster with more work to do on race day from 16th and 22nd respectively.See Colin talk through a lap of Oulton Park with eBay Motors My Lap: http://bit.ly/18iMsGDA solid run in the opening race saw Colin take the flag in fifth place, with Rob also lapping strongly to cross the line in tenth, despite a scare when Tom Onslow-Coles VW got out of shape ahead of him at Druids mid-race. Nick however was the undoubted star as, having elected to run the Soft compound Dunlop tyre in the opening race, he stormed through the field to take twelfthmaking up no fewer than ten places in the process.Race two saw Colin make a strong start to run in the top three before an opportunistic move from Hondas Gordon Shedden demoted him to fourth just before a Safety Car period that bunched up the field. Pushing hard on the restart, Colin was able to get ahead of Sam Tordoffs MG to take his second podium finish of the campaign.Although the reverse grid draw for race three left him eighth on the grid, Colin was able to secure further podium glory in race three with a strong drive through to second place while there were more points for both Nick and Rob as they took the chequered flag in eighth and eleventh following a hectic race in the midfield.Following the weekend, Colin sits sixth in the championship standings with Rob and Nick in 16th and 17th, while eBay Motors hold fourth in the HiQ Teams Championship having picked up its biggest points score to date from the trip to Cheshire.
The eBay Motors Hub Live will be back in the paddock at a number of events later in the year.Colin Turkington, eBay Motors Team driver, (5th/3rd/2nd) said:Its been a really positive weekend and the car was a massive improvement compared to Thruxton. I didnt expect to get two podium finishes after qualifying, as I thought wed be around the top six, so its a good way to finish. This is a circuit where the rear-wheel drive cars do go well and the higher temperatures helped us as well. We still have time to find in qualifying as we showed with the gap to the pole sitter, so even though we are moving in the right direction, there is still a lot of work for us to do.Rob Collard, eBay Motors Team driver, (10th/NC/11th) said:Its been a really frustrating weekend for me. We can see the potential that there is in the car and weve made improvements again, but I just wasnt able to get the best out of it in terms of results. This is a difficult circuit when you are in traffic to try and make up places and it didnt go my way. This is a weekend Im just going to put behind me and focus on Croft, which is a circuit where the rear-wheel drive cars have gone well in the past.Nick Foster, eBay Motors Team driver, (12th/15th/8th) said:I had a great run in race one to make up ten places and the car felt strong. If Im being honest, I didnt expect to make up so many places on a circuit where overtaking is tough. Race two I got mugged off the line and after the incident with Rob and some contact from behind, I managed to score despite the damage to the car. It was good again in race three and it was an action-packed way to end the weekend. Ive scored some good results but we know we are still lacking the pace over a single lap and even though the team is doing a great job, there is more to find.
