Steven Kane capped an outstanding weekend for Motorbase Performance BMW by taking second place in the final race of the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship at Snetterton today (Sunday).

The young Northern Irishman drove a faultless race after starting from third on the grid and went on to claim both his and his team’s first-ever BTCC podium place.

Kane’s lightening start saw him sprint past Scot Gordon Shedden at the first corner and immediately put him in the thick of the battle for a top three spot as he tried to keep pace with leader Matt Jackson. However, despite initial pressure from Shedden, and then from reigning champion Fabrizio Giovanardi later in the race, the young Motorbase Performance star kept his cool and was largely untroubled as he brought the car home.

While Kane was battling at the sharp end his team-mate Rob Collard endured a testing time in the middle of the pack. Having started from fifth he got caught up in a tough battle with the Team RAC BMWs and slipped down the race order. However, Collard recovered well and managed to secure tenth place for his team and another valuable point.

The result in the final race rounded off a dream weekend for Motorbase Performance boss David Bartum – with his both his cars scoring points in each of the three races. The ambitious team principal had targeted a podium finish as a minimum requirement for the second half of the season – and was delighted it came so soon.

With both team cars finishing inside the top ten in all three races at Snetterton it proved to be a healthy points haul for Motorbase Performance BMW. Steven Kane has now leapt into fourth place in the Independent Drivers standings, with Rob Collard following closely behind in sixth. In the Independent Teams championship table Motorbase Performance is now fourth out of 11.

Motorbase Performance now head to the next event at Oulton Park on July 27 determined to enjoy more success and narrow the gap on those ahead of them in the Independent Teams title race.

Motorbase Performance Team Principal David Bartrum said:

“I’m absolutely over the moon with this result. I said I wanted one of Mr Gow’s lovely trophies and now I have one! A lot of really hard work has gone into this from everyone in the team and we wanted it badly. It was a great drive by Steven and he thoroughly deserved it. We’ve all been working towards this right from the start of the season and in all three races we showed we can be right up there challenging. I feel for Rob [Collard] because I’m sure he would have wanted to be the one scoring our first podium, but given his performances this weekend I’m sure he will be up there soon. I think we’ve proved ourselves now, but we also want to push on and take more podiums in the remaining races. Hopefully this will make people sit up and take notice, and we can secure a strong sponsor who will help us progress even more.”

Motorbase Performance Team Driver Steven Kane said:

“This has been a long time coming but it feels great. The car was really good all the way through the race and it’s been really quick all weekend. All of the team’s hard work has paid off and it’s brilliant for everyone to get a result like this. The car had the pace to win the race, but there was no point in trying to fight Matt and risk losing second. Now we can go into the next round full of confidence and try to build on this.”

Motorbase Performance Team Driver Rob Collard said:

“That was a very, very hard race. It was a really quick pace out there, as it was all weekend, and I was pleased to get three solid finishes – but I was a bit disappointed with the final race as I got knocked around a lot and it was hard to climb back up the field after that. My wing mirror got taken off and that made it very difficult to defend. Still, to get points on the board in all three races was a very good result. I’m delighted for Steven and for the rest of the team to get a podium, it just shows how much progress we have made.”