Robert Collard (born 1 October 1968) is a British auto racing driver from Hampshire, best known for racing in the British Touring Car Championship, winning two races in a West Surrey Racing MG, and claiming the Independent's Cup title in 2003. In 2008, he returned to running the series full-time, driving for the Motorbase Performance team, where he remained for 2009, before returning to West Surrey Racing. Collard also owns his own demolition firm, R Collard Ltd.
Rob Collard | |
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Nationality | British |
Born | Frimley, England, UK | 1 October 1968
British Touring Car Championship career | |
Debut season | 2000 |
Current team | Sterling Insurance with Power Maxed Racing |
Car number | 9 |
Former teams |
|
Starts | 487 |
Wins | 15 |
Poles | 0 |
Fastest laps | 18 |
Best finish | 5th in 2012, 2016, 2017 |
Previous series | |
200720021999 | Porsche Carrera Cup GB ETCC British Formula Ford |
Career
For many years, he raced hot rods, only switching to circuit racing in his late 20s. He raced Formula Ford for 3 years. However, as most drives in Formula 3 and higher went to younger drivers, he turned his attention to saloon based racing, coming 3rd in the Vauxhall SRi V6 championship.
In 2000, the British Touring Car Championship launched Class B, featuring lower-powered but cheaper cars, to fill its relatively thin grid. Rob took up this opportunity, and finished 4th overall in his class. He only raced a partial season in the renamed Production Class in 2001, concentrating on preparing a Renault Clio for a full assault on the Production Class in 2002 with his own Collard Racing team.
The season was a disaster, however. Engine reliability and lasting performance was low, and a victory and a 2nd in the opening meeting proved to be a false dawn, as the small team struggled to get working machinery to the races,[1] and he was outside the championship top 10.[2] He also contested 6 ETCC races in a Nissan Primera for RJN Motorsport that year.
Undeterred, Rob redoubled his efforts for 2003, moving up to the main Touring Class with a Vauxhall Astra.[3] He beat several better-funded teams and drivers to win the Independent's Cup, and finished 10th overall ahead of several 'works' drivers.[4] For 2004, there were less works teams, with MG pulling out and Honda scaling down to only one car. As a result, more competitive cars had independent status. Collard Racing had no realistic hope of matching Anthony Reid's independent MG or Matt Neal's Honda, and finished 6th in the Indy cup and 12th overall.
In 2005, Rob replaced Reid in West Surrey Racing's MG, concentrating purely on racing rather than team ownership. This was his most competitive season to date, with 2 outright wins and 7th place overall. For 2006, he was joined in the team by Colin Turkington under WSR's new guise "Team RAC". This time, he finished 9th overall with a single podium.
Collard's heavy-handed tactics often come under criticism from fellow drivers and teams, as well as numerous fans of the series. It is believed that Rob's racing licence amassed 9 points in the 2006 season, just three short of a ban from racing. Fellow drivers have often spoken out about his lack of driving standards, one going as far as to describe him as a "rock-ape" at a 2006 meeting.
In 2007, Collard had no BTCC drive, instead contesting the early rounds of the Porsche Carrera Cup UK, achieving little success in these big difficult-to-control rear-wheel-drive cars. He contested the final round of the BTCC for GR Asia, and returned full-time in 2008 in a Motorbase BMW. At Croft, he scored their best-ever result in 4th, after he and team-mate Steven Kane ran 3rd and 4th for a while. The team had worked on damper settings before the meeting. For 2009, Collard and Jonathan Adam race Motorbase's BMWs. He won two races early on in 2009 at the opening round at Brands Hatch and at Donington Park. He came close to adding a third at Snetterton, before contact with James Nash saw him spin across the track into the path of Stephen Jelley, resulting in a huge collision. Collard complained of abdominal pain and was taken to hospital, while Nash was excluded from the results. He then suffered another big incident at the next round at Knockhill when he and Matt Neal collided after Matt Neal lost control of car. Blighted by incidents and 'DNFs' through the second half of the season, Rob Collard was unable to match the form of the first half of the season but still ended up 6th in the BTCC drivers championship, his best performance in the BTCC so far.
For 2010, Collard returned to West Surrey Racing, replacing reigning champion Colin Turkington who had failed to raise the necessary budget. He finished the year in 9th.
Collard remained with WSR for 2011 but failed to register a race win. He finished the year 8th in the Drivers Championship. In 2012, he won 3 races with the team thus finishing 5th overall his best final championship position. In 2013, the team re-signed 2009 champion Colin Turkington. WSR also introduced the new BMW 3 series. Collard achieved a solitary podium and finished up in 13th place overall.
In 2014, Collard again remained with WSR, winning 1 race and finishing 6th in the drivers championship. He remained with the team for 2015, where he won the first race of the season and finished in 10th place in the championship
For 2020, Collard made his British GT Championship debut for Barwell Motorsport, driving a Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo. On 8th November at the season finale the Silverstone 500, Collard and team mate Sandy Mitchell took victory in the race and were confirmed as British GT Champions
Personal
Rob's family starred in an episode of Channel 4's Wife Swap, shown during October 2006. He has told ITV's BTCC coverage that his hero was the late Colin McRae, and his ambition is to win the World Touring Car Championship. He is the father of racing driver Ricky Collard.[5]
Collard endorsed the Conservative Party in the 2019 United Kingdom general election.[6][7]
Racing record
Complete British Touring Car Championship results
(key) Races in bold indicate pole position (1 point awarded – 2000–2002 all races, 2003–present just in first race, 2000–2003 in class). Races in italics indicate fastest lap (1 point awarded – 2001–present all races, 2000–2003 in class) * signifies that driver led race for at least one lap (1 point given – 2003–present all races).
Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | Pen. | DC | Pts | Class |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2000 | Bintcliffe Sport | Nissan Primera | B | BRH1 | BRH2 | DON1 Ret | DON2 Ret | THR1 DNS | THR2 DNS | KNO1 | KNO2 | OUL1 12 | OUL2 11 | SIL1 13 | SIL2 Ret | CRO1 11 | CRO2 8 | SNE1 Ret | SNE2 9 | DON1 14 | DON2 Ret | BRH1 Ret | BRH2 12 | OUL1 Ret | OUL2 DNS | SIL1 Ret | SIL2 Ret | 81 | 4th | ||||||||
2001 | Collard Racing | Renault Clio 172 | P | BRH1 6 | BRH2 DNS | THR1 Ret | THR2 NC | OUL1 Ret | OUL2 DNS | SIL1 12 | SIL2 Ret | MON1 Ret | MON2 DNS | DON1 11 | DON2 Ret | KNO1 10 | KNO2 8 | SNE1 5 | SNE2 Ret | CRO1 DNS | CRO2 DNS | OUL1 DNS | OUL2 DNS | SIL1 11 | SIL2 Ret | DON1 DNS | DON2 DNS | BRH1 15 | BRH2 Ret | -5 | 46 | 13th | |||||
2002 | Collard Racing | Renault Clio 172 | P | BRH1 7 | BRH2 9 | OUL1 DNS | OUL2 DNS | THR1 DNS | THR2 DNS | SIL1 14 | SIL2 Ret | MON1 | MON2 | CRO1 DNS | CRO2 DNS | SNE1 | SNE2 | KNO1 | KNO2 | BRH1 | BRH2 | DON1 | DON2 | -5 | 34 | 12th | |||||||||||
2003 | Collard Racing | Vauxhall Astra Coupé | T | MON1 6 | MON2 7 | BRH1 13 | BRH2 Ret | THR1 Ret | THR2 DNS | SIL1 Ret | SIL2 9 | ROC1 7 | ROC2 5 | CRO1 Ret | CRO2 8 | SNE1 8 | SNE2 6 | BRH1 Ret | BRH2 Ret | DON1 9* | DON2 16 | OUL1 8 | OUL2 7 | 10th | 42 | ||||||||||||
2004 | Collard Racing | Vauxhall Astra Coupé | THR1 11 | THR2 5 | THR3 8 | BRH1 10 | BRH2 15 | BRH3 15 | SIL1 Ret | SIL2 13 | SIL3 DNS | OUL1 5 | OUL2 Ret | OUL3 4 | MON1 13 | MON2 11 | MON3 Ret | CRO1 15 | CRO2 Ret | CRO3 9 | KNO1 8 | KNO2 11 | KNO3 Ret | BRH1 15 | BRH2 Ret | BRH3 9 | SNE1 7 | SNE2 9 | SNE3 11 | DON1 13 | DON2 8 | DON3 7 | 12th | 44 | |||
2005 | West Surrey Racing | MG ZS | DON1 4 | DON2 2 | DON3 4 | THR1 5 | THR2 11 | THR3 Ret | BRH1 6 | BRH2 6 | BRH3 Ret | OUL1 8 | OUL2 4 | OUL3 4* | CRO1 7 | CRO2 4 | CRO3 5 | MON1 5 | MON2 4 | MON3 3 | SNE1 5 | SNE2 5 | SNE3 12 | KNO1 9 | KNO2 9 | KNO3 1* | SIL1 10 | SIL2 10 | SIL3 2* | BRH1 Ret | BRH2 9 | BRH3 1* | 7th | 173 | |||
2006 | Team RAC | MG ZS | BRH1 7 | BRH2 6 | BRH3 DSQ | MON1 Ret | MON2 10 | MON3 Ret | OUL1 6 | OUL2 5 | OUL3 4 | THR1 5 | THR2 3 | THR3 6 | CRO1 5 | CRO2 Ret | CRO3 10 | DON1 9 | DON2 13 | DON3 Ret | SNE1 11 | SNE2 5 | SNE3 Ret | KNO1 Ret | KNO2 Ret | KNO3 7 | BRH1 5 | BRH2 7 | BRH3 6 | SIL1 10 | SIL2 5 | SIL3 7 | 9th | 97 | |||
2007 | GR Asia | SEAT León | BRH1 | BRH2 | BRH3 | ROC1 | ROC2 | ROC3 | THR1 | THR2 | THR3 | CRO1 | CRO2 | CRO3 | OUL1 | OUL2 | OUL3 | DON1 | DON2 | DON3 | SNE1 | SNE2 | SNE3 | BRH1 | BRH2 | BRH3 | KNO1 | KNO2 | KNO3 | THR1 11 | THR2 Ret | THR3 10 | 27th | 1 | |||
2008 | Motorbase Performance | BMW 320si | BRH1 12 | BRH2 Ret | BRH3 11 | ROC1 13 | ROC2 12 | ROC3 8 | DON1 Ret | DON2 DNS | DON3 Ret | THR1 14 | THR2 14 | THR3 11 | CRO1 5 | CRO2 4 | CRO3 Ret* | SNE1 9 | SNE2 4 | SNE3 9 | OUL1 10 | OUL2 Ret | OUL3 8 | KNO1 7 | KNO2 6 | KNO3 2 | SIL1 16 | SIL2 9 | SIL3 7 | BRH1 3 | BRH2 4 | BRH3 6 | 12th | 84 | |||
2009 | Airwaves BMW | BMW 320si | BRH1 4* | BRH2 1* | BRH3 8 | THR1 17 | THR2 5 | THR3 5 | DON1 4 | DON2 9 | DON3 1* | OUL1 9 | OUL2 DNS | OUL3 4 | CRO1 4 | CRO2 4 | CRO3 7 | SNE1 Ret | SNE2 7 | SNE3 Ret* | KNO1 Ret | KNO2 12 | KNO3 Ret | SIL1 6* | SIL2 9 | SIL3 2* | ROC1 4 | ROC2 Ret | ROC3 Ret | BRH1 6 | BRH2 4 | BRH3 Ret | 6th | 145 | |||
2010 | WSR | BMW 320si | THR1 Ret | THR2 9 | THR3 Ret* | ROC1 10 | ROC2 2 | ROC3 6 | BRH1 4 | BRH2 12 | BRH3 4 | OUL1 3 | OUL2 15 | OUL3 8 | CRO1 2 | CRO2 8 | CRO3 17 | SNE1 10 | SNE2 7 | SNE3 2 | SIL1 6 | SIL2 2 | SIL3 12 | KNO1 Ret | KNO2 Ret | KNO3 6 | DON1 16 | DON2 7 | DON3 2 | BRH1 5 | BRH2 3 | BRH3 6 | 8th | 144 | |||
2011 | WSR | BMW 320si | BRH1 17 | BRH2 9 | BRH3 7 | DON1 6 | DON2 5 | DON3 Ret | THR1 12 | THR2 14 | THR3 13 | OUL1 5 | OUL2 3 | OUL3 14 | CRO1 3 | CRO2 2 | CRO3 3 | SNE1 23 | SNE2 10 | SNE3 12 | KNO1 5 | KNO2 5 | KNO3 2 | ROC1 Ret | ROC2 10 | ROC3 3 | BRH1 8 | BRH2 22 | BRH3 Ret | SIL1 8 | SIL2 23 | SIL3 23 | 8th | 108 | |||
2012 | eBay Motors | BMW 320si | BRH1 1* | BRH2 6* | BRH3 6* | DON1 10* | DON2 8 | DON3 4 | THR1 4 | THR2 7 | THR3 7 | OUL1 3* | OUL2 14* | OUL3 6 | CRO1 2 | CRO2 5 | CRO3 5 | SNE1 Ret | SNE2 NC | SNE3 9 | KNO1 1* | KNO2 1* | KNO3 9 | ROC1 5 | ROC2 11 | ROC3 13 | SIL1 4 | SIL2 2* | SIL3 3 | BRH1 6 | BRH2 Ret | BRH3 19 | 5th | 303 | |||
2013 | eBay Motors | BMW 125i M Sport | BRH1 Ret | BRH2 Ret | BRH3 Ret | DON1 15 | DON2 12 | DON3 12 | THR1 13 | THR2 13 | THR3 15 | OUL1 10 | OUL2 NC | OUL3 11 | CRO1 9 | CRO2 6 | CRO3 14 | SNE1 10 | SNE2 Ret | SNE3 9 | KNO1 6 | KNO2 4 | KNO3 3 | ROC1 7 | ROC2 Ret | ROC3 Ret | SIL1 5 | SIL2 Ret | SIL3 12 | BRH1 7 | BRH2 14 | BRH3 8 | 13th | 140 | |||
2014 | eBay Motors | BMW 125i M Sport | BRH1 6 | BRH2 6 | BRH3 4* | DON1 4 | DON2 Ret | DON3 7 | THR1 5 | THR2 3 | THR3 10 | OUL1 2 | OUL2 3 | OUL3 11 | CRO1 4 | CRO2 3 | CRO3 2 | SNE1 9 | SNE2 18 | SNE3 6 | KNO1 12 | KNO2 5 | KNO3 1* | ROC1 11 | ROC2 9 | ROC3 6 | SIL1 7 | SIL2 Ret | SIL3 DNS | BRH1 6 | BRH2 3* | BRH3 Ret | -3 | 6th | 275 | ||
2015 | Team JCT600 with GardX | BMW 125i M Sport | BRH1 1* | BRH2 16 | BRH3 Ret | DON1 8 | DON2 6 | DON3 4* | THR1 13 | THR2 2* | THR3 14 | OUL1 13 | OUL2 Ret | OUL3 14 | CRO1 3 | CRO2 6 | CRO3 1* | SNE1 Ret | SNE2 NC | SNE3 10 | KNO1 1* | KNO2 2 | KNO3 Ret | ROC1 18 | ROC2 28 | ROC3 DNS | SIL1 7 | SIL2 9 | SIL3 2* | BRH1 10 | BRH2 10 | BRH3 7 | 10th | 226 | |||
2016 | Team JCT600 with GardX | BMW 125i M Sport | BRH1 6 | BRH2 16 | BRH3 6 | DON1 6 | DON2 1* | DON3 4 | THR1 6 | THR2 2 | THR3 6 | OUL1 23 | OUL2 25 | OUL3 6 | CRO1 7 | CRO2 1* | CRO3 4 | SNE1 16 | SNE2 4 | SNE3 2* | KNO1 17 | KNO2 5 | KNO3 Ret | ROC1 14 | ROC2 3 | ROC3 6 | SIL1 7 | SIL2 7 | SIL3 3* | BRH1 12 | BRH2 10 | BRH3 9 | 5th | 278 | |||
2017 | Team BMW | BMW 125i M Sport | BRH1 7 | BRH2 2 | BRH3 6 | DON1 6 | DON2 2 | DON3 12 | THR1 10 | THR2 1* | THR3 7 | OUL1 5 | OUL2 2 | OUL3 6 | CRO1 4 | CRO2 3 | CRO3 8 | SNE1 9 | SNE2 3 | SNE3 2 | KNO1 4 | KNO2 4 | KNO3 11 | ROC1 17 | ROC2 8 | ROC3 Ret | SIL1 Ret | SIL2 DNS | SIL3 DNS | BRH1 WD | BRH2 WD | BRH3 WD | 5th | 256 | |||
2018 | Team BMW | BMW 125i M Sport | BRH1 15 | BRH2 26 | BRH3 Ret | DON1 11 | DON2 13 | DON3 4 | THR1 11 | THR2 16 | THR3 10 | OUL1 9 | OUL2 6 | OUL3 1* | CRO1 6 | CRO2 28 | CRO3 11 | SNE1 Ret | SNE2 Ret | SNE3 DNS | ROC1 | ROC2 | ROC3 | KNO1 | KNO2 | KNO3 | SIL1 | SIL2 | SIL3 | BRH1 | BRH2 | BRH3 | 19th | 86 | |||
2019 | Sterling Insurance with Power Maxed Racing | Vauxhall Astra | BRH1 21 | BRH2 22 | BRH3 Ret | DON1 10 | DON2 7 | DON3 2 | THR1 8 | THR2 9 | THR3 14 | CRO1 Ret | CRO2 19 | CRO3 26 | OUL1 15 | OUL2 22 | OUL3 23 | SNE1 7 | SNE2 14 | SNE3 4 | THR1 6 | THR2 6 | THR3 2* | KNO1 NC | KNO2 17 | KNO3 16 | SIL1 12 | SIL2 NC | SIL3 21 | BRH1 15 | BRH2 17 | BRH3 18 | 16th | 118 |
Complete European Touring Car Championship results
(key)
Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | Pos | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2002 | RJN Motorsport | Nissan Primera | MAG1 | MAG2 | SIL1 | SIL2 | BRN1 | BRN2 | JAR1 | JAR2 | AND1 | AND2 | OSC1 | OSC2 | SPA1 | SPA2 | PER1 Ret | PER2 DNS | DON1 14 | DON2 12 | EST1 10 | EST2 12 | 27th | 0 |
Complete British GT Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position in class) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap in class)
Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | DC | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2020 | Barwell Motorsport | Lamborghini Huracán GT3 | GT3 | OUL1 4 | OUL2 2 | DON1 5 | DON2 6 | BRH1 1 | DON1 6 | SNE1 2 | SNE2 5 | SIL1 1 | 1st | 168 |
References
- ^ "Collard Racing retires from 2002 BTCC"
- ^ BTCC-Racing.com | Results | 2002 Production Class Championship
- ^ "Collard acquires Astra for 2003 BTCC"
- ^ Touring-Cars.Net » Results » 2003 » 2003 Drivers Championship Archived 24 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Ricky Collard". BRDC British Formula 3 Championship. Retrieved 16 June 2016. He also has a son - Jordan Collard - a fionce- Vicky - and an unborn son.
- ^ Rob Collard [@CollardRob] (12 December 2019). "Just been and registered my vote, i would of loved to of done it earlier but had to do a proper days work unlike most labour voters #GeneralElection2019 #ConservativeParty" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Rob Collard [@CollardRob] (12 December 2019). "Just for the record, i have the upmost respect for everyone working in the NHS, schools, Police and other government employment who put in countless hours either on low pay or no pay. However the conservatives are the best option in Government" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
External links
- Official Website
- Profile at BTCCPages.com
- BTCC-Racing profile
Sporting positions | ||
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Preceded by Jonathan Adam Graham Davidson | British GT Championship Champion 2020 With: Sandy Mitchell | Succeeded by Incumbent |
Preceded by Bradley Ellis Oliver Wilkinson | British GT Championship Silver Champion 2020 With: Sandy Mitchell | Succeeded by Incumbent |