NORTH Hampshire British Touring Car drivers Rob Collard and Nick Foster will be hoping to continue their excellent start to the season when the championship moves to Oulton Park for the fourth meeting of the season.

Hook’s Collard enjoyed a podium in his last outing at Thruxton and has eight top-10 finishes in his nine races so far this year.

Odiham’s Foster has also picked up top-10 places in two races, but things did not go well last time around at Thruxton.

He suffered a massive 140mph crash at Church as he was pushed off the circuit by Rob Austen.

Oulton Park has been a happy hunting ground of the e-bay Motors BMW team in the past.

Last season, it was where the BMW started to get back into the mix, with both Collard and Foster enjoying one of their best meetings of the 2013 campaign.

Collard said: “I think Oulton Park is going to be a strong circuit for us and we want to carry on our great start to the season.

“I think the long section going down to Shell corner is sure to cause some carnage, and this has to be treated with respect.”

If Collard can avoid being knocked off the track by his championship rivals, he could well repeat the podium place he achieved at Thruxton last time out.

Odiham’s Nick Foster is also looking forward to the trip north and said: “I enjoy the circuit and have had some good results there.

“I will be looking to try and qualify in the top 10. If I can do that, then I will have a chance to finish on the podium.”

Collard’s son Ricky is set for a challenging weekend as he makes his debut at the long Oulton Park circuit, though he has driven on the shorter track before.

The Falcon Motorsport driver will be looking to keep himself in the hunt for scholarship glory, as he is second in the class at the moment.

Collard lacked some pace at Thruxton last time out, but has a new engine for the trip to the Cheshire track.

In the Ginetta Junior Championship, Jack Rawles, who is backed by Basingstoke Skip Hire, will also be looking for a better outing than at his home track, where he was spun round in his final race.

All of the races from the meeting will be shown live on ITV4.

Rob Collard’s youngest son Jordan is already following in the footsteps of his older brother in the karting world after he won the Southern Counties Championship in Forest Edge.

Ricky Collard was a Cadet class winner in 2007, while Jordan won the Mini Max last weekend, having started the final day in second place.

The previous weekend, Collard was in action in the latest round of the British Championship where he finished eighth in the final, having moved up from the middle of the grid. This leaves him ninth in the overall standings.