Collard ends 2004 on a high.

The final weekend of the 2004 British Touring Car Championship saw Rob Collard take two top ten finishes, leading him to declare Donington Park 'one of our strongest meetings of the year'.

After limping across the line in the first of the day's three races, Collard took eighth and then seventh in the two subsequent rounds, closing off his 2004 season in style - though those results only came after a rival team lent Collard Racing the parts they needed to repair their car and start those final two races.

The fickle Donington weather saw Saturday's qualifying session take place on a wet track, which began drying as time went on. Starting off on wet weather tyres, Collard, at one point third quickest, set a time good enough for sixth, before electing to fit slick tyres to his Astra to try to find some extra speed. Though the track was drying, it was not quite dry enough for him to improve, but he remained sixth.

"Sixth is fine, we're up amongst all the works cars," he said. "We made a brave call to go out on slicks with about half the session to go. We were sixth anyway and had nothing to lose; if the slicks were terrible we could just put more wets on. It turned out to be very hairy, the car felt it was on ice at times, but our times were falling and in another four or five laps we would have been quicker than on wets."

The track was dry for Sunday's opening race, but Collard didn't make a great start, the Astra stuttering off the line. Losing places on the first lap, he recovered to be closing on tenth place - which gives pole position for the second race - in the final laps, when a move on Shaun Watson-Smith saw them clash, Rob bringing his damaged car over the line 13th.

"The car bogged down off the line," said a disappointed Rob, "it just wouldn't get away at the start - it felt like a diesel for a moment.

"It then settled down and we started putting in good times and catching the pack ahead, and we were closing on tenth. On the last lap I was 12th and right with them, but unfortunately I went in a little too quick and clipped the back of a Proton, it wasn't intentional but just a situation where we had to go for it. We have some suspension damage to my car - but the guys will have me out there for the next race."

The crack Collard Racing team worked flat out between races - even borrowing suspension parts from rivals GA Motorsport - but they didn't quite get Rob out in time, forcing him to start the Astra from the very back of the grid rather than his proper position. In a storming drive, Collard tore through the order to claim eighth place after 16-laps of action - the smile on his face afterwards in broad contrast to his emotions after the first race.

"The guys did a great job just getting the car out there," he said immediately after the race. "We really had to guess a set up after borrowing components from GA Motorsport, which was friendly of them. The opening race lap was my first opportunity to see how the car handled, and it wasn't as quick as it was in the first race, but it wasn't too bad.

"It was a good race, the car was reliable, and now we have the time to work on it and change the set-up. Full credit to the team for their work on the car and to GA Motorsport for lending me the components that let me race."

The final race of the 2004 season was another strong one for Collard, as he took seventh after a hard-fought 16-laps.

"I made a very good start this time," he said, "and got amongst the works cars, but got boxed out a little down at the Old Hairpin. I went up and down the order a bit, but I was really glad to bring the car home undamaged and have a good strong finish for the team, seventh and third in the Independents.

"This has been one of our strongest meetings of the year. The first race didn't go really the way we wanted, but we fought back in the second two and showed how quick we can be."