Year: Second
Team: HHC Motorsport
TERM ONE
Grade: C-
Comment: Despite a tough start to the season, Collard gradually improved over the course of the first half of the year. He couldn’t match the results of team-mate Tom Wood but finished inside the top 10 on a number of occasions and was running 10th in the championship order by the summer break.
TERM TWO
Grade: C
Comment: Collard continued to take top 10 finishes in the second half of the season, but struggled to make it into the top five. He did claim a handful of top finishes, including a fourth place at Knockhill, and finished eighth in the title fight.
Overall Grade: C
Best moment of the season: Collard’s best finish of the season came at Knockhill after a storming drive up from ninth on the grid. He spent the first half of the race battling at the back end of the top 10, but was able to pick up positions at a rapid pace after a late safety car. Whilst most of the attention was on the three-way battle for the lead, Collard was in a battle of his own with Sebastian Priaulx and Tom Wood. A daring move around the outside of the hairpin on the final lap of the race put King alongside Wood as they turned onto the start finish straight. In a dash to the line, Collard beat Wood by just five thousandths of a second.
Worst moment of the season: Collard was left frustrated after a shortened final race at Snetterton. He started just behind Harry Dyson on the grid after taking ninth in the earlier race. On the run to the first corner, the pair made slight contact, which tipped Dyson into a spin. Collard had nowhere to go and collided with the JHR Developments car. It damaged the front of Collard’s Ginetta and he was forced to retire from the race
Feature credit: Caroline Rhea
