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Thread: BTCC 2010 - Snetterton

  1. #1
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    BTCC 2010 - Snetterton

    QUALIFYING

    Alex MacDowall has become the youngest driver in history to qualify on pole position for a round of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.

    The Carlisle youngster, aged just 19 years and 197 days, mastered wet conditions to qualify on pole at Snetterton, Norfolk in a time of 1m19.332s – just pipping experienced team-mate Jason Plato who was second fastest. Notably, Plato was just 0.094s behind in a car handicapped by an additional 36kgs of success ballast due to his current second position in the championship standings.

    Their performance also meant a front-row lock-out for the Silverline Chevrolet team whose car, the Cruze, had never qualified higher than third until today.

    “Being the youngest makes it extra special, to be part of BTCC history, but I’m already thinking about tomorrow,” said MacDowall as he stepped from his car. “I don’t mind what the weather throws at me tomorrow. I just want to make sure I stay in front at the first bend and then get on with it.”

    Plato’s second place surely gives him an opportunity to get on terms with championship leader, Honda Racing Team’s Matt Neal who was back in seventh – his Honda Civic laden with the maximum 47kgs of ballast. Neal leads Plato by eight points at the top of the table going into tomorrow’s three races with each win earning 15 points.

    Oxford-based Plato added: “It’s an opportunity of course but we’re only just starting the second half of the season. The main thing at this stage is to stay in the game. Credit to young Alex though – he’s done the business in tricky conditions. The lad's done well!”

    Worcestershire’s Neal commented on his seventh place: “That’s slightly disappointing but not a disaster and if it’s fully wet tomorrow I don’t mind. We didn’t have chance to put the full wet set-up on our car today so I know we can be a lot faster in these conditions. Let’s see what we get tomorrow.”

    Qualifying third fastest was Tom Chilton in his Team Aon Ford Focus, but the session was a disaster for team-mate Tom Onslow-Cole who was relegated to the bottom of the times after his car failed a mandatory ride-height check.

    The top six were completed by Airwaves BMW’s Mat Jackson, Neal's team-mate Gordon Shedden, currently third in the standings behind Plato, and Croft winner just prior to the recent break Andrew Jordan in his Pirtek Racing Vauxhall Vectra.

    There was a best-ever tenth-placed qualifying performance from Tom Boardman in his Special Tuning UK SEAT Leon. And there could have been a best-ever 12th for Lea Wood, the series newcomer in his small Central Group Racing team's older Honda Integra instead having to settle for 13th as Robert Collard put in a late lap to out-do him by just 0.047s. WSR's Collard has been by far the fastest BMW driver in recent qualifying sessions but this time he was frustratingly behind both rival Airwaves drivers (Jackson and Steven Kane) having joined the session late after his mechanics had worked in vain to apply a suitable wet weather onto his car.

    Martin Johnson, meanwhile, managed just two laps as his Boulevard Team Racing Vauxhall Astra lost fifth and sixth gears after being hit in the rear by Onslow-Cole's Ford which the latter felt may have accounted for the Focus's overly-low front-end when it came to be checked.

    Pos Driver Car Time Gap
    1. Alex MacDowall Chevrolet 1m19.332s
    2. Jason Plato Chevrolet 1m19.426s + 0.094s
    3. Tom Chilton Ford 1m19.675s + 0.343s
    4. Mat Jackson BMW 1m20.094s + 0.762s
    5. Gordon Shedden Honda 1m20.206s + 0.874s
    6. Andrew Jordan Vauxhall 1m20.487s + 1.155s
    7. Matt Neal Honda 1m20.613s + 1.281s
    8. Paul O'Neill Honda 1m20.688s + 1.356s
    9. James Nash Vauxhall 1m20.695s + 1.363s
    10. Tom Boardman SEAT 1m20.752s + 1.420s
    11. Steven Kane BMW 1m20.827s + 1.495s
    12. Rob Collard BMW 1m21.303s + 1.971s
    13. Lea Wood Honda 1m21.350s + 2.018s
    14. David Pinkney Vauxhall 1m22.278s + 2.946s
    15. Andy Neate BMW 1m22.357s + 3.025s
    16. John George Honda 1m22.358s + 3.026s
    17. Shaun Hollamby Volkswagen 1m22.963s + 3.631s
    18. Martin Depper BMW 1m23.598s + 4.266s
    19. Arthur Forster BMW 1m23.656s + 4.324s
    20. Martin Johnson Vauxhall 1m40.092s + 20.760s
    21. Tom Onslow-Cole Ford (penalised for failing two separate ride-height tests)
    "I don't want to be treated as special because I'm not. I just drive a racing car round in circles a bit faster than everyone else." Michael Schumacher

  2. #2
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    RACE 1 - RESULTS

    Jason Plato has won today’s opening Dunlop British Touring car Championship race at the Snetterton circuit in Norfolk – taking over the series lead after chief rival Matt Neal retired in the pit lane.

    Plato led all the way for his third win of the season in his Silverline Chevrolet Cruze – the 56th of his BTCC career. He also set the race’s fastest lap for a bonus point. Second, shadowing Plato throughout, was Airwaves BMW driver Mat Jackson. Tom Chilton made it back up to third in his Team Aon Ford Focus having initially lost two places on the opening lap.

    Plato’s pace – he set the fastest lap during the race’s second half – came as something of a surprise to Jackson who had kept the Chevrolet driver honest until mid-distance. Jackson told btcc.net: “The BMW’s rear-wheel-drive should in theory give us an advantage over the front-wheel-drive stuff with tyre wear over a race distance and I was sure I’d be able to attack later, but his car just seemed to come on stronger. Maybe he was playing with me for the first half…”

    With Honda Racing Team’s Neal stopping a lap from home in the pit lane – his Honda Civic having picked up a puncture – Plato has now taken over the championship lead. He holds a nine-point advantage over Neal going into today’s second race which the Honda man must start from near the back of the grid.

    So, too, must Plato’s team-mate Alex MacDowall, the 19-year-old having started from pole position but then having slowed immediately with a broken gearlever which required several pit stops to replace and calibrate.

    Elsewhere, the top six was completed by Neal’s team-mate Gordon Shedden in fourth, Triple Eight’s James Nash and Chilton’s team-mate Tom Onslow-Cole. Nash was left clear in fifth when he opportunistically nipped by both Neal and Andrew Jordan when they tangled at the Esses, the latter’s Pirtek Vauxhall Vectra slipping to an eventual ninth by the flag. Onslow-Cole’s sixth was the drive of the race after he’d started way back from 21st and last on the grid.

    Robert Collard’s tenth place, gained with a pass on Paul O’Neill’s Sunshine.co.uk/Tech-Speed Honda on the final lap, was also noteworthy – he spent the race driving one-handed to keep his WSR BMW’s left-hand door shut after it had been damaged in a lap-two clash with Onslow-Cole. “If I drove like that on the road I’d expect to get pulled over and given three points,” he joked.

    The race was one to forget for WSR as Collard’s team-mate Andy Neate spun early on at the Russell chicane after a tap from Central Group Racing’s Lea Wood, although he recovered to catch and pass the Honda privateer before the finish. Barely half a second covered the final three finishers, Forster Motorsport pair Martin Depper and Arthur Forster who were split by AmD Milltek Racing.com’s Shaun Hollamby – each suffered a spin at some point during the race which brought them back together for a great three-tussle in the closing stages.

    Neal and MacDowall aside, other retirements included Martin Johnson whose Boulevard Taam Racing Vauxhall Astra suffered driveshaft failure and David Pinkney whose Vauxhall Vectra stopped with front-end damage after he ran wide over the grass at Coram.

    1 2 Jason Plato Chevrolet Cruze 18 -- 1m12.512
    2 5 I Mat Jackson BMW 320si E90 18 +1.803s 1m12.521
    3 23 I Tom Chilton Ford Focus ST 18 +3.265s 1m12.641
    4 52 Gordon Shedden Honda Civic 18 +8.700s 1m12.552
    5 14 I James Nash Vauxhall Vectra 18 +10.456s 1m12.906
    6 21 I Tom Onslow-Cole Ford Focus ST 18 +13.097s 1m12.769
    7 11 I Steven Kane BMW 320si E90 18 +18.115s 1m12.941
    8 22 I Tom Boardman SEAT Leon 18 +19.625s 1m13.320
    9 77 I Andrew Jordan Vauxhall Vectra 18 +20.715s 1m13.099
    10 6 I Robert Collard BMW 320si E90 18 +21.206s 1m13.310
    11 29 I Paul O'Neill Honda Integra 18 +21.776s 1m13.005
    12 28 I John George Honda Integra 18 +38.663s 1m13.913
    13 44 I Andy Neate BMW 320si E90 18 +44.480s 1m13.892
    14 43 I Lea Wood Honda Integra 18 +45.584s 1m13.912
    15 30 I Martin Depper BMW 320si E90 18 +1m03.779s 1m14.592
    16 99 I Shaun Hollamby VW Golf MK5 18 +1m04.218s 1m14.623
    17 37 I Arthur Forster BMW 320si E90 18 +1m04.356s 1m14.550
    Not Classified
    - 4 Matt Neal Honda Civic 16 +2 Laps 1m13.165
    - 20 Alex MacDowall Chevrolet Cruze 9 +9 Laps 1m12.752s
    - 27 I Martin Johnson Vauxhall Astra Coupe 2 +16 Laps --
    "I don't want to be treated as special because I'm not. I just drive a racing car round in circles a bit faster than everyone else." Michael Schumacher

  3. #3
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    Any news on Adrian Newey?
    FORZA FERRARI

  4. #4
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    Taken to hospital as a precautionary measure. There hasn't been any more news for a couple of hours now.
    Forza Jules

  5. #5
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    Hopefully he's ok.
    FORZA FERRARI

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    RACE 2 - RESULTS

    Jason Plato has won for the second time today at Snetterton to give himself a sizeable lead in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.

    Plato dominated from pole position, despite his Silverline Chevrolet Cruze carrying the maximum 45kgs of success ballast. Just as in the day’s first race, he led every lap to win this time by more than three seconds and also set the race’s fastest lap for a bonus point.

    “What you’re seeing is a result of all the hard work we’ve put into the car during the summer break,” said Plato. “The Cruze is now a great race car which doesn’t deteriorate over a race distance.” However, asked if he could go on and emulate his three wins in a day performance – achieved at last year’s Brands Hatch finale – he added: “No, not here. I’ll be starting from tenth on race three’s reversed grid and this isn’t the kind of circuit where you can pull of those kinds of moves.”

    Notably, the win was Plato’s fourth of the season and the 57th of his BTCC career – he is now just three behind the all-time record of 60 set by the legendary Andy Rouse.

    Furthermore, with Matt Neal finishing only ninth, Plato has now moved 24 points clear of his Honda rival at the top of the standings with this afternoon’s third race still to go.

    Meanwhile, second and third were the two Team Aon Ford Focuses of Tom Chilton and Tom Onslow-Cole who has moved up to third in the standings, now just nine points adrift of the second-placed Neal. Airwaves BMW pair Steven Kane and Mat Jackson were fourth and fifth with Andrew Jordan sixth in his Pirtek Vauxhall Vectra. Jackson (pictured above trying to pinch the lead from Plato at the opening corner) had held second early on until his car was passed by both Fords along the start-finish straight and he was then later demoted exiting the Sear corner by team-mate Kane.

    Significantly, James Nash recovered from a trip off the track after a bump with Neal to finish tenth in his Triple Eight-run Vauxhall Vectra. With number ten then drawn for race’s three’s starting grid it will mean he starts from pole position – just as he did in 2009 when he went on to win only to be later excluded.

    Earlier, Nash had been involved in the race’s main talking incident – a three-car pile-up on the opening lap at the Bombhole corner which led to a five-lap safety car period. He brushed panels with Tom Boardman’s Special Tuning UK SEAT Leon which was sent into a spin and was then collected by the unfortunate Paul O’Neill’s Sunshine.co.uk with Tech-Speed Honda Integra. His team-mate John George also tagged Boardman’s car as he swerved to avoid the carnage, a right-rear wheel being torn from his Honda which he then retired in the pit lane. The pile-up also led to Andy Neate spinning his WSR BMW although he recovered to finish 13th.

    Arthur Forster was one of two further retirements as he pulled up in the pit lane in his Forster Motorsport BMW. The only other non-finisher was Plato’s team-mate Alex MacDowall. The Cumbrian, having started the day on pole position only to effectively be sidelined within yards of the start race one, this time pulled up at mid-distance after a wild ride over the kerbs at the Riches corner which damaged his car.

    1 2 Jason Plato Chevrolet Cruze 21 -- 1m12.378s
    2 23 I Tom Chilton Ford Focus ST 21 +2.926s 1m12.909s
    3 21 I Tom Onslow-Cole Ford Focus ST 21 +3.418s 1m12.829s
    4 11 I Steven Kane BMW 320si E90 21 +10.673s 1m12.892s
    5 5 I Mat Jackson BMW 320si E90 21 +11.219s 1m13.161s
    6 77 I Andrew Jordan Vauxhall Vectra 21 +11.807s 1m13.033s
    7 6 I Robert Collard BMW 320si E90 21 +12.078s 1m12.838s
    8 52 Gordon Shedden Honda Civic 21 +12.394s 1m12.916s
    9 4 Matt Neal Honda Civic 21 +12.824s 1m13.733s
    10 14 I James Nash Vauxhall Vectra 21 +14.535s 1m13.316s
    11 55 I David Pinkney Vauxhall Vectra 21 +25.181s 1m13.685s
    12 27 I Martin Johnson Vauxhall Astra Coupe 21 +33.600s 1m14.296s
    13 44 I Andy Neate BMW 320si E90 21 +34.924s 1m13.613s
    14 43 I Lea Wood Honda Integra 21 +35.234s 1m14.085s
    15 99 I Shaun Hollamby VW Golf MK5 21 +38.994s 1m14.156s
    16 30 I Martin Depper BMW 320si E90 21 +39.287s 1m14.410s
    Not Classified
    - 20 Alex MacDowall Chevrolet Cruze 9 +12 Laps 1m13.666s
    - 37 I Arthur Forster BMW 320si E90 8 +13 Laps 1m16.224s
    - 22 I Tom Boardman SEAT Leon 0 +21 Laps --
    - 28 I John George Honda Integra 0 +21 Laps --
    - 29 I Paul O'Neill Honda Integra 0 +21 Laps --
    "I don't want to be treated as special because I'm not. I just drive a racing car round in circles a bit faster than everyone else." Michael Schumacher

  8. #8
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    RACE 3 - RESULTS

    Gordon Shedden has won today’s third Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship race at Snetterton after James Nash span out while leading.

    Nash led the first lap but starting lap two his Triple Eight Vauxhall Vectra snapped sideways at Riches corner and he span out of the race.

    This left Scottish ace Shedden clear in front for what turned out to be a straightforward win in his Honda Racing Team Honda Civic.

    Finishing second was WSR BMW driver Robert Collard but only after he passed Shedden’s team-mate Matt Neal on the final lap with a controversial move, bumping the Honda driver aside at the Esses. BTCC officials later reprimanded Collard and put two penalty points on his competition licence for 'causing an avoidable collision'.

    Just 6/10ths of a second then covered fourth, fifth and sixth positions taken by Tom Chilton (Team Aon Ford Focus), Jason Plato (Silverline Chevrolet Cruze) and Steven Kane (Airwaves BMW). Plato’s fifth place, allied to his wins in races one and two, means he leaves Snetterton with a commanding 20-point lead over Neal at the top of the standings.

    Shedden’s win has moved him back into third – he's now four points behind team-mate Neal – ahead of Team Aon Ford driver Tom Onslow-Cole who set the race’s fastest lap but finished a lap down following two pit stops after he span off the track at the Esses in a collision with Airwaves BMW's Mat Jackson.

    Paul O’Neill’s run to eighth behind seventh-placed Jackson was a highlight of the race as he fought his way up from near the back of the grid in his Sunshine.co.uk/Tech-Speed Honda Integra.

    Nash aside, there were three more retirements: Lea Wood, whose Central Group Racing Honda Integra had been in the running for a first-ever point, span off for good at Sear, Martin Depper pulled up in the pits with a failing alternator on his Forster Motorsport BMW and Andrew Jordan’s Pirtek Vauxhall Vectra suffered engine failure on the way to the grid and was pushed off the circuit by his mechanics. Martin Johnson, meanwhile, never even left his pit garage, his Boulevard Vauxhall Astra having blown its head gasket in race two – leaving his mechanics with insufficient time to perform an engine change.

    1 52 Gordon Shedden Honda Civic 18 -- 1m12.766s
    2 6 I Robert Collard BMW 320si E90 18 +2.148s 1m12.646s
    3 4 Matt Neal Honda Civic 18 +2.841s 1m12.758s
    4 23 I Tom Chilton Ford Focus ST 18 +4.547s 1m12.574s
    5 2 Jason Plato Chevrolet Cruze 18 +4.927s 1m12.644s
    6 11 I Steven Kane BMW 320si E90 18 +5.185s 1m12.645s
    7 5 I Mat Jackson BMW 320si E90 18 +12.791s 1m12.563s
    8 29 I Paul O'Neill Honda Integra 18 +29.551s 1m13.552s
    9 55 I David Pinkney Vauxhall Vectra 18 +30.356s 1m13.865s
    10 44 I Andy Neate BMW 320si E90 18 +30.658s 1m13.607s
    11 22 I Tom Boardman SEAT Leon 18 +31.913s 1m13.917s
    12 28 I John George Honda Integra 18 +32.514s 1m13.658s
    13 20 Alex MacDowall Chevrolet Cruze 18 +32.953s 1m13.886s
    14 37 I Arthur Forster BMW 320si E90 18 +43.740s 1m14.601s
    15 99 I Shaun Hollamby VW Golf MK5 18 +58.810s 1m14.385s
    16 21 I Tom Onslow-Cole Ford Focus ST 17 +1 Lap 1m12.344s
    Not Classified
    - 43 I Lea Wood Honda Integra 13 +5 Laps 1m13.688s
    - 30 I Martin Depper BMW 320si E90 7 +11 Laps 1m14.754s
    - 14 I James Nash Vauxhall Vectra 1 +17 Laps --
    - 77 I Andrew Jordan Vauxhall Vectra 0 +18 Laps --
    "I don't want to be treated as special because I'm not. I just drive a racing car round in circles a bit faster than everyone else." Michael Schumacher

  9. #9
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    Thw weather first thing wasnt good. Drizzle on the way there, but as the first Porsche race kicked off at 09.10 the clouds were clearing slightly. By mid day was hot and lovely,was great day. Loads of action. Met a legend, Tim Harvey aswell today. Heard Newey had gone to hospital but nothing else. Had a look at the car that hit Neweys car, wow! the brake disc had shattered the wheel rim smashed to bits aswell.

    Heres my pictures.....







    i put more up tomorrow, got go feed my lil girl
    Last edited by Rob; 8th August 2010 at 18:57.
    CAVALLINO RAMPANTE PER SEMPRE

  10. #10
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    Nice pics Rob. Flash is looking particularly cool

    "Luna faccia schiaffo testa"

  11. #11
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    Thanks Stu. Yeah he is looking cool. He top bloke, had little chat with him, heres afew more of mine from Sunday. My mate will email me picture of the Ginetta which hit Neweys car (my batteries ran out, forgot to give full charge sat night )







    Last edited by Rob; 9th August 2010 at 18:18.
    CAVALLINO RAMPANTE PER SEMPRE

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